Basements

I have a basement which was previously finished. I am looking to change some walls. The basement gets a musty smell sometimes. I read somewhere that putting a vapor barrier and insulation between the outer wall and the sheetrock will take care of this. From reading other posts it appears that you are to put the insulation between the furring strips and a plastic barrier on top of the insulation which will lay behind the sheetrock. Could you please let me know if this is right or if I have this a little bit backwards.

Second, question I am looking into putting a half bath in the basement as well. I have heard that I may have to use a special toilet for this as it is below the ground. Can you offer some advice on how to go about.

Third, with regard to the flooring. I do not have a problem with flooding but was wondering if it is a bad idea to place padding under a burbur carpet for a basement.

What ever advice you can offer would be greatly appreciated. It is a little bit overwhelming trying to plan everything out.

Thank You

 

I'll make some comments, but please don't consider me an expert.

If you have a musty smell, you probably have water infiltration. I don't think vapor barriers are going to do much for that. A traditional vapor barrier is designed to prevent moisture in the air from condensing as it hits the cold walls. It is not designed to prevent moisture from entering from the outside. There are a number of different ways to deal with moisture infiltration, depending on how severe the problem is and where the moisture is coming from.

Whether or not you need a special toilet is not a function of whether or not it is below ground. It is a function of where your main drain is. Will the toilet be above or below the main drain. If below, you need a sewage ejector to pump the sewage up to the level of the drain. If your main drain is below the floor, a regular toilet will do, but you will have to attach the drain to it. If the builder did not provide you with a bath rough-in, you may need to bust up a bit of the slab to do this.

I don't know much about your third question, but my guess is that you need a pad with a built-in vapor barrier. Check with a carpet store or wait until somebody who knows posts an answer here.

 

Using a pad with carpet is always a good idea- even with Berber on a concrete floor. The danger is water- the pad and eventually the carpet are destroyed by water. Check out the smell before you put any carpet down.