I didn't have a mitre saw for mine (but I've helped my dad and he had one) so I used my table say which worked fine. If you built a jig you could use a circular saw if that's all you have.
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Vapour barrier absolutely. The good stuff isn't exactly cheap.
And for the love of God, make sure the floor is level. Don't just half ass "meh good enough." Make sure that SOB is level. It'll pay off later.
I used a table saw, whether that's easier for rip cuts or not is debatable.
Thanks for all the replies.
My question on using a mite saw is making the length wise cuts. A mitre can't do that can it? It would be great for the cross cuts obviously and I do have access to one. The lady at Home Depot said to buy a good blade for it though. I was assuming a table saw would be necessary.
As to the levelling, I am having a hard time justifying that extra effort for a basement floor. My other thought is that by the time I lay the vapour barrier and the "underlay" any unevenness will be mitigated. What considerations am I missing? (It is about a 12 year old house and had carpet before.) I have the carpet removed.
My question on using a mite saw is making the length wise cuts. A mitre can't do that can it? It would be great for the cross cuts obviously and I do have access to one. The lady at Home Depot said to buy a good blade for it though. I was assuming a table saw would be necessary.
As to the levelling, I am having a hard time justifying that extra effort for a basement floor. My other thought is that by the time I lay the vapour barrier and the "underlay" any unevenness will be mitigated. What considerations am I missing? (It is about a 12 year old house and had carpet before.) I have the carpet removed.
Thanks again.
My biggest concern would be cracking of the floor or of the tongue/groove fastening system on the laminate if the floor is not level.
Not really a huge expense to use self-leveling compound before you start.
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Depends on how bad the floor is. Run a straight edge over and at different angles to get an idea. A little bit isn't going to matter much. You can snap a few boards together over the worst part and test it out.
As for cutting, ya, a table saw is going to make it easier for ripping. A circular saw will do if you have to though.
I built one of these and it has come in handy many times. Of course you could go o Surferguy route and buy a fancy Festools one, but I'm a cheap #######. This would work for doing your laminate boards.
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I built one of these and it has come in handy many times. Of course you could go o Surferguy route and buy a fancy Festools one, but I'm a cheap #######. This would work for doing your laminate boards.
Awesome video
Genius! Thanks for posting.
When I'm doing long rips of 8'+ boards I usually end up spending wayy too much time doing math to line up my fence with the kerf of the blade.
Doubley like this since the guide also protects the finished surface from monster scratches. Saves me taping off my finish pieces so they dont get scratched.
As to the levelling, I am having a hard time justifying that extra effort for a basement floor. My other thought is that by the time I lay the vapour barrier and the "underlay" any unevenness will be mitigated. What considerations am I missing? (It is about a 12 year old house and had carpet before.) I have the carpet removed.
That's what I said the first time I did laminate floor in a basement. It's amazing the effect ridges make to laminate that you would never notice under carpet, but the board will span small ridges and flex when you walk on the low spot. We had this in a home gym and those spots were quite annoying. As mentioned drag a straight edge (like a 4 foot level, etc) along the floor and mark any significant differences. Could be your ok. If not, self leveling mix is pretty easy to use and worth it.
When I'm doing long rips of 8'+ boards I usually end up spending wayy too much time doing math to line up my fence with the kerf of the blade.
Doubley like this since the guide also protects the finished surface from monster scratches. Saves me taping off my finish pieces so they dont get scratched.
Ya, it is super handy. He uses a fairly thick piece of wood, I actually made mine of 1/8" ply with the edge guide 3/4" that gives it rigidity. The thinner ply makes for a lighter guide and allows you to cut thicker material. I had watched a different video when I made mine, can't find it now but he recommended going thin.
So nice not to have to measure out from your line though, and try to clamp a guide back from it the right distance. I always fought with that. This you just line up with your line, clamp it and cut!
Levelling a basement slab is a terrible idea. If you get any water/moisture under the vapour barrier and laminate it won't have any slope to run to the drain. You should really use a subfloor like Dricore and no vapour barrier. You have a vapour barrier under your concrete slab already so you shouldn't create a sandwich zone that can't dry out.
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That's what I said the first time I did laminate floor in a basement. It's amazing the effect ridges make to laminate that you would never notice under carpet, but the board will span small ridges and flex when you walk on the low spot. We had this in a home gym and those spots were quite annoying. As mentioned drag a straight edge (like a 4 foot level, etc) along the floor and mark any significant differences. Could be your ok. If not, self leveling mix is pretty easy to use and worth it.
Thanks. I did check the floor and it is very level. There were no areas where the entire length did not touch the floor. I think I am okay.
Another comment from the intertubes was that the gap you leave by the walls allow the floor to dry out. This made sense to me.
Levelling a basement slab is a terrible idea. If you get any water/moisture under the vapour barrier and laminate it won't have any slope to run to the drain. You should really use a subfloor like Dricore and no vapour barrier. You have a vapour barrier under your concrete slab already so you shouldn't create a sandwich zone that can't dry out.
The goal is not to level out the entire floor, removing the drainage slope but to get rid of any dimples in the sloped surface. If you we're to hose down the floor, the water should run to the drains, but some may stay behind in these dimples. If to deep, these will definitely be felt when you set your floor down sounds like Titan has done a quick check and has a good surface to work on.
Another comment from the intertubes was that the gap you leave by the walls allow the floor to dry out. This made sense to me.
There should be a kit that has a bunch of spacers to put around the walls as you go to maintain the gap. Should also come with a handy tool and plastic block for "pulling" pieces together when you get a gap on the short sides.
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I'm having issues with my dishwasher where they dishes are just not getting clean. I checked out a few things and it looks like the drain hose is very dirty, and likely not pumping out all the dirty water before it bring in new water for the next wash / rinse cycle.
My issue is I don't really know why this is happening. I've got the high loop installed under my sink so I don't think that's the issue. Is it possible the drain hose is too long? I need to buy two standard ones from Home Depot (10ft I think) to make it reach from the dishwasher to the sink. That's the only thing I can think off, but I don't want to try a somewhat difficult solution (where I simply extend some plumbing behind the dishwasher so the drain hose is shorter) if that's not the issue.
EDIT: I did replace the dirty drain hose about 6 months ago as I thought it was just the fact that the old owners hadn't done that in a long time. However, it's just as dirty again in that short amount of time.
I've had so many dishwasher issues solved by running an empty cycle with a bunch of vinegar.
Thanks. I did check the floor and it is very level. There were no areas where the entire length did not touch the floor. I think I am okay.
Another comment from the intertubes was that the gap you leave by the walls allow the floor to dry out. This made sense to me.
The gap that you then go and cover with a baseboard?
Hose down your slab, place an 8x8 sheet of plastic in the middle of the room, put sheets of plywood over it and then set some weight on top of it. Come back in a month. It will still be damp underneath.
The goal is not to level out the entire floor, removing the drainage slope but to get rid of any dimples in the sloped surface. If you we're to hose down the floor, the water should run to the drains, but some may stay behind in these dimples. If to deep, these will definitely be felt when you set your floor down sounds like Titan has done a quick check and has a good surface to work on.
The gap that you then go and cover with a baseboard?
Hose down your slab, place an 8x8 sheet of plastic in the middle of the room, put sheets of plywood over it and then set some weight on top of it. Come back in a month. It will still be damp underneath.
Well the manufacturers and pretty much everything I read said to install a vapour barrier. I would imagine it is to protect the laminate from moisture.
Well the manufacturers and pretty much everything I read said to install a vapour barrier. I would imagine it is to protect the laminate from moisture.
This is where Google/YouTube will be your best friend. A couple things I'd look at would be:
1) Run the dishwasher and listen to the motor, if it sounds labored or any other odd noise, that would be a good starting point.
2) Check the drain leading to the hose for any clogs or build up. With all the water going through it I'd imagine calcium build up could be an issue, causing dirty water to slosh around instead of rinsing.
3) Always rinse off your dishes (if you dont) before putting them in. Sauces and especially bacon grease are terrible on any plumbing.
Good luck!
1) Motor sounds fine - the dishwasher is actually very quiet in general, so we are happy with that
2) There is some build-up of something - as disgusting as it is, it's likely ground up old pieces of food. I've already tried a new drain line to avoid the build-up, but I feel like a hose should last longer than 6 months
3) Maybe this is the crux of the issue. Our old place had a built-in garburator in the dishwasher, so we never bothered much with cleaning off plates. Maybe it's just as simple as that.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Bill Bumface
I've had so many dishwasher issues solved by running an empty cycle with a bunch of vinegar.
I'll give this a try. How much do you use? I'm assuming you just dump a bunch of it in the bottom prior to starting the cycle?
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Well the manufacturers and pretty much everything I read said to install a vapour barrier. I would imagine it is to protect the laminate from moisture.
I'm not sure exactly what you're up to and where you're at in the process but you don't want plastic over your concrete basement floor and under any finished flooring. It will just trap water and cause problems. You need it to breath. That's the idea of Dricore. Short of Dricore, you can get roll out underlayment that functions as a vapour barrier as well as padding and insulation. Every flooring manufacturer will tell you to protect their product from water coming up through basement concrete. However the way they tell you to do it is usually wrong.
Does this dishwasher have a built in garburator? If not it has a filter that must be cleaned every few months. Any decent dishwasher shouldn't require pre-cleaning. What detergent do you use? The old powdered stuff had to be reformulated(to remove awesome cleaning chemicals) a few years ago and it is useless now. You need the pod style(liquid or solid). At least that was my experience. For vinegar, just dump a couple cups in and run an empty cycle.
