Putting concrete in a basement

[adamcohen]

Ok I have a couple of questions, but here's the deal.

Basement is 1/2 finished. The half which needs concrete has a dirt floor right now and has some heating pipes as welll as the walls are old flagstone, it think. So, here are the questions.

1. How much prep work can I do on my own?
2. How much do you think it migh cost to put down the floor? (figure

30x30) or so.

1. the dirt gets wet, I think it seeps UP, not from the walls, so will taht dry out the basement?

Thanks

[marson]

1. how much prep needs to be done? do you need to add fill, or remove it? that is back-breaking labor but you could do it yourself. if you wanted to use rebar (optional) you could install that yourself. but you'd after find the mason first and see what he wants.

1. better call a few masons and see if they can give you a ballpark. around here, the marterials for a 4" slab would go for about a grand to

1500.

1. you'll want a vapor barrier--six mil poly at a minimum, taped at the joints and caulked with a caulk like tremco around the perimeter. I would also put down a layer of extruded polystyrene insulation if you are in a northern climate. . 2" is nice, but anything would help. Make sure you get foam rated for underslab, dow blue or ceritfoam green or something similar.

[m Ransley]

If the dirt gets wet so will the concrete be damp, humid, and possibly seap up through cracks that will develop. A perimiter interior french drain and pump will help a bit if water is from the foundation area. But if water table is high, who knows. A large single sheet of plastic under concrete will also help. Cost, there are to many variables involved to give an idea.

[Edwin Pawlowski]

All of it if you know how. None of it if you don't know how.

You need about 10 yards of concrete. That will be about $1200 to $1300. You need labor to spread and finish, that could be $1500 or so.

Probably not. You should find out where the water is coming from and take proper action. That may be a sump, French drain, etc. Under the concrete you should put a vapor barrier and insulation if you have room, that will add two inches to the thickness. You must determine if you have to dig out before you pour 4" of concrete on what is there now. Consider headroom, perimeter walls and piping, etc.

[hallerb]

dig out extra deep, place gravel with perforated pipes around perimeter running to sump pump or gravity drain well away from home. then cover perf pipe with gravel and 10 mil overlapping and taped plastic. cover with sand to protect the plastic then concrete.

[mm]

I think flagstones are used to make walks are made out of, and they are only one or two inches thick. So the stones sort of look like flags and that is, I assume, where the name comes from. Not good for making basement walls.

Maybe you mean fieldstones?

Can't help.

[DanG]

Please don't tell the University of Colorado about this. They have the entire campus done in Lyons stone. Multistory!! ______________________________ Keep the whole world singing . . . . DanG (remove the sevens) [e-mail]