Best underlayment for basement carpet
Davo304
| Posted in Construction Techniques on
A friend of mine is going to carpet his basement. He was going to use regular carpet padding and then put his carpet on top of this. Someone ( an HVAC guy) told him to instead use a reflective “bubble wrap” type product. I always thought Homosote was used in these situations.
SOOOO, what is best recommended carpet padding for this type of installation. The floor is 6 inch thick concrete and has always been “bone dry.” Did the “tape plastic to floor test,” and I repeat, floor is “bone dry.”
What say ya’all?
Thanks.
Davo
Replies
Did the "tape plastic to floor test," and I repeat, floor is "bone dry."
Is that all you did? Give the entire floor a good, hard look. Follow the hairline cracks and look for signs of seepeage up through the cracks (small stains along them.) Same witht he walls.
There is at least a theoretical concern that by insulating the floor, you're increasing the chance of condensation: the carpeting keeps the concrete cooler: some water vapor will find it's way to the concrete and condense, mold may grow, is the line of thought.
OTOH, think of the zillion basements with carpeting and without piles of bodies!
"follow the hairline cracks and look for signs of seepage"
Answer: There are no cracks or seepage. Home is 10 years old, and built solid...repeat, bone dry.
Now, how about some answers on types of padding?
Davo
Type of padding? Sorry, I don't have clue as to what's best.
Padding? That's a question. Would you want 6 mil poly under the padding?Half of good living is staying out of bad situations.
Forget the primal scream, just Roar!
NO HOMESOTE! BEEN DOING FLOOD RESTORATION FOR SOME TIME. MAY NOT HAPPEN NOW OR FIVE YEARS BUT THAT FLOOR WILL GET WET AT SOME POINT I DON'T CARE HOW DRY IT'S BEEN.DO YOURSELF A FAVOR RAISE THE FLOOR THEN USE A GOOD FOIL BACKED PAD. THINK AHEAD AND DON'T FOOL YOURSELF
Have your friend check with some local flooring stores. See what they recomend.
Some days and customers, it seems that all I do is spend all my time correcting bad advice. It usually comes from cross trade advisors like this or other DIYs acting as experts without understanding what they are talking about.
I can't think of a single reason for using the astrofoil or reflectix bubble wrap to walk on. It will be incredibly noisy and eventually all those little bubbles will be popped and he won't have any padding value left. This is not a recommended application from the manufacturers and the HVAC guy is not a carpet expert. He needs to stick to what he does know and not try any rocket designs or we'll all be ducking...
An HVAC guy for carpet advice, sheesh!
What do they use astrofoil or reflectix bubble wrap for?
Tom
It's a double bubble wrap in sheets about five feet wide or sized to fit between rafters and joists. One place it sees use here is where you've got a basement/crawl with a rubble foundation. These are very hard to work with since they are so uneven. Stapled to the base of the sill and hanging down, it helps prevent drafts and reflects ionterior heat away from being lost through the stone mass.
It is recommended more for attics, to reflect the suns heat away, tho that will decrease the life of the asphalt shingles by keeping them hotter and cooking the asphalt.
I've used it for temporary doors on jobs in winter instead of plastic dangling over an openning
Excellence is its own reward!
Unless I missed it I don't see any mention of the Delta (MS?) product. It is a dimpled plastic sheet. It is both a mositure barrier and forms a (small) insulation layer.
I just saw an ad in the current JLC for a T&G plywood (squares I think) that came with the Delta or similar product attached.
Davo,
I can tell you what I am going to do to carpet my basement: (slab on grade) 3/4" rigid foam insulation with no foil facing, sleepers, 3/4" plywood decking, and then premium carpet padding/carpet on top.
Piffin, Tim, Sawheeb,....
Thank you all for your inputs. I agree with you Piffin, an HVAC guy got no business with carpeting, but he put his 2 cents in the picture and got their attention. Tim, I know what you are doing will work just fine, but these folks don't want to go to all that trouble .
Sawheeb, I agree with ya about getting the advice from a carpet installer...which is what I suggested they try....but, who knows?
Again, thank you one and all.
Davo
I wouldnt carpet a basement at all! Ceramic floor tile is the way to go.
Tim Mooney
>> Ceramic floor tile is the way to go.
Unless you like to walk around barefoot.
I generally prefer adjusting the house for my comfort over adjusting my behavior to fit the house. Sometimes adjusting the house costs too much, in time, money, or hassle, but that's always my first choice.