Dirt Floor in Basement
I am considering buying a wood frame house in Brooklyn with a dirt floor in the basement, but want to get an idea of just how much of an undertaking it would be to finish the floor. I have three questions: 1. Are there any alternatives to poured concrete? 2. About how much would it…
I am considering buying a wood frame house in Brooklyn with a dirt floor in the basement, but want to get an idea of just how much of an undertaking it would be to finish the floor. I have three questions: 1. Are there any alternatives to poured concrete? 2. About how much would it cost to put in a poured concrete floor in the basement? 3. Can you recommend any companies that would do this?
Thank you!
What architerrorist said…plastic vapor barrier, gravel and a pressure treated framed base with plywood and anything else on top you would like. You can do this to as much and as little space that you really need.
We got an evil flea infestation in a cellar with a dirt floor underneath wood. Our serene cats kept out of the infestation, staying upstairs, but not until they’d personally made it uninhabitable down there. I guess they won – cats 1, me 0.
The space had a bedroom and a studio below grade (illegal I know but it was SPACE). It was damp and sort of cold but outside of that one time with the fleas it was ok.
What happens with a Rat Slab? Rats burrow under your cellar floor? Sounds better than rats hanging out on your dirt floor but worse than no rats.
Do you know what a cheap 2†concrete floor is called? A Rat Slab … and it’s called that for a reason. All modern homes should have a sealed cellar floor in my opinion.
If you’re doing it right, use 4†of washed gravel, a vapor barrier and at least 4†of concrete. Wire mesh reinforcement and/or a mix additive called FiberMesh is also a good idea.
If you want to excavate, now’s the time to do it but call a structural engineer.
For concrete:
William P. Construction
917-337-0156
Expensive but worth it.
Re rocking out with the band: I’d imagine that dirt offers better acoustics and more sound absorption than concrete.
Thanks everyone. I should have specified what we want to be able to use the basement for. We don’t want to fully finish it, but want to be able to use it for my husband (a musician) to play music in with his friends and a place for my husband to go to watch tv. You know, a man cave. We also want to put a washer and dryer down there. I was thinking of just keeping the wood floor like thwackamole1 suggested, but just not sure why people don’t keep their basement dirt floors more often. It wouldn’t be a high traffic area. The basement is not too wet, we had an engineer inspect the house and he said the moisture was normal range. It is a basement, so it is probably wetter than the rest of the house which makes me reluctant to put organic materials down there like wood.
Gravel and a vapor barrior. Plywood frame and floor above it. Pouring concrete can be expensive and more complicated than you might think.
Why bother?
The dirt has been there for 150+ years; it is hard-packed and unlikely to go anywhere. It doesn’t crack, absorbs water, can be reasonably well swept, and is more comfortable to walk on than poured concrete.
Just leave a floor mat outside your cellar to brush your feet off, and you’ll be fine.
Why bother?
The dirt has been there for 150+ years; it is hard-packed and unlikely to go anywhere. It doesn’t crack, absorbs water, can be reasonably well swept, and is more comfortable to walk on than poured concrete.
Just leave a floor mat outside your cellar to brush your feet off, and you’ll be fine.