What is the thickest carpet padding I should get for my concrete basement?
Question:I've read that 7/16" is the thickest you should go for padding; however, I was in my friend's basement and the floor was so soft! She said the padding was about an inch thick. Obviously, a basement floor is concrete but this will be a playroom. So, I want the softest floor possible, while keeping cost in mind.
Answers:
That should be fine. Its up to your persoanl opinion. However you will want a vapor barrier. You can purchase it from a Home depot.
It's mostly a cost preference. An inch is best but more expensive. So you need to decide if it is worth it to you...
7/16 foam pad is standard but it comes in different grades. I've even installed horse hair padding per government specifications in a US Attorney's office! Thicker padding can poise some problems in the future with wrinkling. It might require what they call double-sticking. The pad is glued to the concrete and the carpet is glued directly to the pad.
If you want the best results, install a wood sub-floor. They sell them at home depot or lowes and they come in 4x4 wooden tiles that you set on top of the concrete.
From there, put standard pading on top of the sub-floor and you would be fine.
The wood sub-floor provides a certain amount of "Bounce" so its not like your walking on concrete even with no padding at all,
9/16 is the thickest I`ve ever heard of but you can Double Any thickness you get.
For example, (and I would`nt go any higher than this) 7/16" pad doubled is 7/8".
You will need to nail or glue 1 x 1 wood strips against the trim or wall to nail your tack strips into (nailing into the wood is easier than nailing into the concrete anyway) or it will be an impossibility to stretch, trim, and tuck it.
7/8" pad
3/4" (1x1 thickness) + 3/16±" for the tack strip = 15/16"
If you have`nt already got your tack strip, get the kind that says Wood on the box and you can use the nails that are already in the strip.
Also keep in mind the thicker the pad the less things will stand up by themselves, so you might want to cut out one layer underneath any "Pretties" that may fall over.
Good luck with it!
If you need any help with stretching, trimming, or tucking it, email me.
RT
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