Dricore subfloor, anything new??

Hello,

I have researched the threads on the Dricore subfloor for basements and am considering using it. Those threads were fairly old, so i am looking for any new info or experiences whther good or bad. I have Thoroughsealed the floors, Dryloc-ed the walls and plan on putting carpet down. Ceiling height will be about 6'6" with Dricore, so i am trying to avoid traditional sub-floor...or do I carpet on the concrete?? Ideas welcome...Thank you.

 

Dan,

Contact a couple good flooring stores and discuss your ideas with them for advice. You may get different answers from them as well as from here. Decide which option is best for your situation.

Let us know how it's going!

 

Doug,

Thanks for your reply. I purchased two panels of Dricore for "show and tell" at home..Looks like I'm going with it..I'll keep you posted (no pun intended)

 

Before you go spend a lot of money, please look into this. I'm glad I did.
First I found this product called subflor, which appears to be very similar to the Dricore product.
http://www.subflor.com/
Then I found that they wanted $9 a 2x2 piece (4 sq feet). WHOA.
So I got some rolls of Delta-FL
http://www.deltams.com/deltafl/index.html
and 4x8 sheets of 5/8 OSB which came out to be about a buck per square foot. I'm sorry I can't remember the actual price per sq ft for the Delta product, but I do remember it being less than a dollar....
Screwed it down with some tapcons and I'm good to go!
Made my own 'Subflor' for half price!

 

Zark,

Thanks for your post, you really got me thinking now that I've looked into it..It just a matter of finding a local distributor, (Massachusetts)..or RI....Looks fairly easy to install....and less$$..I'll let you know my results

 

I've looked into these two products as well. And had one comment. The big difference between dricore and delta-fl is that the dri-core panels will 'float' with thermal expansion and wouldn't take as much effort to 'level' them to irregularities in the concrete.

Both seem like good products, just noted those differences. Take it for what it's worth.

 

talon,

Thanks, I agree with your post and am off to buy Dricore. Will begin installing tonite...Stay tuned..

 

I am no expert but its seems like Dricore is a subfloor on is own,But with deltams you need install a sub floor on top of it before your final finish.

 

I installed Dri-core this weekend despite being snowed in..we have completed 1/2 the basement. It is a solid, VERY EASY to install subfloor!!! It took me and my wife (yes, my wife) about
5 hours for 300 sq. ft., with some cutting around pipes support poles etc. I thought it went well anf it looks and feels great. Just follow the installation instructions and ther will be no problem...Need to do the other 1/2 next weekend...will be putting wall up after that..i will keep all informed on how it goes...But I would recommend this floor to anyone...Thanks for all your input..

 

I'm planning on putting the dricore in after I have the walls all up. I know you can do it either way, as dricore should support the walls... I'm just a bit worried about the stability of the bottom plate sitting on the dricore material.

After doing half your basement, what's your opinion on the better way to do it?

I know one issue I'll have is when I go to put baseboards moldings in... I'll have less of the floor plate to nail to. I may just have to double up the bottom plate then.

 

dantis,

Was wondering with your first posting as to what you found out from the flooring people prior to doing this DriCore?

How much are paying for the DriCore per sq. ft.?
Did they also mention other products and what was thier cost per sq. ft.?
Pro's and Con's of DriCore?
What about the Leveling Kit...did you need it or not? What is this cost if known?


Thanks in advance

 

Talon,

I like the idea of putting the walls on top of the dricore, which i will be doing..Should I get any dampness, (which I shouldn't bu if), the walls and toeplate are off the cement. I used 1x3's as spacers and the 3/4" space is just right. . Dricore suggest fatening the toe plate to the flooring and then fastening the flooring to the concrete with 3 fasteners every 16 ft. I think itll work out nice. Let me know what you choose..and I'll keep you up to date on how the walls go up. In addition, i am not using baseboard heat so I did not have that worry, I am using a gas fireplace. Good luck..

PS Doug, i will post a reply to you soon, kids are getting restless.

Dan

 

Doug,

I never contacted a flooring contractor about dricore. I bought 2 panels to show my General Contarctor, and he liked it, he had never seen it. From my understanding, it is made in Canada and is only available exclusively at Home Depot in the US. It is $4.97 for a 2x2 panel.

Advantages is that it is easy, solid, incorporates your vapor barrier and sub floor in one piece, allows the panel to "breath" underneath should you get dampness. I will now feel much more comforatble putting down carpet. Another point, it is dricore is only 7/8" high, where a true subfloor with sleepers etc is 2-2 1/4"..a big deal for me because of my ceiling height...

Had to use a few piece of leveling kit near the sump hole..$3.97 for a package of 20 pieces...

Haven't found any negatives as of yet, unless you can point some out as a professional and me as the homeowner..Thanks

Dan

 

Dricore is also available at Menards. So, it's not exclusive to Home Depot. I just think it's so new, most places don't have it yet.

 

talon2112 and others interested,

The plastic substrate has been out for 10 years but the incorporation of the 2'x2' waferboard T & G panels with the plastic has been out for 3 years.

Major lumber yards have been dispersing this long before the home shopping stores but this product started in Canada. It has been proven to be an excellent choice which has great benefits even though the cost is higher per sq. ft when compared to alternative methods.

For thos thinking that this can be used for ceramic tile, it is not recommended as it is considered a "floating floor". With the product having the ability to "flex", the application of tiles is not adviseable.

Just some extra information

 

Doug,

Thanks for the info!

I assume that it would still be suitable for a laminate flooring? Or would the floating quality of that decrease the stability of the flooring enough to cause problems?

Scott

 

talon2112,

I had an interesting talk with DriCore this morning as I got an e-mail concerning an upcoming project that I have been contracted to design. The issues that the owner asked, I could not answer and even though the previous posts helped educate me, I had to get answers right from the company.

The product is suitable for most types of flooring. It does have it's limitations but for the purpose intended, it does fill many needs. It doesn't falter on performance in the installation of laminate type flooring at all, not carpet or vinyl flooring.

www.dricore.com

Hope this helps!

 

That's a MUCH better price than what Erb lumber wanted for the Subflor pieces, and unfortunately I looked all over the Detroit area for Subflor and they were the only ones who had it. I also never saw Dricore anywhere either.
As for the leveling kit, the Subflor one was just a bunch of squares of precut Delta-FL. That was one of the main reasons I just bought the stuff by the roll and fastened my own OSB over top of it. Subflor bragged about using Delta-FL in their product so that led me to the rolls.
But if I found the prices like you found with the Dricore, I'd probably have thought twice about it, although I'm extremely happy with my results with the 4x8 OSB sheeting. It made it a snap to get things squared up within the not-so-straight poured basement walls by laying them out and tweaking them before screwing them down. Now I have a nice square footprint to build on top of! Plus I used the excess and scrap pieces to build up low spots just like the 'leveling kit'!

 

I will be using dricore in my upcoming basement project. However, I'm not sure what the best way is to find the high spot on the floor. Can someone offer a suggestion. The basement is 42" x 22.5". Would it make it easier if I installed the dircore by room by room. I'm planning on a workshop area on the back side and a exercise area up front.

Thanks

 

diggerd,

Could always go to Home Depot and rent a laser level - it will be easy to determine where you need to make adjustments.

Hope this helps!