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Finished Basements:Looking at the New Concrete Floor

Finished Basements: Looking at the New Concrete Floor

Jerome Sammy

http://www.fbscto.com

Welcome My Friends,

As we venture once again into the "Looking At" series from Finished Basements, about finishing your basement we would take  a look at the New Concrete Floor. You could find more articles at http://www.finishedbasements.blogspot.com/ that would be worth your while reading and stocking up on  very pertinent  information.

Now that the foundation walls have been underpinned, the dirt floor have been leveled, the weeping tiles have been installed , the 4 inches of  3/4 in clear gravel has been poured and spread and the plumbing have been roughed in, it is now time to pour the new concrete floor.

Pouring the New Concrete Floor

You could order your concrete from either a Mobile Mix or a Ready Mixed truck. The Mobile comes with the dry product and it is mixed on site as it comes off the truck. The Ready Mix comes with the cement, sand , gravel and water already mixed together. The only draw back with the Mobile Mix is that you don't get a consistent mix all the time.

Make sure  that the concrete meets the Engineer specifications . Usually for a basement floor you will need at least 20 MPa @ 28 days, and about 5% to 7%  air content. If the Engineer require a slump test, it should be done before the first load is poured into the basement.

To achieve the height of the finished concrete floor you could use a laser level to check the height to make sure its uniform. If you don't have a laser level you could make short stakes from pieces of 2 x 2 material and pound those into the dirt floor to the desired height and check from stake to stake with a level. If you use the stake method you will have to pound the stakes below the surface of the concrete after you have the finished level.

You would probably need about 5 or 6 people to help with the pouring of the concrete floor. If the truck cannot back up and pour the concrete directly into the basement, you will need at least 2 people out side to deliver to the basement opening and 2 people inside to spread the concrete around. Have one person leveling the concrete.

The Leveling Process

• After a rough height is achieved the concrete then goes through a screed process to achieve a final height.
• Screeding involves moving a long piece of 2 x 4 lumber back and forth  while also moving in a forward advancement to even out the surface.
• After the screeding is completed the concrete is then troweled to make a smooth surface.
• The waiting game begins as you will have  to wait for the water to rise to the surface of the concrete and dissipate.
• When most of the water has dissipated the power trowel could be applied or if you don't have a power trowel you will have to use a hand trowel.

Wait for the Concrete to cure for at least 24 hours before attempting to walk on it.  Now that your floor has been poured and finished we could proceed to  the framing and Mechanical stage.

Watch out for the next blog on the Framing Stage.

Jerome Sammy

888-433-5340

http://www.fbscto.com

info@fbscto.com

March Madness 20% off Basement Finishing

MARCH MADNESS 20% OFF ALL BASEMENTS.

Basement Bar

March Madness 20% off all basement, bathrooms and kitchens. This offer is only good till the end of March 2011.

Call 416-885-3987 to book an appointment. Take advantage of this offer and you could have a great room to entertain or if you like you could have a Man Cave, for when the boys come over to watch the games.

Ladies that does not mean that you can’t use the Man Cave too. Just call the girls over and use the Man Cave to watch your favorite movies or have your jewelry party.

Fbscto.com

Finished Basements : Looking at the Underpinning

Underpinning your Basement

Jerome Sammy Finished Basements

http://www.fbscto.com

Greetings,

This article deals with the underpinning of your basement foundation walls. Underpinning is the process used when you want to lower your basement floor. In the series of finishing your basement, we first looked at Finding a Contractor, Looking at the Basement Floor and  Looking at the Basement Walls , you could find these previous articles at      http://www.finishedbasements.blogspot.com/ There is also a side bar article on Installing a Pocket Door.

If you live in an older home and you find that the ceiling height in your basement is too low, you could lower the floor in one of two ways. One method is called the curb system where you don't actually underpin the foundation walls but you add  a concrete curb at the base of the foundation walls after you have excavated the depth that your require. Excavation is usually in 4 ft sections. Concrete curbs are usually done if you are not planning to lower your basement by more that 30 cm or 12 inches. The reason for this is that for every 7 inches you go down you will have to project out 10 inches from the foundation wall. Example, if you go down 14 inches you will have a curb projection of 20 inches into your basement. The only way you could achieve a ratio of 1:1 ,that is 7 inches down and 7 inches out, would be to hire a Geological Engineer  to determine if your soil would be  solid enough  to withstand the weight of the house. You would then submit their report to the city when you apply for a building permit.

If you need help with any of these process you could contact us at http://www.fbscto.com

Things to Consider when Underpinning

There are a few items you will have to consider when you are planning on lowering your basement floor.

• Should you change your furnace and furnace location?
• If you don't change your furnace you should have your furnace lowered to the new height of basement floor.
• Same with the Hot water heater. Should you upgrade to a tankless or change existing one.
• If you live in an older home you should consider having your sewer drains replaced with 4 in. PVC drain pipe.
• If you are in the Toronto area you would be required to install a sump pump in the basement.
• Have weeping tiles installed around the perimeter of the basement walls which would  discharge into the sump.
• If your sewer drain leading out from the basement is too high for the depth you want to excavate to, you could have the city do a new connection form the out side of the house or you could install a sewage injector.
• You would be required to install a backwater valve where the sewer drain exit the basement.
• You would have  to install a new set of  Stairs and hand rail.
• You might want to consider installing Radiant Heating in the new basement floor.
• Help is as close as http://www.fbscto.com

Excavation  Process

After you have had a structural engineer draw up a set of plans for underpinning your basement, and you submit your plans for approval form the city, you are now ready to proceed with the actual underpinning process.

Your basement walls will be marked off  in 4 ft sections numbered 1, 2 and 3 to determine the different stages of the process  and at the end of number 3 the stages will reoccur.

The excavation will begin but it must be done on a 45 degree angle of repose, or for every 7 inches you excavate 10 inches of dirt must be left against the foundation walls. The reason for excavating at the angle of repose is the pressure from the house does not actually go straight down, but is applies on a 45 degree angle that is why the dirt at the base of the foundation wall has to be wider as you excavate lower. At the bottom of your excavation point the dirt will now be wider than at the original height of the concrete floor. Never and I stress Never allow any one to ever excavate straight down, or your house will collapse or you will have major structural problems. If you follow these rules you should not have a problem.

Underpinning Process

After the initial excavation of the interior of the basement leaving the angle of repose, the process of actually underpinning the foundation walls will begin. Always remember never excavate into the angle of repose until you are ready to underpin that section.

There are two methods of underpinning: Under pouring and over pouring.

Underpinning with Radiant heating Preparation

With the under pouring method the concrete is poured flush with front face of the existing foundations wall but is vibrated and  under poured by at least 2 inches. After the concrete has cured at least 24 hrs , a non-shrink grout is dry packed into the cavity flush with the under side of the existing foundation footing.

The over pouring method is done with the new concrete projecting at least 3-1/2 inches out from the existing foundation wall and is over poured and vibrated to at least 4 inches above the existing foundation footings. There is no non-shrink dry pack involved.

Which ever method you use the excavation of the cavity is the same.

• All Number 1's are done at the same time. The dirt have to be excavated to the out side edge of the foundation footings and straight down to the new dirt level and only in 4 ft wide sections or smaller. You will want to go an extra 4 ins lower to accommodate for the 4 in weeping tiles. The cavity should be square and plumb and the under side of the footings should be cleaned of all debris. Make sure you do not excavate lower than needed because the new footings should be resting on undisturbed soil.
• When all the number 1's are excavated and inspected the forming for the new concrete will be done and the pouring of the concrete will commence.
• Make sure that the concrete is well vibrated as the concrete is being poured, weather you use the over pouring or under pouring method. The strength of the concrete should be 20 MPa. The non-shrink grout at 35 MPa.
• After all the number 1's are poured, wait 24 hrs to remove the forming for over pouring method or 3 days or 70% cured for under pouring method,  and proceed with the excavation of  all the number 2's, and repeat the same process as the number 1's.
• Proceed in like manner with the number 3's.
• All is complete , clean up and finish leveling the dirt floor.
• Install the Delta Wrap membrane from the new dirt level to about one foot above the underpinning joint.

This is the process used to underpin the foundation walls of your basement. Make sure that you have all aspects of the underpinning process inspected by the city inspector. Have a structural engineer do your plans for the underpinning.
If you need any help or more information on the underpinning process do not hesitate to call 416-885-3987 .
http://www.fbscto.com
Watch for the next Article on the New concrete floor.

Jerome Sammy
416-885-3987
info@fbscto.com
http://www.fbscto.com

How to install a pocket door.

Today's post will divert from the thread to answer a question about " how to install a pocket door."
If the pocket door is going to be installed into an existing opening where there is already a swinging door or a framed or drywalled opening we will have to widen the opening to accommodate the pocket door.
There is a pre-fab pocket door frame that you could pickup at Rona or Home Depot, I know Rona always have them in stock.They come in sizes from 24 in wide to 36 ins wide. The rough opening you will need for a 30 in wide door will be 61-1/2 ins wide by 84 ins high. The rule of the thumb is what ever the door size you will be installing the rough opening will be twice the width plus 1-1/2 ins and 84 is high.
We will first deal with installing a pocket door where there is an existing door opening in a non-load bearing partition wall. By non-load bearing I mean that the partition wall is not supporting any load such as another wall or supporting floor joists. To determine this you will have to look at the top plate of the wall you want to install the door and if it has 2 plates at the top instead of one plate you will most likely be dealing with a load bearing wall. You could also poke around at the top of the wall to see if there are any joists that is resting on the wall for support.
If the wall is non-load bearing proceed to remove the door from its hinges, to do this close the door and using a flat head screwdriver and a hammer, place the screwdriver  under the head of the hinge pin and proceed to hit the pin in an upward direction to dislodge the pin. Start with the bottom hinge and then proceed to the top hinge.When both pins are removed open the door gently to remove it from the opening.
Next remove the door casing and door jamb with a hammer and a pry bar, making sure you have safety glasses to protect your eyes.You will have to possibly remove the existing baseboard from the wall where you are going to install the door. We will be using a 30 in door for reference. Take your measuring tape and measure over 61-1/2 ins from the existing rough opening stud and mark the drywall.Take your level and draw a plumb line on the drywall 84 ins high from the floor. Next mark a line 84 ins high on the drywall on the existing rough opening stud side. Connect these two lines, check for level and adjust if necessary, then proceed to cut the drywall out from the opening , you should end up with an opening of 61-1/2 ins wide by 84 ins high. Proceed to cut the dry wall from the other side of the wall.There should now be some studs exposed , take a reciprocating saw cut the studs out, also, cut out the exposed existing bottom plate. If there is a cavity between the drywall take one of the studs that was cut out and place it between the drywall and screw it in place with drywall screws.
Following the directions that comes with the pocket door, finish assembling the frame and install it in place making sure its plumb and level. Fasten it to the rough opening studs.Remove the braces, remove the screws that came installed in the top track one at a time and replace them with a 2 ins wood screw. Follow the directions that came with the pocket door frame to install the door and the jamb on the latch side of the frame, making sure every thing is plumb.
Install the drywall over the frame using 1 in drywall screws, using any longer screws will protrude through the frame and could damage the door as it retracts into the cavity.
Install the door casing and lock set and you are ready to use your pocket door. I find that using the cylinder type lock set rather than the square ones looks better.
Hope that this helped. If you have any questions reach me at 416-885-3987 or info@fbscto.com