basement subfloor??

master splinter

I starting to finish my basement, right now it is a 1300 square foot room with a furnace in the middle. I am planing two bedrooms for the kids, washroom and a large rec room with a gas fireplace. I live in southern Ontario with fairly cold winters should I install a subfloor. My basement doesn't have any water problems. Has anyone used the Dricore subfloor system it look like the perfect solution but cost $7.00 for one 2 foot square. Any help or advice would be a great help.
thanks

chris75

This is only a design choice, but what I did was installed 2x4's flat called sleepers, installed rigid foam in between, 3/4 T&G on top of that then carpet... You would never know that it was concrete underneath, very warm soft and comfortable...

jscholl411

I agree with chris75. Running 2x4, and t&g 3/4" plywood would be a lot cheaper than the Dricore subfloor.

KUIPORNG

somehow, my reply got chok off... anyway...I am going to do this again... use product in this site rather than Dricore and you save $$


http://www.systemplaton.com/

chris75

I also installed a whole house dehumidifier, mainly for the basement, but I did tie it into the furnace ductwork and now my doors upstairs never swell up in the summer...

tpagel

DriCore is priced at $1.47/SF at HD and Lowes, and 7/16" 4'x8' OSB subfloor, that would go over the Platon, is listed at about $1.00/SF. So the Platon would have to be less than $0.47/SF to make it more economical, right? Is it? Or were you thinking of applying the laminated floor directly over the Platon, without OSB subfloor? If so, don't you lose the opportunity for significant "warmth, insulation and comfort" of having the OSB? I am VERY intrigued by the system you proposed, so I want to find out more. Thanks for your input.

KUIPORNG

I didn't do the calculation like you try to do regarding cost per sq. ft.... but it does cost about at least half the cost if not more... I cannot remember exactly...

but OSB for sure is not $1 per sq. ft., a 4x8 OSB board is 32 sq. ft and only cost about $20 bucks in HD....

and the plastic sheet come as a big roll in HD cost approx. $128 per big roll..

my $800 sq. ft basement use approx 2 plastic rolls and 800 sq. ft. of OSB board...

anyway... the drycore doesn't make sense, more expensive, take long time to install.. and same idea ...

yes you need OSB board.... if you go to speciality store... may able to get a better price than HD....

tpagel

You are right. I screwed up in not figuring the OSB at 32 SF per panel. Lowes sells 7/16" 4'x8' OSB sub floor board for less than $8 a piece, soif a roll of your plastic can cover roughly 400SF for $128, then the whole system costs less than $0.60/SF, as opposed to the $1.47 for dricore, and there are less seams where something could go wrong! Thanks for the clarification. You just saved me a couple hundred bucks!

47_47

I wouldn't use 7/16" OSB for the floor, use 3/4". What do you plan on putting down as a finished floor?

__________________
What we've got here is... failure to communicate. Some men you just can't reach. So you get what we had here last week, which is the way he wants it... well, he gets it.

CyFree

Even though your basement is dry now, anything organic used as a sub floor in a basement is something I would not recommend. Basements are prone to water accidents, such as plumbing or water heater leakage, condensation, changes in the water table do to a heavier rain season, etc...
As for the sub floor choice, you can try a product called ThermalDry. It is an interlocking thermal tile system specifically designed for basements, 100% waterproof and inorganic so it won't support mold growth. If you are planning to lay carpet, they have the unfinished option, but they also have the all in one solutions: finished flooring tiles in different colors you can install directly over concrete, with no adhesives.
http://www.totalbasementfinishing.co...loor-tiles.php

If you'd like the look and feel of hardwood, in a 100% waterproof solution, there is also this all in one flooring option called MillCreek, which can also be installed over concrete, no sub floor needed.
http://www.totalbasementfinishing.co...reek-floor.php

You can walk over those as soon as you lay'em, if there is a crack in the concrete, you can lift and inspect, if a piece ever gets damaged or worn, you just replace it without disturbing the rest. And if you ever move, you can take your flooring with you and lay it on your new home's basement!

tpagel

OK I can do that. The finish material will be Pergo laminate floor, and the space we are talking about in my case (didn't mean to hijack the thread) is a slab on grade first floor living area

47_47

Flooring manufacturers have specifications of the subfloor for a proper installation and warrantee of their products. I would research what pergo wants as a subfloor in this case (vapor barrier, subfloor thickness, sleeper spacing...).

__________________
What we've got here is... failure to communicate. Some men you just can't reach. So you get what we had here last week, which is the way he wants it... well, he gets it.

KUIPORNG

these are sounds make sense and very nice... but I wonder would it be very expensive.... this is the most important part... afterall, it is just a basement.... you don't want to spend mega bucks on it...

mikenos

Hi,

I would recommend a solution which allows air to circulate underneath. It will prevent mold growth.

Also, before you finish your basement, make sure there are no water leaks or humidity in your basement. I came across a good article at
http://handyowner.com/2008/07/13/rep...nt-water-leak/

Mikenos

KUIPORNG

that is exactly what the dricore and the other system the author of this thread trying to use will do... it use big plastic stubs underneath to raise the whole flooring... and this plastic stuff can stand extreme weight without collasping and allow therefore air to circulate underneath.... should there be minor water invasion into the basement...