We're looking to finish our basement floor so the kids can have a playroom. Right now it's just plain concrete. We were told by one person to just put indoor/outdoor carpetting down, and glue it. Another person suggested using DirCore tiles and carpeting on top of that.
As far as the room goes, we currently have a crack in the wall, but we only get moisture in really heavy rains (once every couple of years). We were planning on sealing the crack regardless. It's not a damp basement otherwise.
Personally, I always figure a basement is due to flood, so I would never put anything down there that's expensive to replace. I've had 2 "100 year" rainfalls in the last 6 years. But you might live at an elevation where you just won't ever get your basement flooded. Even then, why glue the carpet down? Just lay it on the floor, it won't go anywhere. Stay flexible.
I have wall to wall carpeting in the basement. No padding, no tackless strips, no glue. It's not even indoor-outdoor, but inexpensive broadloom. It's just laying there and doesn't move or bunch up. .
Don't glue it !! I worked for a home builder and they would turn the garage of the model home in to the sales office for the job site.One garage had glued down berber. When the house sold I had to remove it. What a bitch ! I wouldn't want to rip out wet carpet from a basement.And if it was me I would fix the crack in the wall from outside. I tried all kinds of ways to stop leaks but the leak started on the outside so you fix it from outside. I put up with a leak for years until I dug down outside and fixed it on the outside. 20 years & not a drop. And I have a back flow preventer on my drain. It was allot of work but it was worth it.
I keep thinking about doing ours - one of those projects that keeps getting pushed back by other things. I can never decide whether to insulate first or not.
As someone else, test first with a bit of plastic sheet. Ours is pretty good - but there's one spot where too separate slab sections meet that were dry in previous years and have now started showing moisture (it's been wetter this year than past years).
I think I'll essentially "tank" the rooms down there with a vapour barrier and then studwork/insulation over the top, and add a few ventilation spots on the external walls.
Our north wall is like that - it's on the high side of a natural slope, so moisture in the ground tends to collect outside against that wall. My plan is to put an internal air gap and moisture barrier on the inside of that wall, and a drainage channel along the floor internally, leading to the sump pump (needed in order to put the washer down there anyway). It's overkill really, but I'd rather do it for peace of mind; I'd rather that than have to later dig through the internal wall that I plan to put up, just to add more sealing to the concrete wall beyond.
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