For such a water sensitive flooring I would use DriCore or equivalent product or system and any other active measures such as double pumps and backup battery system(s).

Even if there is never a flood, the purpose of the DriCore or equivalent product or system is to protect the flooring from the inevitable entry of: moist air rising upwards through the concrete floor and; the formation of condensation from interior air touching the cool concrete.

Your second contractor is either clueless or trying to entice you with a lower price. The damage will arise long after he's received payment.

Thank you! Do you have any alternative flooring suggestions?

Slate Flooring in a worthy project

I've been most satisfied with tile or stone. But to avoid cracked tiles later, those materials should almost always be on top of an anti-crack membrane. Very cheap insurance!

The DriCore is the CHEAP fix (not bad...just low cost) for your issue. You are welcome to fix the issues COMPLETELY = regrade your property to slope AWAY from the house. Dropping in French drains AND weeping tiles and while you have the exterior of the foundation (at least 6ft worth of dug trench around your ENTIRE foundation) exposed you throw on some rubber sealant on the concrete AND then add another layer of plastic/dimpled water barrier over top.

Once the 4 options are ADDED to the outside of your foundation (several thousands of dollars of labour and materials later) you do the backfill with the slope. And then you have roofing guys come in and deal with the soffits and downspouts to properly drain away from your foundation. All of this should be $10K - $20K (depending on where you live and how easy it is to bring in a backhoe).

OR....you bring in DriCore ($2/sf roughly) to give you 'time' to save your flooring once the sump pump fails again....and again...etc.

Do you have the budget to do the EXTERIOR WORK that will STOP the problems entirely?

Unfortunately, we don’t at this time. I definitely agree that we need a backup pump. With that said, would you all still recommend dricore? My dad (retired from flooring business) thinks we should instead use sleepers on the floor and insulate the walls and ceilings. I’ve done some research and it looks like insulating the ceiling in the basement is not energy efficient. Can anyone weigh in on the sleeper vs dricore options? I really appreciate all of the advice!

Sleepers work when you MUST nail/glue hardwood. DriVers is the DIY form of sleepers.

Ceiling insulation is for SOUND and temperature. Any time you have the chance to add insulation for noise AND temp you should do it. It is cheaper to do it now than having to tear down the ceiling once everything is finished.

Trust me. Noise insulation is a huge ingredient for quality of life/enjoyment of the space.

Thanks for your response- I appreciate the feedback. So in terms of sleepers vs dricore it’s really just a matter of preference? From what I’ve read dricore is more expensive but easier to do than building the sleepers. Are there any advantages to one over the other when it comes to dealing with water from flooding?

Both require a vapour barrier to sit on the concrete. If you paid someone to build the sleeper system, you will end up paying the same $2.50-$3.50/sf as you would to have someone purchase and install the DriCore.

One is slow (++ labour costs) using low cost materials (2" x 4" , plywood, screws) and the other is fast (low labour costs) with medium priced materials.

In Canada the regular DriCore costs $1.73/sf. That's not expensive in the building world.

The $5/sf to add sealant to the concrete slab (shotblast then add two coats of epoxy sealant then top with new concrete) that's the expensive option!

Okay thanks- where I am located the 1.4 R value Dri core is about $5.25 a square foot and the 3 R value is about $7! We have to make that decision too!

Wood sleepers will rot.

And the normal inward and upward drive of moisture driven air into your basement, plus condensation from internal water sources, are what makes moisture sensitive floor coverings not a great idea for basements.

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where I am located the 1.4 R value Dri core is about $5.25 a square foot

It's just US$1.3725 + tx. per sf 1.4 R across the border from me.

Each Dri-Core panel is 4sf.

Plywood on top of one inch XPS is cheaper, but only if you're a medium skilled DIY.

OK....just so you know, the Dricore PANEL is 2ft x 2ft. The price you list ($5.25) is PER PANEL. That means you take the PURCHASE price and DIVIDE IT by '4'. Which means the USD price is $5.25/4sf = $1.31/sf

The Canadian Purchase price is $6.89 PER PANEL = $1.73 per square foot. That's how I came up with the number. Work with per square foot numbers. It is the most common form of measurement in the USA/Canada and Britain. Europe = square meters....and we won't go there.

If you are in a SUPER COLD area of the USA (Alaska...Nebraska..etc) then work with the higher R value. If you are not, then go with the regular. It is rare to NEED the higher R-Value.

Okay- think I was confused because our contractor quoted us 5.25 per square foot and then when I found it on Home Depot’s website it was 5.25- but now that I know that’s the price for 2x2, I’m assuming his quote embeds labor.

We’re in upstate New York

You are paying for the purchase, the fuel for transport, his time to pick it up (called 'handling fees') and then roughly $2.50/sf to install it. NY State is pricy...which is the same as my neighborhood.