Renovating Basement in 60s House

[Ipal]

Hello!
I'm getting ready to tackle a basement project involving tearing out a type of family room. There's pine wainscoting and wallpapered panels above. The floor is likely particleboard (which feels VERY suspicious when you walk on certain spots ) directly on the concrete slab with wall-to-wall carpet on top.
It has natural ventilation with a plate valve. It smells like mold/basement in the spring and fall when the district heating isn't running.
The idea is to tear out all the organic material touching the concrete... but then what?? I have a friend who's very satisfied with a ventilated "Nivell" floor including a fan that creates circulation. My problem is if I build up an air gap, I'll lose even more from an already low ceiling height.
What surface materials have you chosen? Unfortunately, I don't have astronomical amounts to spend. The room will be a combined storage/guest room so I want to maintain the furnished feel.
Ventilation??
Grateful for advice and your experiences!

 

[henche]

The probability is high that the concrete underneath is uneven, but to maintain ceiling height, it might be good to go with tiles as flooring. Moisture-proof. However, be prepared for the need of self-leveling compound.

Nivell is good if you want something other than tiles, and you avoid having to fix unevenness. We have subfloor battens (nivell). Mostly because we wanted to keep the existing floor but fix the base. From previous owners, there was installed negative pressure ventilation which also spoke for nivell for our part, and we then got back the original floor height that matched the doors.

An advantage of nivell is that the floor does not get as cold as tiles do. But I think it will be cheaper with tiles.

 

[BirgitS]

Apart from clinker, it should be fine to lay a fitted carpet of the balcony mat type.

 

[b8q]

Have you considered demolishing the floor, excavating, insulating, and pouring a new floor with underfloor heating?

 

[JonasJN]

There are systems for ventilation from companies like Jape and others where platonmatta is used, but it does require that the slab is flat.

 

[Ipal]

The likelihood is high that the concrete underneath is uneven, but to maintain ceiling height, it's probably a good idea to go for tile as the flooring. Moisture-secure. But be prepared for self-leveling compound likely being required.

Nivell is good if you want something other than tiles, and you avoid having to fix unevenness. We have subfloor joists (nivell). Mostly because we wanted to retain the existing floor but fix the base. The previous owners had sub-pressure ventilation which also spoke in favor of nivell for us, and we got back the original floor height to match the doors.

One advantage of nivell is that the floor doesn't get as cold as tiles do. But I think it will be cheaper with tiles.

Tiles are not an option as they become way too cold and lose the cozy feel. It's also not something we would attempt to install ourselves.

 

[Ipal]

You're not thinking about demolishing the floor, digging out, insulating, and pouring a new floor with underfloor heating?

Nope! Haven't thought about that…at all!

 

[KalleHå]

Hello, bringing up an old thread.
What solution did you choose? I am at the starting point for a similar project in a bedroom on an uneven concrete surface.
Considering one of these 3 options:
- Ventilated floor, like nivell
- Tiles + needle felt carpet
- Self-leveling compound + Platon mat

 

[BirgitS]

Hi, reviving an old thread. What solution did you choose? I am about to start a similar project in a bedroom on an uneven concrete surface. Considering one of these 3 options: - Ventilated floor, type nivell - Tiles + needle-punched carpet - Self-leveling compound + platon mat

If you're going to have a moisture-permeable carpet, you probably don't need to lay tiles under it. It feels a bit like overkill.

 

[KalleHå]

If you're going to have a moisture-permeable carpet, you probably don't need to lay tiles underneath it. It feels a bit redundant.

Exactly. Priority is to first have a proper floor, hence tiles. Just afraid it will be too cold in a guest room, so a carpet as a complement. But it could just as well be a regular large rug.

 

[Ipal]

Hi, bringing up an old thread.
What solution did you choose? I'm about to start a similar project in a bedroom on an uneven concrete surface.
Considering one of these 3 options:
- Ventilated floor, type nivell
- Tiles + needle punch carpet
- Flow screed + platon membrane

Hi!
The project has been on hold after we tore out the floor and panelling this summer. Mostly to see how humidity and ventilation work after I tried installing a pax fan to improve air circulation in the basement.
My concrete floor turned out to be surprisingly flat, and even painted on most of it.
The dream would be if it works to lay a needle punch carpet directly on the concrete, but I'm not sure if it's advisable? I think my second option would be the platon system.

 

[BirgitS]

The dream would be if it works to lay needle felt carpet directly on the concrete but don't know if you dare?

As long as the carpet is moisture-permeable, it should work fine.

 

[Solidwork]

La platonmatta and a cheap laminate floor in the gillestuga in the previous house. There was some dip that you could feel but nothing that bothered me. In hindsight, I would have evened it out and laid some cheap parquet floor instead.

 

[gaia]

there are more attractive carpets than needle felt carpet that are suitable for basement floors and create a cozy feeling. Check flooring stores for wall-to-wall carpets without foam or other dense material underneath.

 

[Ipal]

La platonmatta och ett billigt laminatgolv i gillestugan i förra huset. Fanns någon svacka som man kände men inget jag störde mig på. I efterhand hade jag flytat och lagt något billigt parkettgolv istället.

Did you have any fan system connected to get air circulation under the Platon mat?