[akeyes]

Loose laying vinyl sheet flooring in our basement directly over concrete pad. Basement flooded a bit recently and water got all underneath the flooring (we've got 3 bedrooms down there), meaning we had to get all furniture out so we could get flooring up so it could dry...total pain.

I want to put a bead of silicone on the underside of the perimeter of the entire vinyl sheet in each room. This would seem to guarantee that water wouldn't be able to get under the vinyl sheets (in case of another flood), but question is: will sealing the entire perimeter somehow create a condensation / moisture trap between the sheet and the concrete slab underneath? If so, then that moisture would not be able to escape since the perimeter is completely sealed. Make sense?

The house is 40 years old, so concrete doesn't need to cure or anything, fyi.

Thanks guys

 

[Yodaman]

IMHO, it would be a complete waste of time and money. Water would likely still get under there.

Invest in a good sump pump if you don't already have one.

 

[3onthetree]

That doesn't seem like it would work. Don't know what's around the perimeter, like if under baseboard or the door jambs, but the vinyl needs to move. If you could even get the bead to adhere to the entire perimeter of the sheet, when the sheet moves you would have a bubble along the edge. Not to mention water getting in any butt edges between adjoining sheets.

The only guarantee is water will find a way. I've had to do it - roll up the sheet vinyl to let the floor dry, then roll it back.

 

[akeyes]

(Right now there's nothing along border...eventually there will be baseboard / quarter round)

I totally get that the floor will move a bit...but makes me wonder what happens when these floors are fully glued down? Then they wouldn't be able to move at all, right? I guess that glue keeps water from getting underneath tho? Surely it does cause if it didn't, water could get under there and basically never dry, causing mold and who knows what.

The silicone should flex a bit, so I may try just putting a thick bead on the sheet along the wall where water is likely to seep in. Then baseboards will cover the edges, so it won't be unsightly. What do you think?

 

[3onthetree]

...but makes me wonder what happens when these floors are fully glued down?
What do you think?

Maybe we're talking about two different products. You said "loose laying" which to me is floating - not glued down. These are thicker sheet (12' wide rolls) "cushiony" vinyls where the edge looks a bit like foam. They are fastened down with double-sided carpet tape.

Glue downs are thinner and more rigid to not stretch and move as much. But any product you glue down should not have a problem with water under them. Though if you are worried about water from the wall, a wet baseboard/qtr round (and furred out wall I assume) will be a bigger issue.

 

[carpdad]

2x on everybody saying it probably will not work.
1. Flood: do you often have floods? How many years in the house and how many times flood? There are 10-50-100 year floods and those numbers don't mean much. The ONLY guarantee will be making changes so the water stays along the perimeter and is drained, with things such as french drains. Barring expensive changes, I think 3onthetree probably has the only solution which is loose sheet that can be rolled, taken outside to clean and dry and roll back when everything is dry. Vinyl sheets may absorb water which must be dried. Check with the manufacturer.


2. The floor glue these days is made with water based chemicals. It is damaged by water over time. It could make the repair/clean up worse by trapping water and making it a huge demolition job. Thinking any amount of silicon caulk could work is a bad idea. As mentioned, there are several major factors that the silicon could fail.


3. If that much water, it isn't just along the perimeter. Water can find its way into and under the slab and come up in the middle of the slab. If not water, moisture. If just a bit of moisture, it can go back into the slab and dry out that way. But help it by removing the sheet.


4. If that much water, the framing and drywall also have to be looked at. Wall bottom plate should be pressure treated lumber. Regular lumber can be damaged from just the high moisture/condensation over time.


5. Are you panicking?:smile: Is this the first such flood? Getting to know the house and the property would be part of the first step. Photos will help you get more information about the house. Any ground slope, example. Ignore this if you already have some idea.

 

[akeyes]

Thanks for the thoughts guys.

I'm using the 12' wide vinyl sheet flooring, it's definitely very thin but says it can be loose laid, fully glued, or something in between. I'm laying it but taping along doorways / into closets (manufacturer says to do that).

Only been in house 1.5 years. A month ago we had a long sustained rain and basement flooded (1/2 inch of standing water at the most). Professional crew ripped out all carpet / flooring and dryed baseboards / bottom plates etc. Water didn't get high enough to affect walls for the most part.

Started laying vinyl sheets, putting rooms back together, then another rain (not nearly as hard as first one) and water started seeping in again along basement cinder block wall. I watched it seep in low on the wall about 3-6 inches above the ground. It was freaky. Little drops appearing on different spots on the wall.

We fought it and kept it somewhat contained but still got under all the flooring we just put down.

Hopefully we discovered the problem: gaps in caulking / flashing around where chimney meets the roofline. Seems that maybe a hard, and windy, rain would be enough to push water up thru these gaps, then it flows down the INSIDE of the cinder blocks till it gets to the concrete pad (which is why we can't see any traces of a water path on the walls when we look at them). The hollow spots in the cinder blocks slowly fill up and then seep into the house. If that's the issue, then we fixed it. If it's not, then we'll find out soon enough

Thanks!

 

[123pugsy]

Do not put down any flooring for now. I doubt your problem is fixed. Wait for the spring rains to see.

How old is the house? Never mind. Scrolled up and saw 40 years. This is exactly the age of homes that have clogged footing weeping tiles.


Our ground holds so much moisture, I invited it into the inside of the house, to let it do it's thing. Weeping tile along both sides of the footings into the sump pit. It works really well. In the spring, I sometimes hear it trickling non stop. Music to my ears. :wink2: