# Cleaning and Repairing ...my basement...



## GuntherHess (Jul 8, 2011)

I havent posted a good non-bottle related post for a while so here is my latest installment..
 I need opinions from some of you bright people on ideas how to finish my basement floor.
 I live in an 1790s or so stone house. The basement is currently dirt.
 I have dug it out level and deep enough to make it a useable basement.
 I would like to finish the floor in brick. 
 My question is how to best prepare the floor to do that. 
 Maybe put down gravel , crushed stone, sand, a layer of plastic??
 Its a pretty large area with limited access so my first choice would not be pouring a slab.

 Any thoughts on how to best do it would be appreciated.


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## bostaurus (Jul 8, 2011)

Brick sound really nice and probably cheaper than trying a stone floor like slate.  Do you have problems with drainage in your basement?  would you need to install something to drain water to a sump pump?


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## GuntherHess (Jul 8, 2011)

no drainage problems but it stays too damp with a dirt floor.


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## andy volkerts (Jul 8, 2011)

[]Hello Matt. On the this old house show the yard and garden guy said using something called ( I think) stone dust although it looks like fine gravel over a layer of 6 or 8 mil plastic sheeting would work very good. seems as though this stuff packs hard as a rock with using just a little water after haveing it spread and tamped. You can also fill the joints between the bricks with it also.........Andy


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## GuntherHess (Jul 8, 2011)

I think that is what they call crush run, crush and run, or crusher run depending on who you talk to. It does pack pretty good.
 8 mil is some heavy stuff, I wonder if thats standard off the shelf?

 I use a water level to level the floor. Ancient technology but works well.


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## bostaurus (Jul 8, 2011)

> I use a water level to level the floor. Ancient technology but works well.


 How does that work?


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## andy volkerts (Jul 8, 2011)

[]Matt. Our home depot carries the 6 mil stuff in rolls about ten feet wide and twenty feet long so it would take a few rolls overlapped to cover a large area, but worth it to keep out the damp. Ya also know some of the concrete contractors have these hose pumps that can pump up to about 100 feet or so without much trouble if you use a wet mix with smaller aggregate and about a five sack mix. prolly expensive I bet.....Andy


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## GuntherHess (Jul 8, 2011)

> How does that work?


 
 its basically just a long clear tube that you put water in.  the ends are open.  the level of the water will always reach equalibrium at both ends of the tube. it allows you to compare the height of any two points.  Mine has a photo sensor on the one end that beeps when the levels are equal.

 everyone wants laser levels now but I like the simple approach, plus it works around corners.
 http://www.homedepot.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/Search?keyword=water+level&selectedCatgry=SEARCH+ALL&langId=-1&storeId=10051&catalogId=10053


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## GuntherHess (Jul 8, 2011)

pumping concrete starts getting expensive.  PLus i'm trying for the olden look.


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## bostaurus (Jul 8, 2011)

> PLus i'm trying for the olden look.


 Just through some straw down there and a couple pigs.
 Friends in Germany bought an old house in the village to fix up.  The basement of their house used to be the pig stye.  They fixed it up very nice but I was never in there after a good rain.  It might smell like pigs are still there after a good rain.


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## GuntherHess (Jul 8, 2011)

no thanks I have a 9 year old kid , I dont need pigs.


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## baltbottles (Jul 9, 2011)

Matt I think the brick floor laid in a nice herring bone pattern would look great. I hav eseen this in the basement of  afew early houses I have been in.

 Chris


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## GuntherHess (Jul 9, 2011)

> laid in a nice herring bone pattern


 
 Yes I'm thinking something in that direction. A few local houses have basements done like that. Looks a lot better to me than a concrete slab.


 Weird, I just noticed this post is in "NEW TO THE COLLECTION" , I could have sworn I put it in "CLEANING AND REPAIRING" forum.
 Admins can move if you want....


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## JOETHECROW (Jul 10, 2011)

Gunth,...I did my workshop floor and patio with salvaged bricks from a defunct brickyard south of our town...bedded them in sand. It took quite a few pickup loads, (I believe Penn Digger hauled quite a few for me). Did the workshop floor with pavers, and the patio with regular building sized bricks...there are quite a few patterns and "bonds" that you can lay out easily and look great. Another alternative is "stamped" and colored concrete...They've used it in some of the historic districts around town with good effect (crosswalks, etc) I believe ajohn does some of that kind of work. It looks much better than plain old concrete.


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## GuntherHess (Jul 10, 2011)

I like stamped concrete but I want to do the job myself and I dont think I have the skill to do it right.


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## NYCFlasks (Jul 10, 2011)

I would go with the poly vapor barrier, did it in my 100 year old basement, and it is now desert dry down there.
 Brick is great, and the stone dust makes a good bed for them.
 Now, one thing.  Not all brick is the same.  For a nice pattern, you want to find what is called modular paver brick.  This type of brick is made to be exactly twice the length as the width.  The guys at the mason supply yards should know what it is, I have laid thousands of square feet of this brick over the years around pools, and as sidewalks, patios, and driveways.  My home has them as the driveway, and patio.  Standard building bricks vary in width and length enough so that one has to leave a joint to keep things nice looking, the modular paver brick is laid much like the concrete pavers, no joints.
 In my area, they come from the NJ Shale Brick Co in Williamstown NJ.
 Autumn Blend is a nice series in that you get reds, oranges, browns and black bricks for nice color.


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## swizzle (Jul 11, 2011)

> ORIGINAL:  Wolfdog
> 
> this post has nothing to do with bottles


  [][][][][8D]


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## GuntherHess (Jul 11, 2011)

> For a nice pattern, you want to find what is called modular paver brick.


 

 thats good to know, thanks.
 We have a pretty good brick yard here in frederick.


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## carobran (Jul 11, 2011)

did you find any bottles while digging out the basement


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## GuntherHess (Jul 11, 2011)

not too many in the basement, mostly lots of busted up early fruit jars. A couple smaller pontil marked medicines. I found a bunch of bottles under the kitchen floor when I tore that up.


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## swizzle (Jul 12, 2011)

Hey GuntherHess can you post some pics as you go? I love seeing the old stone work. Swiz


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## GuntherHess (Jul 12, 2011)

you mean of the walls? The floor is dirt...


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## swizzle (Jul 13, 2011)

Yup, have you ever metal detected the floor. Dirt floors in basements were great places to hide caches. 

 When I went to a small local christain school as a child we would get dressed for gym in the basement, (yeah I hear you guys already, It puts the lotion on the skin!!) The building was an older one with a stone cellar. One of the stones in the cellar was a huge rock. If I had to guess I'd say 15-1700lbs. It was a local rumor that that stone was used to seal the entrance to a secret tunnel that lead out to the lake below. It was an escape route for slaves during the underground railroad. they claimed the holes at both ends were sealed with slaves inside. True? Probably not but a great story as the underground railroad was in the area. Swiz


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## GuntherHess (Jul 13, 2011)

I ran a metal detector around it a bit but didnt find much.


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## cowseatmaize (Jul 13, 2011)

> Yup, have you ever metal detected the floor. Dirt floors in basements were great places to hide caches.


Or the walls? Smaller stones may have something behind them. I read of a guy that found a mason jar with gold and silver in the wall of a foundation with no building left.


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## RICKJJ59W (Jul 14, 2011)

I need to do my walls in the basement (white wash) but i'm afraid to go down there [:-]


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## GuntherHess (Jul 14, 2011)

> I need to do my walls in the basement (white wash) but i'm afraid to go down there


 
 I had a haunted house in my basement one year. I think some of the kids are permanently scarred now. Bit too realistic...


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## brokenshovel (Jul 21, 2011)

Matt,

 I used bricks from privies and cisterns for the walkway at my other house.  Nice "patina" on the bricks gave it a nice color.

 Plan to make a couple of gate pillars at my current house when I find the time and enough good bricks.


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## GuntherHess (Jul 21, 2011)

I used a lot of the older brick outside in the garden. I had a bunch from rebuilding a chimney.
 It does look good.
 THe old stuff is too irregular to lay as flooring and I would need tons of it to do the basement.


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## RICKJJ59W (Jul 21, 2011)

> ORIGINAL:  brokenshovel
> 
> Matt,
> 
> ...


 


 Did. Dress up as igore with that hump on your back?  Hahahaha


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## swizzle (Jul 21, 2011)

You guys better stop before I tell someone with a cardboard badge that your not talking about bottles. [8|] I'm serious just look at me, just look!! [] See what I mean I'm really super serious. Look at it again and know. []


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## cyberdigger (Jul 21, 2011)

[] Don't cry wolf, Swizz... and no trolling, I'll have none of it! .. we're supposed to be humans as well as collectors, ..are we not?


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## carobran (Jul 22, 2011)

was he serious?[8|]


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## swizzle (Jul 22, 2011)

Of course I'm serious!! Just look at me, just look. [] and [>:] <===Well will you just look at that. [][][][8D] 

 I'm not trolling, my boat isn't even wet!!


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## carobran (Jul 22, 2011)

your a crazy man!!!!!!![:-][:-][:-][sm=lol.gif]


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## cyberdigger (Jul 22, 2011)

Your a whippersnapper.. aincha? [&:][8|][8|][8|]


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## carobran (Jul 22, 2011)

[:-][:-][:-][]


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## swizzle (Jul 22, 2011)

3 dozen year old whippersnapper? Sometimes. Arsebustin' is in my DNA. [][][] Some people get all like this [] but the other three people that saw you bust arse are all like this [][][] and then I'm like this [][][][][][][][][][][][] and then Mr. [] starts to look more like [>:] and then eventually he comes around full circle back to [] and that's the truth. So if you just look at it you'll see that I'm right. [8|]  I think. 

 This face actually looks more like concentrated, constipation [>:], and the smell makes ya go [:'(][][X(][&o][:'(] and that is a true story that I just made up, makes sense if you don't think about it. Swiz


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## cyberdigger (Jul 22, 2011)

(..that was so well composed, I hate to tell him.. )


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## swizzle (Jul 22, 2011)

[8|][:-]


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## epackage (Jul 22, 2011)

> ORIGINAL:  cyberdigger
> 
> Don't cry wolf


 or WolfOwner ???......[8D][]


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## carobran (Jul 23, 2011)

do ya think his wolf bit him,and thats why hes so cranky all the time??????    _HMMM.[8|]_​


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## swizzle (Jul 23, 2011)

Could be!! I never really thought about it. But then again I think his wolf is actually a pillow pet. At least that's what I've heard..from..you know that guy that does that thing. Haven't seen him in a while either, maybe he got attacked by an angry pack of pillow pe....uh wolves. [8|]


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## carobran (Jul 24, 2011)

possibly,i here there bark is bigger than there bite ,though,...............ya know,come to think of it,i dont think ive ever seen him make a post wanting info on a bottle or giving any,just hollering,_THIS ISNT ABOUT BOTTLES!!!!!_maybe aggravating people is his hobby????[8|][]


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## charlotte49er (Aug 5, 2011)

If you live in an area that freezes in winter, then you want to use torpedo sand and not the stone dust. The reason is that stone dust holds more water (more fine particles) and can cause heaving in winter. The type of sand you use is important also. Torpedo sand is angular and locks in the joints. Its less prone to blowing out of the joint and transfers loads to adjacent bricks better. Mason's sand or play sand tends to have round grains and they do not lock, always moving. Here's a tip, use polymeric sand in the joints.

 Most home center sells gravel, stones, sand for patio brick setup. They are usually numbered 1,2,3. 
 #1 is the coarser stone which is for the base foundation. It is good if you need to level your patio in a major way, like a foot or something. You will also need it if you plan to put heavy item on it like parking a car (driveway). Otherwise you should be good with a #2

 #2 is finer and it is the layer the brick lay on and you can level that easily. 

 #3 is basically fine sand and it is use to fill the gap between the bricks so that they will be nice and sturdy. This is done after you have finish laying down the bricks.

 TIP:  Rent a Whacker-Packer from your local Sunbelt rentals.  After you putdownthe bricks and throw the sand over top, run the Whacker-Packer while you have your some help throwing more sand over the tops of the brick.  the Whacker-Packer is like a jack hammer, except it has a flat base on it about a foot square.  It will vibrate the bricks and pack the sand in between.  Do that, and it will be as tight as a concrete floor!


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## GuntherHess (Aug 5, 2011)

My basement is deep enough that it never freezes.

 What is torpedo sand? Never heard of it.


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