If your house is hooked up to a municipal water supply, invest in a water-powered backup pump that's juiced by pressure in the supply line. Symptoms of this are water coming up through cracks in the basement concrete floor or water coming in at multiple locations. Improper installation can occur on the floor or the walls of the house. If droplets form on top, your basement needs dehumidifying. This isolates the drywall from the joists, eliminating vibration and thus minimizing sound travel. An epoxy-coated basement floor is one of the best ways to maintain and preserve your space. Sliding doors and movable screens can be closed for privacy as needed. This Old House general contractor Tom Silva shows how to super-insulate an attic. Icicles may be pretty but they can tear off gutters, loosen shingles, and cause water to back up into your house. Owens Corning makes the best known of these systems. Top them with grates or plastic covers so that people can't fall in, but make sure the toppers can be removed easily by a young child to ensure emergency egress. Then drywall is attached to integrated strips, resulting in a thinner wall. Look across them (perpendicular to their direction) to see if any are out of line. How it's done: It's the tried-and-true traditional method: A vapor barrier and rigid-foam insulation are laid over foundation walls, followed by a stud frame and drywall. If droplets form on top, your basement needs dehumidifying. Ceramic tiles come in a wide variety of shapes, sizes, finishes and colors, which make this type of flooring easily compatible with almost any design style. Ceiling tiles have gotten a huge face-lift in recent years, so your basement need not look like a bland boardroom. Because of air that's trapped inside the cells of the cork, cork flooring is also soft and forgiving, so it's perfect for families with young children or those who just prefer to reduce the amount of vibration and noise in the home. Pro2ProTip: Make sure temperatures stay toasty. To soundproof your basement ceiling, add fiberglass batts without a vapor barrier between the joists. 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With more options to choose from than many other floor coverings offer, carpet is still the principal choice for flooring in the home. A home warranty may help. Bamboo is also fire-resistant, comes in easy-to-install planks and is 27 percent harder than Northern red oak and 13 percent harder than hard maple. It will help prevent the diffusion of water into your basement. Here’s our bottom-line advice for turning this underutilized space into a place you’ll be eager to spend time in. For a small pool table (3½ feet by 7 feet), you need a clear space at least 11½ feet wide by 14½ feet long to play comfortably—if you buy the shortest cues, that is. Wall-to-wall carpet is a good choice to deaden sound in a play area. If any are shorter than 7 inches, you can remove the treads and add spacers to pad them out as you go up. HomeLight Blog (888) 998-1909 Call us. Epoxies are also an excellent solution for a high-traffic basement, such as one that is used as a recreation area or workshop. Vapor Barrier – Most basement waterproofing paint products serve as an excellent vapor barrier. Use an awl to probe for rot and insect damage in floor joists, rim and header joists, the sill plate, and wood-framed windows. All rights reserved. Functional spaces need not be fancy, but they shouldn’t be an afterthought. Whether you’re moving equipment or boxing it in, heed the advice of TOH plumbing and heating expert Richard Trethewey: “Make sure a real human being can fit around mechanicals for upkeep.” Plan on 2 to 3 feet of clearance. Wait until the epoxy has fully dried before installing a new floor. Wait until the epoxy has fully dried before installing a new floor. Join the party! Because basement floors are poured after the walls are poured, the concrete where they meet doesn’t always bond completely—and this is a common spot for a crack to appear when the house settles. Make a narrow room (like this one, only 7½ feet wide) feel snug, not suffocating. The telltale signs of basement moisture are efflorescence ("white powder") and musty odors. Install diverters to send gutter water at least 10 feet from the foundation. Here's a quick do-it-yourself guide. Looking for help with repairs around your home? Check your gaming platform for recommended clearances around and above the console. The concrete is already there, so it doesn’t take a ton of work to create a nice looking floor. Try USG’s Sheetrock Brand Mold Tough Gypsum Panels or Georgia-Pacific’s nonpaper-faced DensArmor Plus High-Performance Interior Panels. Hardwood floors are a beautiful addition to a finished basement, but they can also allow for moisture retention and water damage. Another benefit of ceramic floor tiles is that it's finished with a durable glaze. Unlike linoleum, marmoleum is resistant to dust and dirt, making it allergen-free, and doesn't have a strong odor. Tom Silva's fix: Measure the rise of each step. InSoFast panels have labor-saving chases for wiring and back-side channels for drainage. About. A basement floor sealer is ideal for preventing water damage. Treat it just as you would any of the rooms aboveground, and it might just become the most popular spot in the house—for a lot less cash than adding on. This is the primary benefit of waterproof paint. A tile floor in a basement allows for the easy cleanup and durability that are necessities for many homeowners when finishing a basement. Minor leaks may not need the attention of a pro. The six basic styles of carpet are textured, saxony, frieze, cable, looped, and cut and loop. Both got the highest scores on a standard lab test for mold resistance. If you have an older house within town and the house has a basement with no sump pump, it’s likely the perimeter foundation drain system connects directly into the city storm sewer system. Check floor joists for sagging by climbing a ladder until you're nearly eye level with the underside of the joists. The This Old House Reviews team evaluated the best portable generators on the market to help you make a smart purchase. Use an awl to probe for rot and insect damage in floor joists, rim and header joists, the sill plate, and wood-framed windows. It's best to have both a battery backup for your main pump, in case of a power outage, and a second pump, in case the first one gives out. Bedrooms need a window for egress, so they'll need to be located at the perimeter. Because it can duplicate the look of hardwood, natural stone and many other types of flooring, laminate is a great option for those on a budget who still desire an upscale look.

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