This is my first post, I appreciate any help.
What would you recommend when remodeling a basement – by the way I did read the article in the last fine home building on using foam board etc.. some great ideas! My question is what to do when you have a floating slab. I guess you would fill the gap, will this have a negative impact on what is there today? What would you fill it with, maybe a rubber (poured in) that could be pulled out years later if plans change?
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To make sure of terminology - what are you meaning when you say floating slab?b Also. what gap are you referrring too?
I can make assumptions but these are variable things depending on area of countrty, age of house, and background of builder, etc.
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I am in the North East - Finger Lakes area. Sorry for the confusion, the slab is not attached to the foundation walls. There is a 2 inch gap around the perimeter filled. I am guessing the reason for this was so that settling on the foundation would not impact the floor. Also if the water table is up, and the sump pump were to stop, water would find its way up through this crack! It happened once after an ice storm - no power for a week. So I guess if I understood the reasons for a floating slab, I could then determine if filling the crack is a good idea? Thank you for your help!
Do you mean that the slab is just poured separately from the foundation and only reset on the gravel base under it.
Or are you in an area of expansive soils. And if so what is the construction technic. In some case where affect is mild they just allow the interior walls to "float".
In places with extreme problems the slab is supported from the foundation walls.
Bill, sorry for the delay, the computer was giving me problems trying to reply to you. I think your first response is correct -
Do you mean that the slab is just poured separately from the foundation and only reset on the gravel base under it.
I am in the NE - finger lakes region, the house has a 2 inch gap around the perimeter, I think the advantage is for water drainage?? The funny thing is that if the power went and it has in the past, the water finds it way through this crack into the basement - I took care of with battery back up. But anyway looking to refinish a part of the basement and this gap is the big question.
As you can tell from our queries, this size gap is uncommon. I can only presume that the builder was aware that he was building below the ground water level and left that size gap to function as a gutter of sorts. Given that - I would not fill it. There is actually a basement water control system advertised in trade journals, including the back pages of FHB, I think, that involves cutting a channel and capping it with a metal or PVC sghield to keep it clean. You might check into such a system.
But if you are finishing the cellar anyway, furring the wall in for insulation can be done with a space under it to keep out of the draingae channel - then you could use dricore panels on the floor to allow any rising water to find a way to drain...
Of course, you realize this advise is all from working in the blind and might be worthless, not seeing all the particulars.
BTW, I grew up in WNY - Wyoming county, so I know of wet clay soils and high spring groundwater. Great Grandfather had a cabin on Honeyoye and I had Hiawatha memorized once upon a time
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Honeoye Lake has great fishing. Thanks for the input.
You have a basement that is designed to resist damage from the possibility of flooding and to quickly drain if it does flood. Your basement has already had some intrusion and you expect more in the future.
I think you would be crazy to finish this basement. The mold issues alone should negate any attempt of this.
It does, however sound like a great place for a workshop.
I think you are right, would I call a structural engineer to look at this? I can not seem to find anyone who can tell me why - exactly
As Piffin pointed out in an earlier reply, it appears (from here anyway) that you have a basement in an area with a high water table. Groundwater bubbling up through a crack in the floor carries a great deal of pressure. Enough pressure to buckle your floor and possibly your foundation. The gap along the edge of your floor may have been put there to allow groundwater to come and go unimpeded and thus save your concrete from the pressure. Of course this is an assumption on my part. I may be wrong.
Could you get in contact with the builder of the home? You may find your answers there.