Three Ways to Finish Your Basement Floor

Winter is almost here and we all know what that means: family time, cozy fires, beautiful snowy days, and cold basement floors. It is natural for the hard, concrete basement floor to be significantly colder in the winter months; therefore, it is natural to also be concerned about what type of flooring will help even out that temperature without the fear of mold or water damage. Below we discuss three options for basement floor finishing.

Bare Bones Approach

This method involves application of the flooring directly to the concrete basement floor. This provides no protection from water damage and no temperature control. Should there be any type of leak, it is likely that the flooring will need to be replaced and cause a lot of unnecessary spending.

Built-up Wood Subfloor Approach

One traditional method of insulation is a built-up wood subfloor. A series of 2x4 wooden planks are lined up along the basement floor; then, a thick layer of plywood subflooring is placed on top. The idea is to keep the subfloor off of the cold, damp concrete so the finished floor is warmer. The disadvantage to this technique is that water vapor will invariably seep up through the porous concrete into the plywood subflooring, which can cause mold growth and warping. If this happens, the flooring will have to be ripped up and replaced, causing a huge, expensive, and unnecessary mess.

When placing flooring in a basement, it is important not to use wood for a couple of reasons. First, the earth below the basement floor is damp. As stated before, the moisture from that soil will move up through the porous concrete, which, when exposed, evaporates into the air in the basement as expected. However, when it is covered by the plywood subfloor, the air beneath will maintain the moisture and can cause mold growth.

Another issue is how much space it takes up to build up a subfloor. A basement is generally shorter height than a traditional above ground room. Therefore, putting a slab of thick plywood on top of a 2x4 takes up several inches of precious space, especially once the finished floor is added into the equation.

Modern ThermalDry Insulated Floor Decking Approach

A modern technique for properly insulating a basement floor without taking up all the space and allowing for mold growth is the ThermalDry Insulated Floor Decking.

The decking is completely made up of inorganic materials that will not support mold growth. Also, it is an inch shorter than the traditional built-up subfloor, which is significant when the traditional height of a basement is considered. Because it is insulated, there will be a huge difference in the temperature of the finished floor, dissolving the worries of a cold basement floor and giving you peace of mind for the holidays.

If you would like more information about our ThermalDry Insulated Floor Decking system, click here. Get your free estimate today!