finishing basement floor question

Posted by mr jones on June 6, 2008, 1:27 pm

poured concrete basement (walls & floor).

saw other thread here w/gentleman asking questions
about subfloors. out of courtesy, did not want to
"hijack" the thread.

question, instead of laying down a subfloor of wood,
tile, carpet, etc.

has anyone ever considered using a "raised" floor
system ? of the sort that consists of square tiles,
supported at each corner by a series of legs that
stand on the concrete below the tiles.

i tried to google this, and have found no residential
applications of that type of raised flooring systems.

it would seem to be a great idea (airflow underneath
to dissipate any moisture concerns, as well as it's
intended commercial use of having a space to lay all
kinds of cabling underneath).

not sure what the cost would be, imagine it could
get expensive. but, is the idea something that's
appropriate for a home basement ? (presuming the ceiling
height is present to accomodate the fundamental raised
design of it).

it would seem to me, it's a suspended ceiling in reverse.

Posted by Steve on June 6, 2008, 1:37 pm

>
>
> poured concrete basement (walls & floor).
>
> saw other thread here w/gentleman asking questions
> about subfloors. out of courtesy, did not want to
> "hijack" the thread.
>
> question, instead of laying down a subfloor of wood,
> tile, carpet, etc.
>
> has anyone ever considered using a "raised" floor
> system ? of the sort that consists of square tiles,
> supported at each corner by a series of legs that
> stand on the concrete below the tiles.
>
> i tried to google this, and have found no residential
> applications of that type of raised flooring systems.
>
> it would seem to be a great idea (airflow underneath
> to dissipate any moisture concerns, as well as it's
> intended commercial use of having a space to lay all
> kinds of cabling underneath).
>
> not sure what the cost would be, imagine it could
> get expensive. but, is the idea something that's
> appropriate for a home basement ? (presuming the ceiling
> height is present to accomodate the fundamental raised
> design of it).
>
> it would seem to me, it's a suspended ceiling in reverse.

You wouldn't be happy with the type of raised floor you're discussing.
They're expensive, hard to install, and require maintenance to keep them
from shifting around. They're great for computer rooms where AC is run
under the floor.

I have seen tiles intended for resedential use, though. They were about
an inch thick with integrated airflow, and they were designed for
basements. Sorry, but I can't refer you anywhere. Maybe I saw then on
This Old House?
--
Steve B.
New Life Home Improvement

Posted by PeterD on June 6, 2008, 6:41 pm

On Fri, 6 Jun 2008 13:27:50 -0400, "mr jones"

>poured concrete basement (walls & floor).
>saw other thread here w/gentleman asking questions
>about subfloors. out of courtesy, did not want to
>"hijack" the thread.
>question, instead of laying down a subfloor of wood,
>tile, carpet, etc.
>has anyone ever considered using a "raised" floor
>system ? of the sort that consists of square tiles,
>supported at each corner by a series of legs that
>stand on the concrete below the tiles.
>i tried to google this, and have found no residential
>applications of that type of raised flooring systems.
>it would seem to be a great idea (airflow underneath
>to dissipate any moisture concerns, as well as it's
>intended commercial use of having a space to lay all
>kinds of cabling underneath).
>not sure what the cost would be, imagine it could
>get expensive. but, is the idea something that's
>appropriate for a home basement ? (presuming the ceiling
>height is present to accomodate the fundamental raised
>design of it).
>it would seem to me, it's a suspended ceiling in reverse.

Oh, the days of computer room raised floors! The ones that I know of
need about 6 inches of space for the legs. I have a pallet load of the
things (2x2 steel squares with tile on them) and legs, they are heavy,
expensive, but work. In my case they are now used for things like
putting staging and such on the ground so the legs don't sink in! (I'm
going to do a 20' workbench with them too, it will be strong, and as
well, because they are steel won't soak up oil and dirt.)

You could simulate this type of floor with convential construction
techniques easily, and for much less.

Posted by caveat on June 7, 2008, 2:12 am

> poured concrete basement (walls & floor).
> saw other thread here w/gentleman asking questions
> about subfloors. out of courtesy, did not want to
> "hijack" the thread.
> question, instead of laying down a subfloor of wood,
> tile, carpet, etc.
> has anyone ever considered using a "raised" floor
> system ? of the sort that consists of square tiles,
> supported at each corner by a series of legs that
> stand on the concrete below the tiles.
> i tried to google this, and have found no residential
> applications of that type of raised flooring systems.
> it would seem to be a great idea (airflow underneath
> to dissipate any moisture concerns, as well as it's
> intended commercial use of having a space to lay all
> kinds of cabling underneath).
> not sure what the cost would be, imagine it could
> get expensive. but, is the idea something that's
> appropriate for a home basement ? (presuming the ceiling
> height is present to accomodate the fundamental raised
> design of it).
> it would seem to me, it's a suspended ceiling in reverse.

These are very expensive. I don't know how much though because my job
started after the floor was installed by another contractor. But, I have
heard of some rooms the size of a bedroom costing many thousands of dollars.
I seem to remember one installer telling me that a job we were working, for
a room about 20 x 30, was around $12,000 but he could have been blowing
smoke up my perfume hole.
I've worked many years in computer rooms, NOC's, switchrooms, etc. and can
tell you that if you don't get a good install then you are going to have
problems, even a sheet of paper is often thicker than the distance between
the tiles.
I have seen many rooms that had areas that the tiles didn't fit well and
were raised a 1/4 inch on one side. We usually just jumped up and down on
them until they seated but this didn't always work and sometimes if the tile
did seat it would simply pop up again.
Even a quality installation doesn't guarantee that the slab won't shift just
a hair and pop up some tiles. Keep in mind though that my experience is from
Arizona where a lot of the hard physical work is done by day-labor that was
picked up on a street corner that very morning so results my vary.
Also, you do get squeaks when walking on them sometimes because of tile
edges rubbing against each other.

All that aside, they do, as you say, have the advantage of air circulation
and hidden utility paths.

Posted by on June 7, 2008, 7:07 am

caveat wrote:

>> poured concrete basement (walls & floor).
>> saw other thread here w/gentleman asking questions
>> about subfloors. out of courtesy, did not want to
>> "hijack" the thread.
>> question, instead of laying down a subfloor of wood,
>> tile, carpet, etc.
>> has anyone ever considered using a "raised" floor
>> system ? of the sort that consists of square tiles,
>> supported at each corner by a series of legs that
>> stand on the concrete below the tiles.
>> i tried to google this, and have found no residential
>> applications of that type of raised flooring systems.
>> it would seem to be a great idea (airflow underneath
>> to dissipate any moisture concerns, as well as it's
>> intended commercial use of having a space to lay all
>> kinds of cabling underneath).
>> not sure what the cost would be, imagine it could
>> get expensive. but, is the idea something that's
>> appropriate for a home basement ? (presuming the ceiling
>> height is present to accomodate the fundamental raised
>> design of it).
>> it would seem to me, it's a suspended ceiling in reverse.

>
> These are very expensive. I don't know how much though because my job
> started after the floor was installed by another contractor. But, I have
> heard of some rooms the size of a bedroom costing many thousands of dollars.
> I seem to remember one installer telling me that a job we were working, for
> a room about 20 x 30, was around $12,000 but he could have been blowing
> smoke up my perfume hole.
> I've worked many years in computer rooms, NOC's, switchrooms, etc. and can
> tell you that if you don't get a good install then you are going to have
> problems, even a sheet of paper is often thicker than the distance between
> the tiles.
> I have seen many rooms that had areas that the tiles didn't fit well and
> were raised a 1/4 inch on one side. We usually just jumped up and down on
> them until they seated but this didn't always work and sometimes if the tile
> did seat it would simply pop up again.
> Even a quality installation doesn't guarantee that the slab won't shift just
> a hair and pop up some tiles. Keep in mind though that my experience is from
> Arizona where a lot of the hard physical work is done by day-labor that was
> picked up on a street corner that very morning so results my vary.
> Also, you do get squeaks when walking on them sometimes because of tile
> edges rubbing against each other.
>
> All that aside, they do, as you say, have the advantage of air circulation
> and hidden utility paths.
>
>

Hello, There was a DIY show I had seen some time back maybe 1-11/2years
back someone wanted to expand there deck with a hot tub but they set it
a pad to the side of a concrete patio that was off of a raise deck. They
used a modular system of short blocks that supported a square of deck
panel a few inches off of the concrete. the square blocks set at the
intersection of the four deck panels all held to gather with clips and
screws "I THINK" so if a panel was damage it could be replaced.
It gave a nice finish to a drab concrete patio. To finish the wood deck
look they has.
So if the tile or what ever you used as a floor could span the distance
between the blocks and be supported only by the corners for the load
then you could have the air space needed under the the surface over the
concrete with the proper vapor shield.
Also do not let any wood touch concrete, use some sort of water proof
membrane even if the wood is treated. Because it could act as a wick.
Some people say it doesn't matter but what the harm in adding a little
insurance to keep from having problems down the road.

Charles

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