The floor of my basement use to be covered by a carpet and underneath it a vinyl tiles. I removed both of them. I am not sure what the floor is made f rom. Not sure if it is cement of something else. My house was build in 1926 .
I took a picture of this floor. you can see it here
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My question, do you know from that pic which kind of floor is that (cement or something else). Also any recommendation how to keep it nice. Any materi al I can put it to clean it, make it better looking, shining etc. I had to remove both the carpet and vinyl because of the water.
Looks like concrete, just marked up from the tiles. You can tap it with a hammer and it should be very hard and have a sound of solid. Thump a concrete wall for an example.
Is the water problem solved? If so, I'd put a cheap laminate floor down. It will look good and be fairly easy to clean.
t a vinyl tiles. I removed both of them. I am not sure what the floor is ma de from. Not sure if it is cement of something else. My house was build in
1926.
ent or something else). Also any recommendation how to keep it nice. Any ma terial I can put it to clean it, make it better looking, shining etc. I had to remove both the carpet and vinyl because of the water.
Looks like concrete to me too. Painting it is one option. It keeps dust do wn and will make it look nicer. Also depends on what it will be used for. And as someone else posted, make sure the water problem is really solved f irst.
it a vinyl tiles. I removed both of them. I am not sure what the floor is made from. Not sure if it is cement of something else. My house was build i n 1926.
ement or something else). Also any recommendation how to keep it nice. Any material I can put it to clean it, make it better looking, shining etc. I h ad to remove both the carpet and vinyl because of the water.
down and will make it look nicer. Also depends on what it will be used for . And as someone else posted, make sure the water problem is really solved first.
Thank you all for the help. Yes painting is a good option. I do not want to put anything else for now. I like it that way. I mean not hardwood, tile e tc. Now my question what kind of paint? is there any special paint for tha t?
About the water, the water come inside my basement when the snow start melt ing, only then I see water inside my basement. If it rains and no matter ho w strong the rain, my basement keeps dry. So I thought it is a crack in the foundation that allow the melting ice go inside my basement. Thank all onc e again.
th it a vinyl tiles. I removed both of them. I am not sure what the floor i s made from. Not sure if it is cement of something else. My house was build in 1926.
(cement or something else). Also any recommendation how to keep it nice. An y material I can put it to clean it, make it better looking, shining etc. I had to remove both the carpet and vinyl because of the water.
t down and will make it look nicer. Also depends on what it will be used f or. And as someone else posted, make sure the water problem is really solv ed first.
to put anything else for now. I like it that way. I mean not hardwood, tile etc. Now my question what kind of paint? is there any special paint for t hat?
lting, only then I see water inside my basement. If it rains and no matter how strong the rain, my basement keeps dry. So I thought it is a crack in t he foundation that allow the melting ice go inside my basement. Thank all o nce again.
Yes, they have paint and solid stain formulated for concrete. Whether it w ill stay or peel depends on your water problem. If the water comes from a crack in the wall and doesn't amount to much or stay long, you could be OK. But if it's coming up through the floor, the paint will bubble and come of f. The water problem should be identified and fixed.
I painted my basement floor 40 plus years ago with floor paint from Sears and have not had to repaint. It has gotten wet a couple of times. I had some old carpeting pieces but they got stinking wet so floor is just bare. Before painting I had mopped the floor with dilute muriatic acid to remove dust and give paint a clean surface.
Most likely, the melting snow raises the water table and you are getting seepage. Epoxy paints are good on concrete, but NOTHING will last long with getting soaked with water.
You need to solve the water problem.
They make some laminate flooring now that's supposed to be water proof. If it gets wet, take it up, dry it, put to down again.
Thank you for your reply all, but how to solve the water problem? It is ver y inconsistent. We had very heavy rain last week but my basement was so dry ! that was my observation, it gets wet in spring when the temperature goes above 0, it wont happen so often but 3-4 times a year. Thanks a lot.
Rain may be running off quickly while snow melt is getting trapped and has time to soak in. You may need someone with foundation knowledge to look at it.
The water problem might be something simple. Does all the ground surrounding the house slope away from the house? It could have settled over the years. Even a few inches right against the foundation will matter.
t a vinyl tiles. I removed both of them. I am not sure what the floor is ma de from. Not sure if it is cement of something else. My house was build in
1926.
ent or something else). Also any recommendation how to keep it nice. Any ma terial I can put it to clean it, make it better looking, shining etc. I had to remove both the carpet and vinyl because of the water.
How would a grading issue only cause melting snow water to enter the baseme nt but not heavy rain water? I'm not saying it's not a grading issue, just cur ious as to how it would cause the symptoms that Leza is experiencing.
Ice & xnow builds up on the ground and forms an ice dam - perhaps from foot traffic - even if only a few inches deep - it might affect the natural run-off during the springtime melts - creating a puddle near the foundation which has nowhere to go but down. If the homeowner monitors the sump pump activity
- it will provide a good time to examine all the various basement wetness causes - hence solutions. As suggested - foundation grading is a common culprit. A couple times over the years when I've seen some winter puddling near my foundation - I've hacked a small run-off trench into the ice with a pick-ax, just in case. John T.
I thought about that and it is possible. The ground right next to the foundation may not be freezing for the first 6 to 12 inches allowing the melt to seep rather than run down a path. Not sure if just grading would cure that though, some sort of waterproofing may be required.
I knew that was going to be your next question, but I think it's near impossible for online help with that. You really need someone knowledgeable to take a first hand look.
I had water issues in my current house so I looked at a lot of causes and cures. Bad gutters, grading issues, sump pump placement and depth, lots of things could come into play. In my case I had a french drain installed in an existing basement. No more water problems.
If your water table elevates during a thaw, the water can enter the house right up through the slab. That's what I had, puddles forming right in the middle of the room. It looked to me like the previous owner tried to solve the problem with gutter outflow directed into a dry well. He also tried Drylock water proof paint. That may have helped but heavy, sustained rains still caused water to accumulate.
The eaves troughs direct rainfall from the roof away, and thawied ground lets water spak away - frozen ground does not let the water get away, and water pools against the foundation where there is no frost due to poorly insulated foundation. Common problem. grade away from the house and very good chance the problem goes away.
h it a vinyl tiles. I removed both of them. I am not sure what the floor is made from. Not sure if it is cement of something else. My house was build in 1926.
cement or something else). Also any recommendation how to keep it nice. Any material I can put it to clean it, make it better looking, shining etc. I had to remove both the carpet and vinyl because of the water.
curious as to
I think we may have a winner here. It makes sense.
h it a vinyl tiles. I removed both of them. I am not sure what the floor is made from. Not sure if it is cement of something else. My house was build in 1926.
cement or something else). Also any recommendation how to keep it nice. Any material I can put it to clean it, make it better looking, shining etc. I had to remove both the carpet and vinyl because of the water.
curious as to
I'd also add that she should go outside during a heavy rain and actually see what's happening with the water. I've been surprised to find that there is a problem with what looked fine just by observation when it's not raining. In my case, it was a piece of corrugated pipe shoved onto one of the leaders. When it rained heavy, the water managed to come out th e top of it, right at the foundation.
My thought was about the timing. A heavy rain could fall into ground that isn't saturated. It could evaporate and soak in before the next one hits. Snow runoff could sit for weeks without much chance to evaporate or soak into frozen ground.
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