- Adding vinyl to a cement floor

Dear Shell,

I watch your show and have picked up some great tips, although my husband is the handyman of the house. We purchased an older home that has a basement ceiling of approx. 6 feet. Our son has decided to make this his domain. Right now his head touches the ceiling so we do not have much room to work with. The carpet is old and we would like to remove it and ideally put in a sub floor with vinyl over it, however, we cannot add any more inches if our son continues to use the room. Is there any product that can be put on cement, covered with vinyl without a sub-floor to keep out the dampness that is ever present in a basement area?

Thanks, Mabel

Dear Mabel,

First do a moisture test; tape a green garbage bag on the concrete leaving it in place for two days. Remove and if you can see the outline of the bag you must seal the concrete using Xypex Crystalization Sealer; phone 1-800-961-4477 for information about this product. After sealing apply your vinyl floor directly to the concrete laying it over 6mil poly (don't use any adhesive) Install a Humidex vent system; call 1-800-416-9111 for information.

It's just that easy.

Article courtesy of: Shell Busey