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I am a homeowner with four years of experience renovating (sometimes alone, sometimes with professional help) my home. I am finishing a 300 SF part of the basement for use as a playroom. The house was built in about 1910; it is in suburban New York City. The basement floor is concrete and about 6 feet below grade. The only water I have seen came during hurricane Floyd (supposedly a once-in-30-year-event). Although there were a couple of inches in the low corner of the basement (which has a floor drain into a drywell), the playroom area had only a damp floor.
I intend to put wall to wall commercial grade carpet down, and I think I would like to raise the floor, but am not happy with the cost and loss-of-headroom with a standard 2×4-on-the-flat with 3/4″ plywood on top. How little can I get away with ? 1x pine sleepers ? 3/8″ plywood ? 1/2″ OSB ? where should the vapor barrier go: below the sleepers or between the sleepers and the flooring ? how is the vapor barrier treated where it meets the wall ? how far up the wall should it go ? Thanks in advance for all answers.
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I am a homeowner with four years of experience renovating (sometimes alone, sometimes with professional help) my home. I am finishing a 300 SF part of the basement for use as a playroom. The house was built in about 1910; it is in suburban New York City. The basement floor is concrete and about 6 feet below grade. The only water I have seen came during hurricane Floyd (supposedly a once-in-30-year-event). Although there were a couple of inches in the low corner of the basement (which has a floor drain into a drywell), the playroom area had only a damp floor.
I intend to put wall to wall commercial grade carpet down, and I think I would like to raise the floor, but am not happy with the cost and loss-of-headroom with a standard 2x4-on-the-flat with 3/4" plywood on top. How little can I get away with ? 1x pine sleepers ? 3/8" plywood ? 1/2" OSB ? where should the vapor barrier go: below the sleepers or between the sleepers and the flooring ? how is the vapor barrier treated where it meets the wall ? how far up the wall should it go ? Thanks in advance for all answers.