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I am considering retrofitting radiant floor heating in my 1400 sf basement of my house here in the northwest that was built in 1937. The basement is currently completely unfinished other than a small section of lino tiles that probably contain asbestos and that I plan to leave in place. The existing floor is concrete of unknown thickness, and is about 4′ below ground level. I plan to pour another concrete slab on top of the current basement floor, with the radiant heating tubes tied to a metal mesh that will be covered by the concrete. Finished floor will consist of a couple layers of 5/8 plywood floating on top of the radiant slab, with facenailed 1 3/4″ Oak strip flooring in most areas, and with tile on top in other areas. Headroom is not an issue.
My questions are what if anything should I do about a vapor barrier and insulation on top of the existing concrete? Should I put 6 mil poly down first, then an inch of polystyrene before pouring the radiant slab? Should I frame the walls in before or after the pour? If I do it before, it seems to me that I don’t want to put 2×4 plates directly on the existing concrete floor without a vapor barrier. The basement is pretty dry right now, but I have no idea where the water table is.
Thanks,
Dan
Replies
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I am considering retrofitting radiant floor heating in my 1400 sf basement of my house here in the northwest that was built in 1937. The basement is currently completely unfinished other than a small section of lino tiles that probably contain asbestos and that I plan to leave in place. The existing floor is concrete of unknown thickness, and is about 4' below ground level. I plan to pour another concrete slab on top of the current basement floor, with the radiant heating tubes tied to a metal mesh that will be covered by the concrete. Finished floor will consist of a couple layers of 5/8 plywood floating on top of the radiant slab, with facenailed 1 3/4" Oak strip flooring in most areas, and with tile on top in other areas. Headroom is not an issue.
My questions are what if anything should I do about a vapor barrier and insulation on top of the existing concrete? Should I put 6 mil poly down first, then an inch of polystyrene before pouring the radiant slab? Should I frame the walls in before or after the pour? If I do it before, it seems to me that I don't want to put 2x4 plates directly on the existing concrete floor without a vapor barrier. The basement is pretty dry right now, but I have no idea where the water table is.
Thanks,
Dan