Questions tagged [basement]
For questions generally relating to habitable spaces in a home below ground level, and to foundation types that include a space of this type.
1,619
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Window gap, filler piece or not?
I recently installed new windows in my basement (concrete walls). After checking for level and plumb, I’m left with a 3/4“ gap under the new window (exterior side). The window mounts flush with the ...
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Finishing basement wall over old exisiting window
I'm planning to finish walling in a room in my existing basement, (It will not be a bedroom or livable area so no need for windows etc...) The original basement was built in 1940's. There is one ...
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How can I clean cats' urine from my basement walls?
We have some cats in our basement that sometimes use the litter box but also like to pee all over the carpet down there, especially against the baseboards. As most people know, cleaning up pee ...
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What would have moved all the sand from under the floor? [closed]
Something has moved the sand out from underneath the basement floor. I stuck a long shaft down into the sand, multiple ways and found a void under the concrete. Here is a picture.
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Kitchen floor is sloping
I am a first time home owner, hoping maybe people can give some advice. I have a 120+ year old home.
I noticed a slope in my kitchen floor. I got an inspection done (from a generalist not a structural ...
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Installing door in a basement window to make a basement walkout
I am making a basement walkout. The door will be installed where there currently is a window. Currently there are 10 inches of concrete on top of the Window, but in order to fit an 80x36 inch door, ...
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Basement wall framing - Attaching top plate with pipes in the way
I'm laying out framing for a basement wall and currently stuck on how to attach the top track.
The problem is there is a good sized heat pipe running parallel between two joists (the other ductwork I'...
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How should I address lengthwise cracks and other issues in old floor joists?
I purchased a house from 1900 about a year ago. One of the biggest problems I have unsurfaced is cut and cracked joists. My questions are as such with pictures below:
Can I just jack them up, ...
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Can I use pavers as a basement floor in an 1830s farm house? [closed]
I have an 1830s New England farm house with a dirt floor basement. I have put down a plastic vapor barrier and put down crushed stone over it. This alone dried the house out considerably, and during ...
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Basement finish: how to fit drywall to foundation over stairs
I’m working on finishing a small 700 sqft basement. House is in Boston area, built around 1940. The poured foundation wall with stairs against it is two-tier. Bottom half of the wall is 3 inches ...
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Which wire and conduit with already-present outlets in the basement
I have a double outlet in my basement that is fed by 14/2 Romex wire (from the panel to the two outlets).
The wire runs along the ceiling for a length and then drops down vertically along a concrete ...
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Is it OK to use blue board in a basement area and a bathroom?
A contractor we’re about to hire is saying they would use the blue board for the walls in the basement area and also in the bathroom. The bathroom is going to have a standup shower unit installed made ...
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Steel H beam sizing for 42 foot length, 18 foot maximum free span. What size do I need?
I am building a new house. It is a simple 2016 ft2 rectangle. 42X48 feet. One single story above a basement. I need to maximize head room in the basement. Two steel beams will span the 42 foot ...
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Putting in a basement bathroom and contractor hit/repaired foundation trench pipe?
We're putting in a basement bathroom and the contractor was digging to install the ejector pit/sump. He hit what I assume is a foundation pipe (each section is about 16", clay) that collects ...
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What are these boxed sheet metal openings in my basement ceiling?
I have these ceiling vents in my basement. I want to determine their purpose. It's an 8" deep duct and a metal plate with angle iron.
They seem odd for heating or cooling. These are not vents for ...
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How can I construct an outdoor concrete pad and retaining wall that will also work as a basement floor and foundation wall?
I know at least a few ways to pour a concrete pad for long term outdoor use. And I can build a retaining wall, poured or from cinder blocks (or from timber, but that's less relevant here).
I am less ...
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Basement flooding only with heavy snow fall
Our basement is unfinished, and since we bought it one year ago it has flooded three times. This only occurs with heavy snowfall, i.e. when a large amount of snow falls and then melts. Even the ...
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Help Identifying Rough in plumbing basement
Hello,
Can someone please help me identify the rough in pipes in my basement?
Is 1 the vent that I can tap into for a sink, 2 is the toilet and 3 a shower?
Or is 1 strictly a vent, 2 a toilet and 3 a ...
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How do I go about repairing/redoing this uneven and damaged basement concrete floor?
I've got a section of my basement that I want to turn into a workshop, but one of the many things to improve is the floor. I want a smooth level floor for this section of the basement (I might ...
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Fiberglass insulation above grade in basement
We have an unfinished basement that we want to finish. The walls are bare concrete and there is no subfloor. In the exterior, it seems there is a vapor barrier (we have the tar marks on the wall) . We ...
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How can I figure out how to remove this pipe?
I'm beginning work on finishing my basement and am removing things from the walls before insulating and framing. In one corner, about a foot and a half off the ground, there's a copper(?) pipe that ...
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Can sealed self leveling underlayment alone support the weight of a washer and dryer on a laundry room floor?
In my laundry room, I poured some LevelQuik RS self leveling underlayment over a lumpy concrete slab (I put cement primer on first). The underlayment was about 1/4 inch thick at the thinnest parts. I ...
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Accidentally used patio paint on basement floor
Accidentally painted patio paint instead of drylok on basement floor, can on paint a a second coat using drylok on top of patio paint?
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Best way to prevent basement flooding
I am trying to mitigate my basement flooding. The flooding is pretty minimal. Just in two location water seeps through the floor. One spot is in the back corner of the house and the other is along the ...
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What is this strange orange fluid corroding painted jack posts in basement?
Anyone knows what this blob of orange fluid is? It looks thick and viscous, almost like secretion from some insect.
About 3 -- 4 years ago, I was painting the jack posts in our basement and noticed ...
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Is there any way to replace this laundy sink with a toilet without major renovations?
Looking to replace this basement laundry sink with a toilet. Definitely do not want to break into the concrete, and would prefer not to open the wall behind. Drain pipe from sink is 14 inches from the ...
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Is is safe to dig under the patio to install a drain tile?
We have a mold/water issue in our basement wall that is concrete block foundation. No visible cracks, but based on what I've researched, sounds like it might be coming through the blocks. On the ...
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How to remove a plant growing into my house foundation?
I recently had a home inspection done and one of the things that came out of that was the discovery of a bunch of bushes with roots that growing down into the foundation of my basement.
My instinct is ...
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Low basement ceiling, how high should cabinets be? [closed]
I am creating basement suite. The ceiling is 6' 8". I plan to install a drop ceiling, so it will be around 6' 6" when that is done.
How high should my upper kitchen cabinets be? I've read ...
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Advice: Basement Floor [closed]
Somehow, we got away (for 12 years) with a carpeted basement and NO working drain tile. That all changed last year when we got 7 inches of rain, 3 of which covered our basement floor. Fast-forward: we ...
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Shoring up side of old raised concrete
I live in an old (1920) Baltimore rowhouse. The concrete basement floor was—as far as I can tell from having drilled in a few spots—poured over a pretty variable, haphazard substrate, probably just ...
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Sunken back patio drains water towards basement wall. Any quick fixes to reduce loading on wall from ice?
My concrete back patio has sunken into the ground over the years. Eventually I want to have it jacked with foam to bring it back to a good level but I need to get through the winter as is. The way it ...
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Water in Basement After Heavy Rain
link to photos
Hi everyone. I consistently have water in my basement on the Eastern wall of my house every time it rains heavily - 1.5 inches or more in a 24 hour period. The water seeps in through ...
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How to properly finish basement walls with an indoor waterproofing membrane?
The house I moved into has an ~1800 sq. ft. unfinished basement which has been waterproofed on the inside, halfway up the walls all around it, taped to insulation put on the upper half like this:
I ...
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Does the drywall on my wall need an expansion gap below?
I'm working on replacing the carpet in our basement bedroom with some vinyl laminate flooring. I noticed that the concrete appears to have domed cracked / domed in the middle so I need to flatten ...
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What's the right material (kind of caulk?) to seal where a Bilco doorframe touches my house?
My house has a fairly standard bulkhead with a Bilco door for entering the basement. Recently a leak has developed and water drips in where the metal frame touches the house. There's some old decaying ...
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Basement subfloor (dricore) with existing exterior framing & insulation
Basement subfloor (Dricore) with existing exterior framing & insulation
I have a 2016-built house in Ottawa, Ontario with a basement that is largely unfinished (only the landing area was finished ...
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Why do we have sump pits?
Why is sump pit built to bring exterior water into basement only do to be pumped away? The basement is dry except where the pit creates a penetration.
Why invite exterior water into the basement?
The ...
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Primary sump pump backup inverter, which wattage should I get?
I'm considering buying something like this for my primary sump pump. But they sell it in a 2000w and a 1500w configuration. I have no easy way to figure out my sump pump's horsepower since it came ...
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How can I hide or modifiy concrete column bases in my finished basement? [closed]
In my basement are what look like the bases of two support columns poking out at the base of my walls. These walls run in the middle of the basement. The bases are concrete and trapezoidal in shape, ...
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Insulation in basement ceiling with no heat? [closed]
I have fiberglass insulation in my basement. It's been there since we bought the house, but our basement is not heated. I've heard this is possibly a bad idea.
I also think there may have been mice ...
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Sikaflex self leveling sealant keeps draining
I’m trying to fill a gap between my driveway and foundation wall to stop basement water leak. Per inspector’s recommendation I applied some Sikaflex self leveling sealant on top of backer rod.
It’s ...
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Can I frame basement walls over slab cracks?
I recently bought a home with an unfinished basement and would like to start finishing it to add onto the livable space our of house.
Do I need to repair cracks in my slab before I start framing walls?...
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Backup sump pump AND primary pump backup battery?
I recently bought a house where the previous owners had the whole basement flood because the power went out and they had no backup sump pump.
Prior to selling, they tore up all the floors and put in a ...
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Help! Is our contractor skimping on us on our basement foundation repair?
Our contractors just finished a job to completely redo one of our basement foundation wall, but we have some questions about the quality of the work.
They assured us it was fine, but is it normal to:
...
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What could be seeping from my basement wall?
Someone put joint compound over the poured concrete basement wall and then painted over it. This seepage isn't water--it's a little sticky where it hasn't dried, and it appears in a few other spots ...
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Removal of old basement windows embedded in concrete [duplicate]
I have a bunch of old basement windows that has the frame embedded in the concrete that I need to replace. They look different than most people's posts about monarch windows that have a wide frame ...
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How to replace section of basement insulation
I had a leaky basement window and need to replace some of the insulation. The basement is insulated with rock wool in a bag attached to the top half of the foundation. No insulation until about 3-4 ...
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Cinderblock cmu masonry question
I'm replacing a 7ft. Basement Wall with 10" block. We tried to demo carefully as to save some interlocking blocks in the corners. A few broke resulting in a few cuts having to be made.
My ...
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In What Direction Should This Basement Fan Blow?
Shown is a basement of about 5,000 square feet with concrete floor and walls in a building originally built in 1935, acquired a year ago but with a 22" basement fan that's always been dead. ...
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