SidecarBob
Retired & too busy to go back to work
My Mum in law's basement flooded; The tile and foundation have been dealt with and it has been dry for a few months and, since I know how to do stuff and my brothers in law both have to work for a living I was "elected" to restore her rec room.
Most of the damage was to one outside wall. We stripped it to the foundation and I've re-strapped, installed rock wool, vapour barrier and drywall and I'll be taping this week (I've also repaired the adjoining walls).
The walls are a pretty straightforward job but I have no idea what to do with the floor. It is a typical late '40s or early '50s suburban cookie cutter house with concrete block foundation and poured concrete floor. It was my father in law's parents' home but I don't know much about its early history. My inlaws inherited it in the '70s, had a small extension added before they moved in and finished the basement right away.
There was Ozite carpet on the floor with a layer of plastic vapour barrier sheet underneath and most of the concrete is covered with a black, tarry substance. Mum in law says they noticed that the floor was damp after they finished the basement so they had someone dig up around the edges of the floor and install a weeping tile. Brother in law tells me that he always remembers carpet in the rec room and that even after the weeping tile was installed the carpet became damp so they added the plastic. Neither one remembers who added the tarry stuff or when.
As you can see from the pic, there isn't a lot of room to work in there so I will have to finish the half of the room nearest to the wall I'm repairing before we can move the stuff that is piled up in the other half and work on that (there's nothing I can do about it - she's in her '80s and won't be convinced otherwise).
I would really prefer not to put carpet back in there again if I have any other choice but the tarry stuff is uneven so it pretty much eliminates tile, rolled flooring or one of the paint on floor finishes. A raised floor would be ideal but the ceiling is only 78" now and we don't want to reduce that.
Anyone have an idea of what I can do with this mess short of grinding the floor (not really an option either)?
Most of the damage was to one outside wall. We stripped it to the foundation and I've re-strapped, installed rock wool, vapour barrier and drywall and I'll be taping this week (I've also repaired the adjoining walls).
The walls are a pretty straightforward job but I have no idea what to do with the floor. It is a typical late '40s or early '50s suburban cookie cutter house with concrete block foundation and poured concrete floor. It was my father in law's parents' home but I don't know much about its early history. My inlaws inherited it in the '70s, had a small extension added before they moved in and finished the basement right away.
There was Ozite carpet on the floor with a layer of plastic vapour barrier sheet underneath and most of the concrete is covered with a black, tarry substance. Mum in law says they noticed that the floor was damp after they finished the basement so they had someone dig up around the edges of the floor and install a weeping tile. Brother in law tells me that he always remembers carpet in the rec room and that even after the weeping tile was installed the carpet became damp so they added the plastic. Neither one remembers who added the tarry stuff or when.
As you can see from the pic, there isn't a lot of room to work in there so I will have to finish the half of the room nearest to the wall I'm repairing before we can move the stuff that is piled up in the other half and work on that (there's nothing I can do about it - she's in her '80s and won't be convinced otherwise).
I would really prefer not to put carpet back in there again if I have any other choice but the tarry stuff is uneven so it pretty much eliminates tile, rolled flooring or one of the paint on floor finishes. A raised floor would be ideal but the ceiling is only 78" now and we don't want to reduce that.
Anyone have an idea of what I can do with this mess short of grinding the floor (not really an option either)?