Anyone have any tips?

Still no tips. Anyone have any feedback for me?

Looks like the sewer opening that was filled in to accommodate the previous carpet installation. We have the same situation in a very old house. Sometimes, water has backed up in that spot and we've had to call the plumber to clear out the muck from the other side of the basement, under the kitchen. Hope you are doing a vapor barrier before the laminate goes down.

Hi Pam. Rather than spending $200 on a vapor barrier and under-padding we were told it would be wiser for us to spend $400 on a cork foam under-padding/vapor barrier. Apparently this offers a little more protection and noise reduction. This is the product: https://www.homedepot.ca/en/home/p.premium-plus-all-inclusive-underlayment-with-6mil-vapour-barrier.1000749177.html

Again I am looking to know how to go about making this pipe level with the floor. I am thinking that renting a grinder might be my best bet.

I can't help you there...but I do know that after two flooded basements, weeks apart, due to freak rainfalls in excess of inches per minute, and some backup problems normal to a 1928 home, we removed the carpet and left the floor bare. It's no longer used that much since kids are gone. We are considering having the cement floor polished and using an area rug in the "man cave." I wish you good luck with your project. I am sure someone will come up with a solution!

Yes, you need to grind it down to floor level

There is a cement floor levelizer that you put down. It is expensive but it is made for situations like this. I can’t speak to the other issues, but having had basements, I would never put anything in them that is inconsistent with dampness and water. In 56 years, I have never had a basement that at one time or another did not have a water issue, back up sewer, foundation leak, window leak, etc. I finally got so sick of it my current house (which is in the upper midwest) does not have a basement. I’m not a mole so I don’t live underground - not ever again. And then there are RADON issues which I hope you tested for because I would not put any money into remodeling until I had the answer to that question.

I would use the levelizer but the floor is all level aside from this pipe. In other words, if I use this leveling material it wont actually cover up the pipe. If I use anything to cover up the pipe, that in itself would make the floor uneven.

As for the radon issue, I've never even thought about that. hmm..

Can't you put an extra layer of that corkfoam down to make up the difference? Looks like it's in a corner -- not a major traffic area and furniture will probably be in front of it.

Who's gonna know? :)

You can pop off the molding and start grinding away with an "on your knees" rental tool but the dust and mess is terrible and the unknowns are great (spalling, soft concrete, pipe material, etc...) paying a local reputable experienced concrete flooring company will be your best solution to quickly deal with this issue.

Also the company can apply a radon concrete sealer to mitigate potential radon leaking into the space. It looks like it has been sealed before but depending on the sealer used it should be reapplied every so often.

Also wondering if that wall was built on top of that section when the basement was refinished? Is there a room on the other side of it with the remaining quarter of the line?

Hey Pam, It is totally possible that I could put the flooring over that pipe with some extra under padding in the corner but I really don't want to risk the floor cracking or having a gap between boards. I honestly think my best bet is to throw on a respirator and give it a quick grind as I really don't have to remove much material at all. No there is no room on the other side of that wall. Just the foundation.

Rawket, Yes the floor has been sealed and i think it was done fairly recently. I have to say this radon talk is all new to me. It's not something I've ever even thought about TBH.

Have you considered luxury vinyl flooring?...totally waterproof...and can come with cork padding integrated..

Good luck with your project! You know you can buy a combo smoke detector/radon detector and install it in your basement. Be sure to let us know how it all turned out!

Plus it conforms a little to the almost always variations in a floor that “appears” to be all level....

You can buy a radon test kit, but frankly most homes with basements now have remediation systems installed because radon levels can change and you would have to test every year. Check to see if your area even has a potential radon issue. All basements present some level of risk, but it is much higher in certain areas of the country. Radon is a major cause of lung cancer and the #1 cause of it in non smokers. A friend of mines husband developed it from weekends in the basement so any exposure above minimum amounts is dangerous exposure. The EPA has an interactive website which will tell you your risk. Here is a map of the US. Red zone is high danger areas.

I wouldn't go to the trouble to grind it down since it's in the corner. I would try my best to level it with some concrete patch.

Radon remediation systems are usually not a huge expense to install.

A grinder with a diamond cup type attachment will take less than 5 minutes to grind down. Yes, it creates a great deal of dust and you want to wear a dust mask, but it really is quite simple.

With regards to the topic of radon that was brought up, it's very regional. Where we are at in Portland, every home inspector does rain testing for purchases (less than $100) and it is very rare that they are ever positive.

That being said, all new construction here is required to be set up for a future radon mitigation system per code of radon is ever found in the home.

They are however not necessarily inexpensive if you didn't require one. We are required to run a 3" PVC line into the crawl space or in your case under the slab and exhausted through the roof. If radon is found, an inline fan is cut into the 3" line with constant power.

Bottom line, your basic question, yes, grind it, clean it, run a fan out a window while you grind, and do your floor, and if the radon conversation has you concerned, check a reason map, and have tested if you deam it necessary keeping in mind you have been living in the house for however long with no concern for it up to this point potentially... The flooring doesn't have an impact on wether is there or not!

I’m not sure “we’ll, you’ve been living there already” is good advice. First, the exposure is cumulative, so the more of it you have, the higher the risk. So any time you improve things it’s a benefit. Second, in areas with a radon risk, usually a radon test is a part of the sale process, and if the house fails the seller has to fix it before the house can be sold. (I’m sure there are places where that isn’t the case, but it’s a pretty common thing to see these days.) Therefore if the home is in a radon prone area, testing for it is absolutely something that should be done before flooring, because if you do have radon the flooring is likely coming up to install the mitigation system. Might as well do it now and be done with it.

Actually, if you are in a high radon prone area, they tell you to mitigate because most people don’t check every year for Radon and any exposure above the minimum threshold is dangerous. I heard that Dana Reeves lung cancer (wife of Christopher Reeves) was caused by Radon exposure. By the time you buy the kit every year to test, you are better off installing the remediation system.

It will only take a few minutes to grind it down. Remember to wear safety glasses!

Hey guys.

So I did a little research since speaking with all of you and found what looks to be some fairly reassuring results. Apparently out of 95 homes tested in our area 100% of the homes were below 200 Bq/m3. See York Region Health unit. Now although this is somewhat reassuring I still plan on running a test just for peace of mind. Let me know what you guys make of these test results? https://www.canada.ca/en/health-canada/services/environmental-workplace-health/radiation/radon/cross-canada-survey-radon-concentrations-homes-final-report.html#a10

hasmoody13, I know there are self leveling products that I can buy but my concern is that those generally sink into low areas. My whole floor is level and the pipe sticks above the floor. This means that a self leveler would basically just move around the pipe and not really cover it. Unless of course I make the corner of the basement a tiny bit higher than the rest of the floor. I'm not sure if this is possible or recommended. So far grinding the pipe seems like the easier option to me. As for the flooring, the laminate has been purchased and delivered and we are still happy with the price and the look of it. In the chance that it ever does get damaged by water or moisture I think I will be ok knowing that I only paid $1000 for the laminate. I know that's still a lot of money but It's something I could handle.

Thanks again for all the great tips everyone! :)

The Eco Cork Foam + Vapour barrier is going to be fine. There is more foam than cork, but that's not a problem. It is slightly more expensive than purchasing 3mm cork and then 6mil vapour barrier separately, but it is a 1-step process rather than 2. It is a bit faster, but not by much.

Steve that is great news and it is why I suggested looking into it. Please test and check local results annually for peace of mind. In my neck of the woods about 80% test positive. As long as you go in knowing the issues on flooring and radon you are ahead of the game.

Hey bellburgmaggie,

Absolutely! and without the help of people like you I never even would have considered the issue of radon as I'm a fairly new home owner (4 years) and I am learning new things all the time.

SJ McCarthy, ya I think it should work well. We were told that this wasn't the cheapest option but that it was certainly the best option for basement flooring. It's funny how you mentioned that there's more foam than cork because it honestly looks like there's just really tiny bits of cork surrounded in foam. It almost seems like the cork is pointless or it is simply put in the foam for marketing purposes of calling it cork under-padding. Still the guy at the store was adamant that it was far superior to a basic under-padding so I took his advice and I think it was the right choice based on what I've been reading.

@Steve - Yah I know what Eco Cork foam looks like. The company changed the product about 2 years ago after the public found out it was 100% Polyurethane! Yep. Not a STICK (or grain) of cork in it anywhere. I guess they got caught under the "false advertising" concept and changed the product.

Because they were caught, Eco Cork foam added tiny granules of cork into the polyurethane foam and VOILA - they were now selling "cork" foam. Which is precisely as the name suggests.

Anyway, it is a decent product (cork is MUCH better for warmth and acoustics) for the price. Especially the 2-in-1.