Monte68
New Member
Hi all,
Sorry about the length. Please bear with me.
My house is about 5 yrs old, and I want to finish a portion of the basement (about 2/3). My problem is that I have a high water table in the spring when the snow melts up north. I have a French drain and a sump pump. So far, this system has been very reliable. So long as the pump works, the basement will stay dry. But sooner or later, despite all my diligence, Murphy's Law says that if I finish the basement, that pump will fail one day. So I need to make sure I've done everything possible to avoid damage to the finished room.
I know I can install a rubber backed subfloor, like a Dricore system, or I can build up the subfloor over 2x4s and a vapor barrier. My first question is this: If I should get a flood once in a great while (maybe once every 4 or 5 years) and if the water always stays below the vapor barrier, am I still likely to have problems, like mildew or other water damage, even if I remove all the standing water relatively quickly? Or will the basement floor beneath the room tend to dry up pretty quick because of the built in air passages below the sub floor?
My second question maybe a little far fetched. I'm wondering, since I want to leave about 1/3 of the basement unfinished, if I can overpour a new layer of concrete on the existing floor, in the area that will be finished. Doing this would create a step where the finished room is situated on a floor about 2 inches higher than the floor where the sump is located. I'm aware that overpouring can create problems, but this would be a large (26'x30') indoor slab, trapped on 3 sides by the foundation walls. I don't see how it could go anywhere. Additionally, the original floor was never floated out, so it's rather rough. Don't know if that might help adhesion.
Creating this step-up would buy me some time and some extra protection from flooding beneath the finished room. And if the floods I got when I first moved into the house are a good indication, the stepped up area might be above the highest water table mark, because I never got more than an inch or so of water anywhere in the basement. And it was always deepest near the sump. In the end though, I don't know if raising the floor with more concrete is just a waste of time and money. That's my question: Is this whole hair-brained scheme worth it, or should I just leave the floor alone and go with the vapor barrier. Or, with the threat of a flood always hanging over my head, should I just forget the whole thing?
Sorry about rambling on for so long. Thanks for any advice you can give.
Monte68
Sorry about the length. Please bear with me.
My house is about 5 yrs old, and I want to finish a portion of the basement (about 2/3). My problem is that I have a high water table in the spring when the snow melts up north. I have a French drain and a sump pump. So far, this system has been very reliable. So long as the pump works, the basement will stay dry. But sooner or later, despite all my diligence, Murphy's Law says that if I finish the basement, that pump will fail one day. So I need to make sure I've done everything possible to avoid damage to the finished room.
I know I can install a rubber backed subfloor, like a Dricore system, or I can build up the subfloor over 2x4s and a vapor barrier. My first question is this: If I should get a flood once in a great while (maybe once every 4 or 5 years) and if the water always stays below the vapor barrier, am I still likely to have problems, like mildew or other water damage, even if I remove all the standing water relatively quickly? Or will the basement floor beneath the room tend to dry up pretty quick because of the built in air passages below the sub floor?
My second question maybe a little far fetched. I'm wondering, since I want to leave about 1/3 of the basement unfinished, if I can overpour a new layer of concrete on the existing floor, in the area that will be finished. Doing this would create a step where the finished room is situated on a floor about 2 inches higher than the floor where the sump is located. I'm aware that overpouring can create problems, but this would be a large (26'x30') indoor slab, trapped on 3 sides by the foundation walls. I don't see how it could go anywhere. Additionally, the original floor was never floated out, so it's rather rough. Don't know if that might help adhesion.
Creating this step-up would buy me some time and some extra protection from flooding beneath the finished room. And if the floods I got when I first moved into the house are a good indication, the stepped up area might be above the highest water table mark, because I never got more than an inch or so of water anywhere in the basement. And it was always deepest near the sump. In the end though, I don't know if raising the floor with more concrete is just a waste of time and money. That's my question: Is this whole hair-brained scheme worth it, or should I just leave the floor alone and go with the vapor barrier. Or, with the threat of a flood always hanging over my head, should I just forget the whole thing?
Sorry about rambling on for so long. Thanks for any advice you can give.
Monte68