Concrete is porous. It needs to breathe. Temperatures tend to fluctuate quite dramatically in basements which leads to prime conditions for moisture accumulation in a pad just thrown down on top of the concrete subfloor. You want to protect your basement flooring as best as possible and this simply ain’t doing it.

A good basement flooring preparation alternative is the DRIcore Subfloor System. DRIcore was made for cold, damp environments like basements. The panels are manufactured with a high density polyethylene moisture barrier. This raises the subfloor basement flooring 1/4 inch away from the cold concrete. The panels are also topped with a 5/8 inch random wafer board. Because the panels are raised from the surface, it allow the concrete to breathe and allow for moisture seepage to channel freely under the subfloor. The panels come in 7/8″X2′X2′ squares and carry a 25 year manufacturer warranty.

In fact, this basement flooring preparation method is so easy it’s definitely a do it yourself project. It installs via a simple tongue and groove edge just like putting a puzzle together. The panels are easily trimmed and cut via either a circular saw or jigsaw. The system is made to “float” on your concrete floor so there is no gluing and typically its not even necessary to seal the concrete before installation. DRIcore even boasts that it will take on average 50%-60% less time to install than other conventional methods.

In basement flooring preparation, you want assurance that the time and money involved is going to be a worthwhile investment so it’s best to protect what you want to do. DRIcore is an excellent basement flooring preparation product that will do this, and I definitely like that the company has a 25 year warranty on the materials they produce. There are other “tiled” basement flooring preparation systems on the market today, but I prefer DRIcore.

An upfront basement flooring preparation strategy is critical even if you feel like you don’t have wet basement. Humid weather can run rampant and destroy valuable basement flooring. Not only that, who’d want to put the effort and work into something only to see it be destroyed a little more everyday. Humidity a killer, because it causes condensation that forms from the cool floor surface temperatures. A good basement flooring preparation strategy will help you in resolving that musty basement smell.

A method that’s gaining quite a lot of attention for basement flooring preparation is the use of a rigid extruded polystyrene foam board as a basement foam board for quite a few different reasons. First, their extruded skin and closed cell structure provides for outstanding moisture resistance. They are strong because the foam board has been compacted producing very high compressive strength. Extruded polystyrene foam board makes for an excellent polystyrene foam subfloor, is relatively easy to work with, and it provides for excellent thermal performance that offers maximum insulating value. This makes it highly suitable for most common residential and commercial applications as well as for basement flooring preparation.

To begin with this basement flooring preparation method, you will need to start with 1.5 or 2 inch thick extruded polystyrene foam board. Get enough to cover your entire basement floor. They come in 4 foot by 8 foot sheets and depending on the brand and rating you get can range anywhere from $15-$30 a piece with an average floating around the $20 range. Shape that in over your concrete into your basement flooring. You want a good tight fit or else you will probably need to tuck tape all the seams. Then you can recreate your subfloor over the top of this foam board with a minimum of 5/8 inch plywood. Lay the plywood down directly on top of the foam board. Now go back and pre-drill some holes through it all into the concrete so you will be able to secure the entire basement flooring. Next, go back to the holes and secure the subfloor basement flooring to the concrete using some good concrete screws and viola, you’ve just installed an envious and dry subfloor ready to tackle all your basement flooring needs. This subfloor will be able to handle anything from carpet flooring to hardwoods to pretty much anything you can throw at it.

This is one basement flooring preparation project that any do-it-yourself handy person can tackle. Stay tuned as Basement Flooring Guide will present another alternative method to subfloor your basement if this one didn’t suit your fancy.