Axiom Home Page Forums General Discussion Home Theater Carpeting in Basement for Home Theater

i also have seen the 2x2 subfloor panels at the home depot,they look like a great idea,the plastic bottom wont absorb any moisture and will allow much needed circulation.when the spring thaw hits up there your ground is extremely wet,and even though you havent seen water in your basement small amounts may be there,direct contact with a vapor barrier can trap,even the smallest amounts moisture,and go undetected until it has already become a problem.if you have warm air heat and your ductwork is in the basement,it probably wouldnt be too much to have a hvac contractor add a supply and return run for you just for circulation purposes....as for sound,i cant say how differant it would be.but,you would probbably feel the subs a lot more ...good luck...ron

That's a really great idea. I'll have to keep that in mind when my time comes.

-Nick

The egg crate product you are talking about is Delta-FL, it is designed for use in sub floors particularly on cement floors, it goes down first the idea of the egg crate dimpling is to provide an airspace to allow any moisture that will collect under the sheet to dry out. If you put a plastic sheet down on the concrete you will have nothing but moisture problems, mold and mildew, as the plastic does not allow the concrete to breath and thus there is no where for the moisture to go. The sheet is not really designed to have the carpet underlay go on top of it. The load rating is not sufficient for this and you will collapse the dimples. It is supposed to be covered with floor sheeting first you can then put your underlay and carpet on top. You will now have a nice warm and dry floor with no mildew or mold problems.

Don’t know if this is really appropriate for you drmurray, if not just ignore…

Well since I’m not much of an audio/HT expert and can’t contribute much I’ll give my two cents worth here, as I’ve recently been through a damp basement. A good way of seeing if your basement has a moisture problem is to duct tape down squares of plastic on a number of areas on the foundation walls and floors. When the ground outside is good and wet check the “plastic pockets”. If you see moisture you’ve got a moisture problem… If your basement is damp you most likely have a drainage problem. Try getting the perimeter drains cleaned out this can make a big difference. Any attempt to fix a damp basement from the inside is pretty much futile. Hydrostatic pressure is a force to be reckoned with! You can try sealing the inside walls with a cement sealant which can help a bit but wont solve the problem. The only effective way of dealing with this is from the outside. Most older homes like mine have a perimeter drainage system that collects water from around the house when the ground water level rises to the level of the perimeter pipes and collects it way from the foundation. However, usually the down pipes from the roof feed the water from the roof into the perimeter drain where the water empties out into the surrounding ground around the foundation. It’s only when the ground water level reaches the level of the perimeter drain is it really ever carried away. What’s the whole point of this? Well likely 80% -> 90% of the moisture in the ground around the foundation is being collected by the roof and being deposited around the foundation, via the downpipes. Code where I am now stipulates two separate drainage systems, a perimeter drainage system and a closed system that only collects the water from the roof and carries it away from the house. Now, to do it right you could dig up the ground all around the house and put in a new system but that’ll cost you, and hardly worth it for anything but a new home. The quotes for my house were $20,000.00! I did it myself, but I’d never do it again. It’s back breaking work. IMHO a great compromise and a reasonable summer project is to simply put in a closed system that collects all the water from the roof and carries it away from the house. All that needs to be done is dig a couple feet below ground along the side of the house and lay sealed pipes that connect to the roof’s down pipes, and drain the system away from the house’s foundation. This way you’ll eliminate 80->90% of the water around your foundation and drastically improve ( if not fix ) your basements moisture problem with minimal effort and cost. Even to pay a contractor to do this would only be about 5K. That’s another 15K left to spend on audio / HT gear.

If your in the process of finishing a basement I noticed this product while looking for #705 compressed fibreglass paneling for sound dampening.

http://www.owenscorning.com/around/insulation/products/basementwall.asp

Hope this is of help, El

I wonder if anyone's used this in their basement yet. It seems like a good idea. I don't see any indication that I can buy it and do it myself though. Most unfortunate.

-Nick