I have a concrete slab basement that I want to put carpet in. This room used to be a garage, but I’m making it into a den. The floor has a huge dip (probably 4′ diameter) in the middle because there is an existing drain there in case it flooded.
Do I keep the drain? Do I need to level the floor out for the carpet? What will happen to carpet if I don’t? Could I just put extra padding under carpet to compensate for the dip instead?
Thanks.
Jeannie
Replies
Your location would help.
Garage floor drains are not common in every location.
Should be able to cap the drain with a solid cap then use a concrete surface repair product to level the floor in the area of the drain.
You'd better consider that the builder didn't put that drain there without a good reason.
You wrote this is a basement, former garage. That means it's below grade, and there is or was a garage-door opening which would tend to allow surface water to run down the driveway and into the garage.
Even if you build a new wall to close up the garage door opening, you will still have water running downhill to accumulate against it. If you don't install an exterior drain to allow that water to run off, it will eventually percolate through the wall and into your den.
That alone is bad enough, but if you block the drain you do have, you'll just make it worse.
I would approach this in two stages: First, install an exterior drain as noted above so that surface runoff won't accumulate against the new wall. Second, build a subfloor laid on sleepers on the slab, and lay your carpet on that. Leave the floor drain open and functional, but provide an access panel in the floor so that you can periodically flush it and fill the trap with water.
Dinosaur
How now, Mighty Sauron, that thou art not brought
low by this? For thine evil pales before that which
foolish men call Justice....
Or he could live somewhere that melting ice and snow off the car need a place to drain.
Yep, that could be. Certainly would be an issue here.
The OP hasn't filled in a profile, but he signs himself 'Jeannie' so I think he's a she...the same one who asked us about hanging a cab between studs.
Dinosaur
How now, Mighty Sauron, that thou art not broughtlow by this? For thine evil pales before that whichfoolish men call Justice....
Not here, we have to use sand drains. Hard to find too.
Sand drains better'n clay....
Dinosaur
How now, Mighty Sauron, that thou art not broughtlow by this? For thine evil pales before that whichfoolish men call Justice....
Since you'll be putting down carpet you can use any resurfacer product to fill in the dip. Just pick a product that is "rated" for the thickness of depression you have -- it'll be printed on the package. Clean the floor well before application.
For the drain I'd cover the drain with some sort of sticky rubber sheet like rubber flashing material (as an air seal) then cut out a circle of plywood or maybe just heavy corrugated cardboard wrapped in plastic and fit it over the drain. Then apply the resurfacer. Once the resurfacer has set, dig out the plywood piece and fill the hole with more resurfacer. That way, should the need ever arise, the drain can be found and opened.