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ComDet t1_iyb1ajv wrote

Reply to comment by Ad-Nauseam91 in Plan to frame part of basement and have a few questions by Ad-Nauseam91

I would also recommend doing epoxy floor, and treated wood at least for the bottom plate.

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more_than_just_ok t1_iyb4qhw wrote

Epoxy floor would look nice. I said I would do it on my floor 10 years ago, but it hasn't happened yet. You can do treated wood for the bottom plate in each wall, the other option, u/strongmans mentioned it, is sill gasket, basically 3.5 inch wide closed-cell foam, about 1/8" thick that comes in a roll that you put between the bottom plate and the floor. It's also used between the top of the foundation and the sill plate (or anywhere wood touches concrete) in most newer houses.

If you're building just a few walls yourself, spend the extra money and use 2.5 or 3 inch deck screws instead of nails (Robertson #2 head if you can get them in New England?) Very useful when you mess up and need to redo stuff, and you can hold the board with one hand, the drill in the other while the drill bit holds the screw in place.

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nightwing2000 t1_iybav2m wrote

I thought Robertson (the square hole screw heads) was more of a Canada thing?

Yes, my go to reference for construction, Holmes on Homes, says NEVER have bare untreated wood touching cement. It can absorb water from the cement.

You also have to consider the risk of basement leakage. Cracked foundation wall leaking, or rain/melt water buildup leaking in, may damage the bottom of your walls. Is this a risk? How good is the foundation drainage? Would you notice?

And, in much older houses, the concrete basement floor may not be particularly level. A raised wood subfloor allows you to level things so you can use tiles or carpet. But you may have a central floor drain, you may never notice if there's a water seepage until mold shows up, etc. Basement floods do more damage if you have to replace a raised floor. (I saw a Holmes episode where he used a floor leveler compound, like a very wet cement that leveled like water but hardened - to get rid of excessive slope. Don't block the drain. )

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Mego1989 t1_iyblhsf wrote

Self leveling underlayment/cement. It's neat stuff! Very messy and expensive though

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Doctor_Frasier_Crane t1_iycmpz5 wrote

I used 12-inch wide 6-mil poly under my basement walls and wrapped it up both sides and stapled it in place. Provides separation from the floor and some minor flood protection. I can get up to 6 inches of water on the floor and still have some protection for the studs.

I also have rolled dimple flooring underlay to provide separation and airflow under the vinyl plank flooring.

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Dire88 t1_iybaqxg wrote

Technically, you can skip PT on the bottom and sill plates if using sill guard. But the cost savings for non-PT aren't worth it imo.

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