basement floor.... ever heard of this????

Anonymous-0 · Nov 29, 2011

Hey, decided to go with the electric vent for the basement. Dug a hole and have a sump pump for ground water, and was gonna put gravel in to level the floor (ongoing project as time allows).... Anyway........Guy at the gravel pit says to get clay (can be had mostly dry and crumbly) mix it in a cement mixer with chopped straw and sawdust, then put in /pack it as a floor.... Says it will keep the moisture level better and not fluctuate daily with outside levels....

Wife's outside plants are guinnea pigs for the basement right now..... Forst year, there was so much moisture/fungus that they just turned white and died.... So far so good with the door open....

bjb in TX from Ne · Nov 29, 2011

The clay will pack tight and help slow the moisure from migrating, but if there is moisture underneith it, the water will leach through and the clay will be constantly wet and sticky. You should still put the sump in and a gravel or sand base to keep the clay "cap" drained.

Another future project would be to dig around the exterior walls and put drain tile around the base, seal the ?masonry/stone/brick? wall and back fill with sand/ gravel to keep the wall drained and dry as well.

Rick Kr · Nov 29, 2011

Not sure over there, but in Michigan the only time clay is dry would be July and August. And you are talking about a basement... Takes a long time to get the moisture out of clay. Especially in a damp basement.

I would be more inclined to use gravel, it should drain better. Water will go to the sump and the rest will evaporate. Clay will hold the water and not run as easy to the sump as your floor creates a sponge.

Just don't think clay is a good idea. I have been wrong before.

Rick

Anonymous-0 · Nov 29, 2011

The old floor is clay now..... Maybe just the sump amd gravel on top is the ticket then..... Much cheaper/easier too :roll:

paul · Nov 29, 2011

A biomass/clay mix will dry out & set up like concrete, is probably what they are talking about.

But, in a wet basement, I don't see it drying out & staying dry......

As mentioned, a gravel layer with drainage, and then the clay/biomass mix on top would work well to make a good floor, but just clay seems like it wouldn't work.

Are you dealing with humid air causing the moisture, or are you dealing with water table causing moisture to come up from the ground? Here in the upper midwest we deal with both, in spring the water table gets high, in late summer the temps get 90+ with 90+ humidity which condenses out badly in a basement....

--->Paul

jrh009 · Nov 29, 2011

No , No ,No. If you need a sump then you need a drainage layer to conduct ground water into the sump. If you can afford it you should install a layer of 6" of clear 3/4" stone. Over that a filter cloth and 4" of Gran A , then a 6 mil vapor barrier and then 4" of 3000 psi conc.

If this is too expensive then go to 6" of Gran B pit run over the native material. Then a 6 mil poly vapor barrier, then 4" of 3000 psi conc. if it is very wet you need to install a few runs of perf big O pipe in the granular material and into your sump. Taper the native material to the installation points of the sub drain pipe so that the ground water is collected by the pipe.

basement floor.... ever heard of this????

Anonymous-0

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bjb in TX from Ne

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Rick Kr

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Anonymous-0

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paul

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