Before you can start installing an insulated floating subfloor in your basement, the first thing that you are going to have to do is clean it out if you’ve got a bunch of junk down there. There could be a ton of different reasons to put down a subfloor, but one of the best reasons for this type is to help keep your basement warmer when you happen to be below-grade and to protect your finished basement floor.

If you’ve got a concrete basement slab or even a finished floor that tends to get really cold, this could be an excellent solution. But to take full advantage of it and make the space warmer, you really need to make sure that you have already insulated the walls and ceiling as well if needed.

Of course, if you already have a finished floor and want to do this project, you are going to need to remove that first. If it’s reusable, great. If not, you may need to keep in mind that you’ll need another flooring material to go on top of this one once it’s finished before you decide to tackle this project.

Once you’ve gotten all the “stuff” out from the basement, just make sure that you have cleaned and swept the floors as well. Then you are ready to start putting down the subfloor.

The subfloor system that we are going to talk about using down in your basement today is from DRICore. Although it’s a bit on the pricey side, I’m really impressed with this product. For one, this subfloor has a patented moisture barrier built right into it and will protect floors, furniture and electronics from potential water seepage in a wet basement. Plus, they are dead simple to install making for a perfect DIY insulating and waterproofing solution for your basement.

The product itself is actually made like engineered wood flooring with a whole lot of pressure compressing a bunch of wood chips together. After wards, it’s all sealed up tight with a waterproof glue. For an extra layer of protection, there is a raised polyethylene moisture barrier that allows for any condensation or moisture that’s captured underneath to dry adequately and without harm to those items on top of it.

One thing to keep in mind though, just like any other flooring material, you need to let the panels acclimate in the room for at least 24 hours before you start working with it. Oh, that’s right, forgot to tell you that they come in panels that are easy to work with and approximately 2-foot square. The panels actually lock together like regular tongue and groove flooring to make for easy installation with no glue required.

This particular system is called a floating subfloor system because it doesn’t actually get attached to the concrete with glue or nails. It just sort of “floats” on top of the concrete. This is actually really good in this type of environment because it allows for the entire floor to contract and expand with temperature/moisture changes.

Another thing to keep in mind is you will need to use spacers around the walls like you would with laminate basement flooring. A quarter inch gap is really all you need. That gap is what gives the subfloor some of it’s durability allowing it to expand as needed. Plus, if your concrete floor isn’t as level as it should be, these panels come with shims designed to fit right over a portion of the moisture barrier panel to help level it all out. You’ll be able to tell where you need them by simply sliding one panel up to the next and see if there is a gap where they are supposed to come together.

Simply start in the furthest corner with the longest wall and begin piecing together the first row. Use a wood block and a hammer on the end of the second pieces to tap the boards together to fit in the grooves. When you get to the end of the first row, you’ll likely need to make a cut to a full panel for it to fit correctly. Just measure and mark the appropriate distance.

A table saw works great when needing to cut a DRICore subfloor panel. But if you don’t have a table saw, a hand held circular saw will work just as good. I personally don’t like to use jigsaws for this cut but if that’s all you got, it’ll work too. I save the jigsaws for more intricate corner/pole notch cutting, not when I’m cutting the piece basically in half.

Once you have your cut piece, it should just drop right in place. However, now you got a bit of problem getting the two pieces to fit together snuggly in the tongue and groove. Now’s the time for your first flooring trick. When you do a job like this, you’ll find that a tool called a pull bar quickly becomes one of your best friends. This particular one is a Sinclair pull bar that has a wide tail block and welded hammering area that will let you adjust and compress the panels in the groove quite easily.

All you have to do once the piece is in place is slip the tail block into the space between the wall and the panel with the hammer block laying across the piece you want to secure. Take your hammer and give it a few taps until the joints come together cleanly and then simply remove the pull bar.

But what about that other piece that was cut? Do you throw it away? Absolutely not, that’s the piece you can start with on the second row. No need to waste it here. Plus it gives you a bit of strength and security to your subfloor as well because using this piece allows you to stagger (or overlap) the panels so the seams aren’t at the same place. Ideally, you’d like the second row of seam’s to fall in the middle of the panels from the first row.

Now that you’ve got the hang of it, just continue building and cutting row after row until you have a finished floating basement subfloor. This system is perfect for finishing any basement but even better if you have concerns due to a low ceiling. It is a raised system, but it’s about half the height of a conventional subfloor coming in at about 7/8ths of an inch in thickness.

Here’s what I like about this insulated floating subfloor:

• You get a built in vapor barrier for protection.
• You get a finished surface that’s ideal for basement carpet, laminate, vinyl plank basement flooring, engineered hardwood basement floors and even basement tile.
• You get some insulating value as the floor is raised off the cold concrete slab.
• You get a professionally quality subfloor that’s do-it-yourself friendly and goes in quickly.

Here’s what I don’t like about this subfloor: cost. Period. That’s it. It’s simply the cost of the system. You’ll end up likely paying as much, if not more depending on what you use for the finished floor as you would for the subfloor. The panels cost about $6 each. So if you have about a 1000 square foot basement, you are going to need an estimated 303 panels and at that price you are looking at around $1818. However, if you can swing it, this floating subfloor system is definitely worth it for a basement.

Problems with your basement? Is it nothing more than a cold, damp, unfinished storage room? Don’t feel like you are the only one as you probably have a lot more in common with other homeowners than you imagine when it pertains to your basement. General rule of thumb is if it’s cold and damp it’s the concrete. Concrete is great and is the best standard when it comes to foundations, but when it comes to actual flooring unless you plan on spending the time and money finishing your concrete floor to make it sealed and shine, it has one inherent quality that’s not good. It’s porous. If a flooring material is installed directly over concrete in a basement it will leave it feeling cold and damp. It doesn’t matter what you choose, whether it’s tile, laminates or even carpet, if you install it directly on concrete it will feel cold and have the possibility of getting damp.

If you really think about it that’s a ton of space going to waste in your home. If you have an average size basement, they can normally take up from a one-third to one-half of the entire space in your home. You should really be able to make the most of that space. A home office maybe? A guest suite for the in-laws? Maybe that entertainment or home theatre where you and the guys can escape and watch the Super Bowl or the family to retreat and see the latest flick. Well, now you can and you can do it in comfort too with the ability to install an OSB floating basement subfloor. These subfloors were created with the weekend handyman in mind as you’ll soon see in a typical question/answer type format.

Question: What is a floating subfloor
Answer: Well, basically its a floor that goes over the concrete and under the finished flooring you are planning to install. They are very easy to assemble and you can knock it out during a day on the weekend. They come in a standard two-foot by two-foot section and are put together using a tongue and groove panel setting (much like the tongue and groove you’ll find on engineered flooring or laminate flooring). It’s said to be “floating” because it is not permanently connected to the concrete floor via nails, screws or glue. It just sits on top of the floor.

The subfloor though has one thing that really sets it apart. The OSB (or could be plywood) portion of the subfloor sits atop a waterproof, corrugated underlayment. This truly never lets the wood hit the concrete. The corrugated portion of the underlayment creates an air gap just above the concrete and below the OSB flooring. When they are all placed together and “locked” in tight with the tongue and groove, it creates a generous thermal layer that acts like insulation for the floors and will warm them up. Some products even state that it could raise the temperature of the flooring material installed on top of them as much as ten degrees.

Not only that, because they are corrugated and raised off the concrete, it actually acts like a moisture barrier because the wood doesn’t touch the concrete. This keeps it dry from any of the natural water moisture that typically comes through concrete foundations, especially sub-level foundations. This will also allow any water that accumulates here to easily evaporate or drain and highly reduce that stinky, musty smell and any mold that may grow. Because of this kind of protection provided you could easily choose to install most flooring choices if you use this type of system in your basement.

A typical floating subfloor has a corrugated bottom and an OSB or plywood topside.

Question: How does a floating subfloor benefit my basement
Answer: One word, durability. This floating subfloor system is tough. As noted above and due to the nature of their construction, they are built to withstand a lot of the turmoil and mishaps that can regularly occur to a basement concrete floor. Plus, you don’t have to worry about what you are going to have on top of it as it can withstand the weight of pool tables, refrigerators, workout systems so you can feel free to have the basement you really want. Not only that they are an ideal foundation for basically any type of floating floor you might want to install as a finished product from laminate flooring, engineered flooring, cork flooring, vinyl flooring and even hardwood flooring and carpet. You will want to check with the manufacturer of the specific brand that you choose but most warranty against any type of warping or splitting. One of the better brands available on the market today is the DriCORE(tm) system. One of the big benefits touted by this system for all you do-it-yourselfers out there is that this DIY subfloor can be done in one days time and with the basic household tools that most handymen should already have so there’s no specialized equipment to buy. Just plan your layout and start fitting the pieces of the subfloor system into place by tapping them together. Just remember to use a wood block or something as the cushion when tapping the subfloor pieces together.

Question: How do you install a floating subfloor?
Answer: Well, one of the first things that you don’t want to do is simply go out and get a subfloor system and start to immediately install it especially if this is for a basement application. Go get the material and store it in the room where it’s going to be installed for at least twenty four hours so it can get acclimated to where it’s going to be. I know, sounds strange, but this will let the moisture content of the material adjust to the room it’s going to be in so you won’t have problems the day after you install the subfloor. While the subfloor is climatizing, you can take the opportunity to shore up the foundation in any problem areas that you might have. If you have a seepage problem in your basement definitely fix it now. Do the standard moisture checks using the plastic sheeting and tape and fix it all up right. If moisture collects or beads up your best bet would be to seal it with a concrete sealer prior to installing the subfloor. The last step in prepping the slab for subfloor installation is to simply sweep or vacuum up all the dust and debris that may be present to ensure you are working with a semi-smooth surface. Don’t worry if the basement floor is not completely level as the subfloor system should come with shims you can use for leveling during install. Any more than a quarter inch though and you could have a problem that would need correcting via some kind of leveling compound. The shims will correct an unlevel basement floor within that range. As with any type of floating floor installation you will need to account for a quarter inch gap around all walls and columns in the room for expansion. You can accomplish this by either snapping a chalk line or even better using some quarter inch strapping pieces butted up against the walls and wherever else needed. This way is probably the easiest method to use to acquire that needed expansion gap.

After that, start off placing the panel down in your starting point (most likely should be a corner of the room), align the next one and tap it into place using a block of wood and a hammer. Be sure to use the wood block to cover the panel where you will be hammering as it will force even pressure and not damage the panels when setting the tongue and groove pieces. You’ll want to make sure that they fit well and are not loose so the don’t separate later. Take your time and set the first rows good as that sets the mold for the rest of your subfloor installation. As you work your way down the rows you are going to want to stagger the panels so the middle seams don’t line up. Every other row should align in the middle with the previous rows panels. This will lock the panels in place.

Question: What’s the best way to plan a floating subfloor layout?
Answer: First thing you need to keep in mind here is that although the walls may look square, all walls are not created equal. Check to see that the corner you plan to start with is square. You can use a common framing square to see if it’s true or not. If it’ not then just keep in mind that you’ll be trimming the edge closest to the wall for the first row of subfloor. This will keep the following rows square in comparison. Some things to keep in mind while you are planning, rows should be staggered and no edge should be less than six inches. Knowing this because you are working with a square subfloor system, its no different than if you were doing a tiling job. Get the measurements of the room and divide it by the width of the panels. Sometimes it’s best as I’m a typical strong back/weak mind type person to write it all down and actually sketch out the layout somewhere. Once that’s all done and finalized take a chalk line and snap the grids for your subfloor installation.

Question: What sort of tools do I need to install a floating subfloor?

• leveling kit(if needed)
• square
• pry bar
• hammer or rubber mallet
• circular saw
• jig saw or rotozip
• chalk line
• tape measure
• pencil for marking
• dust mask and safety googles for cutting