New answers tagged basement
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What should I use to fill former drainage channels in my basement slab?
Standard concrete mix is just fine, though you could partially fill the void with sand to save cost and effort. Even a 2" deep patch would be adequate for a narrow channel in a place where it won'...
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How can I clean cats' urine from my basement walls?
I assume you want to keep the cats either way. What I would suggest is a three-pronged solution
Remove the carpet. It's just going to be easier to clean going forward. Sealed concrete is good, but ...
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How to repair the caulking around basement walkout doors and what to use?
I would avoid using a flashing/drip edge type of solution unless it was cemented down to the concrete somehow with no loose edges. You don’t want to have something to catch your foot on, especially ...
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Installing door in a basement window to make a basement walkout
The problem is if that wall on top of part of the foundation is a support wall. This can happen if either the roof, or any of the floors above that point have joists/trusses that run perpendicular to ...
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Basement wall framing - Attaching top plate with pipes in the way
Nonbearing walls commonly pick up loading from the floor. It's actually kind of a nice feature. When you walk on an upper floor, part of the load gets redistributed to the lower floor.
The worrying ...
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How should I address lengthwise cracks and other issues in old floor joists?
Those aren't cracks. They're "checks", and generally aren't considered a problem. It's what wood does and their presence doesn't significantly affect the members' strength. See also any log ...
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What are the black tubes protruding from my basement slab?
We use it for water softener and humidifier drains. It is a a lot cleaner than tie wrapping them to the floor drain screen like the gas furnace and air conditioner.
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Can I use pavers as a basement floor in an 1830s farm house?
Your home has a dirt floor in the basement so your foundation is either in the form of footers or pile caps. Using pavers as a floor will structurally work. Whether it works for you long term is ...
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Can sealed self leveling underlayment alone support the weight of a washer and dryer on a laundry room floor?
USG and Mapei have self levelers that can be used as a finished floor. Maybe you can add a thin coating of 1/8" which is the minimum.
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Can I use pavers as a basement floor in an 1830s farm house?
"Suitable" is subjective, and not for us to decide. Whether that sort of floor is appropriate for your usage is your call.
That said, I think what you're asking is whether there would be any ...
- 129k
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Basement finish: how to fit drywall to foundation over stairs
I have done what kreemoweet suggests, but I used a few concrete screws (Tapcons) to hold the sheets while the adhesive set and deal with any problem areas. Use tape-on (paper-faced) corner bead where ...
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Basement finish: how to fit drywall to foundation over stairs
Glue the drywall to the concrete wall. You could use 1/4" thick board. If you must have drywall there.
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Which wire and conduit with already-present outlets in the basement
Romex sleeved in conduit for physical protection is FINE. But annoying when already installed, as you have to disconnect, sleeve and reconnect, which is a pain, doubly so if you are not entirely comfy ...
- 201k
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Is it OK to use blue board in a basement area and a bathroom?
Certainly. Blue board (gypsum board, more generally; other brands are other colors but the term is used generically) is more water resistant than plasterboard, and is a good choice anywhere that night ...
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Steel H beam sizing for 42 foot length, 18 foot maximum free span. What size do I need?
For a single floor's loading and assuming simply supported boundary conditions, there's a 6" deep wide-flange section, W6×25, that passes for bending strength, but it fails because of excessive ...
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How to replace a few Barricade subfloor panels
The manufacturer responded with the following:
The dimensions of our panels changed, over 5 years ago now. They were
at one time manufactured using a 5/8” OSB, resulting in a 7/8” thick
panel. Once ...
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Putting in a basement bathroom and contractor hit/repaired foundation trench pipe?
They make furncos that attach 5" vitrified clay pipe to 4" pvc or abs. They are expensive and would require more concrete exposed to install.
In the case of perimeter drains that are ...
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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 don't see changes to IRC R403.3 in the amendments of Massachusetts, so R403.3 would be your shallow foundation detail. Because of that 64 degree mean temperature constraint, I don't think that a ...
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Basement flooding only with heavy snow fall
Typically your first solutions would be sloping ground away and water spout drainage. The good behavior during heavy rain suggests that these solutions aren't useful in your case.
Pumping a well ...
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Help Identifying Rough in plumbing basement
I'm going to take a guess. Obviously, that's all we can do with pipes already buried in concrete.
It looks like there's a sewer riser in the corner behind the ladder, and it looks like there's a main ...
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Help Identifying Rough in plumbing basement
Contact the contractor. Even if you're on bad terms, they should still inform you on something like this. Assuming you're on impossible terms with the contractor....
Under the International Plumbing ...
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How do I go about repairing/redoing this uneven and damaged basement concrete floor?
The good news is that you do not necessarily have to worry too much about future cracks in the concrete because I strongly recommend that you cover your floor with a tiny bit of wood. Nothing fancy, ...
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How do I go about repairing/redoing this uneven and damaged basement concrete floor?
Any half hearted attempt to "repair" the floor will eventually end up cracked again, in all the same spots as they move independently from one another. The only real chance would be to cut ...
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How do I go about repairing/redoing this uneven and damaged basement concrete floor?
The best solution would be to break it all up and re-pour a nice monolithic reinforced slab. That's also expensive and a lot of work, so you might want to consider attempting "not the best" ...
- 201k
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How can I figure out how to remove this pipe?
Is there a way I can tell if there's anything connected to it that would cause problems if I just cut the pipe?
Make sure you are equipped with the tools and materials needed to repair the pipe (e.g.,...
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Can sealed self leveling underlayment alone support the weight of a washer and dryer on a laundry room floor?
From their technical literature:
Do not use as a permanent wear surface.
It also mentions:
Prime all surfaces with an appropriate Custom® primer before application of LevelQuik RS. Refer to ...
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