Flood Friendly Basement Flooring

[David]

Hello Everyone, I have a 1920s home in the rainy northwest I've recently purchased, and from the water staining on the drywall in the basement, we obviously have a history of flooding. We had about 1/2 inch last winter after about a week of good rain and one day of really heavy rain. I put in a sump pump which I think will handle any future flooding, but of course, you never know until it happens. Anyway, I'm wanting to finish out the rest of the basement with new drywall and put in some flooring instead of the old mostly unlevel and cracked but still solid concrete floor. I of course don't want to use carpet, but what would be the most "flooding friendly" flooring product I could use? I just don't want to have to tear whatever I put in back out if its damaged from some future flood. How about ceramic tile or linoleum? Would these stand up to up to 1 inch of water. I'm also going to leave a 1 inch gap between the floor and my new drywall, maybe with a rubber baseboard to keep water from wicking up into the new drywall if it does in fact flood again. Any suggestions on the wall or flooring? Thanks, David

[Roger]

I of course don't want to use carpet, but what would be the most

Linoleum - no, except for very short flood events. I would think quarry tile or ceramic tile would work, if the floor is first leveled with concrete,, and thinset mortar, not mastic, be used to attach the tiles. Go to a good flooring and tile shop for additional advice. I like your idea of having a gap below the wall sheetrock, but I would make it a full 3-4 inches, and buy appropriate resin or rubber baseboard to cover the gap.

[William Deans]

fiber-cement tiles?

[default]

Tile would work, they line pools with it, after all. So would poured epoxy. wood planking would be ok, if you're willing to go with a weathered look like a boat-deck instead of the glossy-plastic look of modern oak livingrooms, you just have to be prompt and aggressive about drying it out again. Astroturf or indoor/outdoor carpet would survive, depending on what contaminants your floodwater has. (if it's sewage, forget the wood and the carpet). And area rugs made of all-synthetic fiber (poly or nylon) can be taken outside, hosed down, dried off, and put back.

--Goedjn

[Chet Hayes]

I guess I have a slightly different take on this. A basement that has a history of flooding is a poor candidate to finish into anything, regardless of what kind of floor you try to put down, without first fixing whatever the problem is. I'd spend money on that before I did anything else. And it's very unlikely just adding a sump pump is going to fix it.

[Joe Bobst]

Just paint the floor with epoxy and wait a few years to see how your flood control measures are working, then go for something more elaborate. Good luck.

Joe

[Dave Mitton]

I've seen this material at Home Depot, might be a bit pricy, but it's a flooring panelling system, that consists of tiles that space a couple inches off the floor. A formed plastic layer stands a chipboard wooden floor out of potential water and provides room for it to drain.

Dave.

[e-mail] (David) wrote:

[David]

The major point of the water entry (say 98%) is from the basement garage. The driveway slopes down into the basement for a one car garage, so the only real water intrustion point is from the driveway sending water under the garage door. The original drainage system was a 1 inch deep trench that diverts water that comes under the door to the side of the garage and foundation wall where the trench continues for a few feet and empties into a drain in the floor. The floor drain is well, about 80 years old, so needless to say, doesn't drain very well. I think a sump pump installed in the current drain's position and pumping the water into the back yard would fix the problem as the water is not entering the basement through any of the other walls. Basically, if I can stop the water at that one point, I shouldn't have any future flooding problems (at least I hope). Any other advise or recommendations on dealing with the water would be appreciated though. Thanks everyone, David