HOW TO INSTALL A SUBFLOOR ON CONCRETE 

Intro: 0:30 Landscape Fabric: 0:53 Delta-Fl Taping Seams: 1:37 Installing Wood Subfloor: 3:38 Installing Tapcons: 5:32 Outro: 7:23

I've been watching videos on doing this exact thing for two days now. FINALLY, I've found the one that explains exactly what I need to know, and in language I can understand (as a DIY'er). THANK YOU!

Nicely done! I am a retired structural engineer and wish all contractors would have your conviction and dedication to detail. Cheers from Canada.

I'm blown away at the quality of information. You didn't try to sell anything, you just gave straightforward information in an easy to digest manner. I'm eager to explore your other videos

Very refreshing to see a pro at work giving instructions and not trying to sell you something. Thanks a lot sir

I like that you put silicone in the screw hole for vapour barrier continuity. A small detail that I haven't seen others do. Nice work.

Great video and thanks for landscape fabric tip. TY for sharing. Ideally, Delta-FL / OSB T&G is installed onto slab before non-load bearing walls are built. Then, for exterior walls, frame them ~1" from the foundation wall and create vapor barrier with closed-cell spray foam. This method provides an ideal transition from the subfloor underlayment to the poured concrete foundation wall.

This is a great video regarding install of wood sub-floor on concrete basement floor. The main problem I see is, is that very few builders can properly dig & install basement structures using proper site prep., and drainage (my sub-contractor experiences). It's refreshing to see someone (this guy) doing a job correctly. I hope he stays busy and makes good profits.

i am in the process of removing asbestos tiles and mastic and then I am going to prep the floors for new tiles.Reading and watching everything that I come across. You are the best!

I could never find a contractor that would care this much

Best darn video about subfloors and underlayment installation I've seen to date. Great job. Very helpful. Thank you!

Excellent video, my friend. Honesty, tips, and knowledge. I've been researching this for several weeks and you somehow explained all my concerns in 1 8 minute video. Again, excellent work. I'm going to do the sub floor first, then line the block wall with 1" foam board (for R value and vapor barrier) then build the walls on top of the sub floor. The additional tuck tape around the perimeter where the foam board meets the subfloor may be overkill for my build, but we ain't come this far...

Good job buddy great vid. I’ve been in construction for 17 years and I just nod my head when I see diy’s leaving Home Depot with three buggy’s of those 2 by 2 panels such a rip off, for my basement I actually used foundation membrane with the landscaping cloth already attached, as I got it for free from work. Again good job on showing ppl how to save their hard earned money.

Thanks for taking the time to put together such a great and informative video. It's answered questions I previously couldn't get answered about the sub floor from suppliers here in the UK.

Excellent instruction and calm voice with no fluff. Keep up the great work young man !!

I am super late but I’m beyond grateful for this video. Thank you so much! I’m building out my basement gym & the price of the dricore is killing me. I’m going to purchase the items in the video & I will install it in the rest of the basement to avoid spending my life savings on a floor. Thank you so much!

This guy knows what he's doing. Great work and thanks for the information!

Great work! Thanks for being so thorough, and slow enough for people to listen to! Room looks super nice! I may do our basement with the same colors!

I am a teacher trainer and looking at this video and assessing the teaching skills, well I would definitely give 10 out of ten to you, perfect, clear, and simple!

Thank You for the regular everyday normal guy installation video! cheers

I just told someone yesterday, I thought this would work.. and you proved it.. awesome. Thank you... very cost effective.

I used Delta FL on the basement subfloor I designed 9 years ago. The Delta FL installation specs say do as you are doing here, and put the plywood directly on top of that. I did something a bit different. Mike Holmes goes on about the benefits of a thermal break. He installs rigid foam direct to the concrete. That's going to sweat, as concrete lets moisture come up as well as go down. Hence the need for the Delta FL. But on top of that, you'll get a vastly better floor if you install a thermal break. I put in 1" codeboard. That's R5 all over the floor. The thermal break works to keep a very stable temperature in your basement. It will cost more than what you're doing here, but the end result will be a floor that's so much nicer to have your feet on. And it will give you savings on your heating. If your basement is properly insulated, you'll go from sitting on top of a cold space in the main house, to sitting over a warm space. It turns out to be integral to the house's temperature and your bank balance.

Man you just saved me a ton of time and money! Thanks for posting 👍🏽

Great video. This solidified my basement flooring plan. Kudos to camera person.

Thank you for a very informative video! Apprecaite your camera person too. I did not get a headache from the camera moving too fast and all over the place like many you tube videos that are posted. Keep up the great work!

Very informative video. Thanks for the info.

Thank you for giving us some honest information that's not skewed by some sponsored deal. This is how RU-vid used to be. Now it's all just clickbait commercial garbage. Thanks man, I'm gonna check out some of the other "how to" stuff on your channel. I just bought my first house and I'm finishing the basement. Just started pouring concrete after busting up the floor and putting in drain tile, and some of your videos cover things I'm about to start doing.

Perfectly done perfectly explained you even moved the silicone away from the top of the screw.

There is an addendum to this though. A few weeks ago we had a small basement flood. The ground was saturated and it rained all night. We came down in the morning and there was a bit of water just on the surface of the laminate flooring. We ran an emergency pump out of the window, but the damage was already done. The laminate was cupping by the afternoon and it was so not going to be ok. Water in every single Delta FL pocket, filling up past my thermal break, through the plywood seams. All has been ripped out and is a big insurance job now. The difficulty I face is we laid our great big beautiful subfloor first and then built walls. Now we have to rebuild under those walls. My recommendation, following this experience is to build walls first, then do Delta. I don't know if there is a sacrificial product that can go on the concrete level, but I'd be looking for one and then put the bottom plate of the wall on top of that. Could composite wood material work? Is anyone using this method of construction? What's needed is something impervious to water to give you a couple of inches grace before water hits the wall framing. Then Delta all internal floor spaces and seal, thermal break, 5/8" T&G plywood. Would you save the floor if you used marine ply? If someone hasn't already designed a system for this, I don't know why. 3M, Corning, I'm looking at you awesome ideas generators. PS As a preventive measure, we also installed a second sump line on full strength sump pump, plus a battery backup unit with alarm in case of all round power failure.

What a nice, elaborate and precise how-to video! Thank you very much.

Excellent video. Covered everything (no pun intended) and you didn't take forever to do it. Basement looks great!

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Do I need to level the concrete before I start working? my floor has up and downs about 1/2 inch. Thank you

I really liked your job am convinced another member on board 👌🏻👍🏻

Landscaping fabric is nice. Roofing felt, tar paper is a better option if your basement floor "sweats, or wicks water" like in an older house where the builder didn't use poly under the slab. The tar paper will hold the moisture underneath better than a regular poly vapor barrier and the water concentration will reach equilibrium and stop wicking.

This is an excellent technique, differences .. use ZIP flashing tape especially on perimeter. Use tyvek then fabric over the concrete. And 23/32 tongue groove OSB, and glue the joints.

Thanks for making this video. I was looking at a solution that would let the concrete slab breathe while being able to add insulation. Do you think I should be ok putting in that order : fabric, dimpled plastic sheet, rigid foam board then vinyl (like laminate snap-on)?

Great video, thanks! One question: would you lay down some foam underlayment on top of the OSB before installing the laminate? I guess that would make it less rigid, right? You don't lay the laminate in the video, so I'm asking.

Thank you for making this video. One of the easiest overall to follow.

Thanks a lot for posting. I think there's some great advice in here. So happy to live in the age of "free information"

I came across this video at the perfect time...I am looking to finish my basement and this method seems to be really economical compared to the Dri-core method, also it seems so much simpler to do. How do I access your other videos...you also have very good presentation skills

Hey man, thanks for this video, I'm going with this technique with the added 1" rigid foam insulation on top of the Delta FL. I have a question for you, I've had some moisture issues in my basement and aside from digging around the house and installing a better drain system and gravel, a contractor told me I should also seal all the basement floors with redguard to keep moisture out. That's like an extra $1K and am wondering if that wouldn't only create more problems down the line with the concrete not being able to breathe.

Well explained, easy to follow, great advice... even the boo boo's Easy Peasy to follow these instructions.. Thanks... Keep these coming...

Way late to this vid - but this is exactly what I need to do in an old porch turned sunroom on my 80yo house. Quality stuff. Thank you!

Great video and very informative, but I have one Question: In your tutorial here, you stated that the manufacturer recommends low expansion foam at the edges, but instead you used the tuck tape to seal it down to create the vapour barrier. I was told by the manufacturer that you don't tape down the edges, because that 1/4'' gap is for the moisture to escape. Could you clarify the reason why you taped the edges? Also, they say leave a 1/4" for the DMX from the drywall, do you do the same for the OSB on top? I'm about to do my basement floors and I want to make sure I"m doing the right thing. Thanks.

I just removed laminate as there was mold smell coming from foam film that was put directly on concrete. I like Delta-FL idea but not sure about landscape fabric. Can it spread mold grows?

In the UK we call this product / method "tanking". That's what you should search for if you are interested in doing this over here. Great vid btw!

This video helped me a lot!!! Had to order the landscape fabric on the internet because of winter time in Canada, but I feel like it was worth it! Thanks you so much!

Thank you, I almost skipped the fabric step.

Very nicely done

Thanks for the great video! We just finished 730 sqft basement and built the entire subfloor the same way your video describes. Our basement is very dry and the sump pump rarely ever runs. Only difference is that we are going to do our framing on top of the subfloor and we taped the Delta FL to our rigid foam installation instead of the walls. We will frame next and add Roxul R14 batts for total of R20 insulation. Took your advice with the little bit of silicone in the holes as well. All 230 Tapcons we used went in easier than expected! I recommend buying the Bosch bits, in a longer length than the ones that come with the Tapcons so its easier to get the depth that you need since you need to go in deeper than the length of the tapcon. One thing, in your description, the 1/4" tapcons require 3/16" bits, not an actual 1/4" bit. Also thanks for the landscape fabric tip. Worked like a charm and only added $50 to the project!

Thank you. Smarts with budget saving tips. Good video.

Hello guys, looks like this method is very simple and I love the landscaping fabric idea, I will definitely try this in our basement...

Excellent video and advice....I am currently in the process of finishing a basement floor with the 2'x2' panels...there's a lot of work pounding them together....I will be using your method on my next project

Gee, you made it look easy! Thanks!!

Great video man! That is a good looking room.

Landscape fabric under the Delta FL. Brilliant!

if you use the gun for the foam, it actually controls it pretty well. Does not make a mess at all and the bead is very controlled. I have one and probably would do it that way

Yeah, excellent video. Well done. I will use this system on a basement I am doing right now. Great notes in the title section as well.

Great video. I used the same technique as you. I went with DMX (yes I agree with you, all the same). The only difference technique I used I didn't drilling with screws into concrete. I used Mending plates to join and lock all the OSB floors. Using the Mending plates makes the job easier and less time to drill in screw. (yes drill the screws if there is a bounce in the floor). Therefore, your Delta is floating and so is your OSB floor. thanks for the video. Yes it is cheaper then dry-core.

Very good idea I was going to install those panel at $8 a piece Thank You

Very helpful video!

Thanks Dude! So nice to see how its done and done right! BEAUTIFUL JOB!

Question: Thougts on mending plates instead of tapcons? I want to avoid drilling into the concrete, am on a budget, & will be sealing the OSB to use a “finished” floor until I’m ready to lay down plywood planks. I’ve taken copious notes on this video as I am doing a DIY remodel (with zero expertise) on my little house. So far, this video +comments has been the most helpful. I would love to follow your recommendations....EXCEPT, it would incredible for me if I could use mending plates rather than tapcons (both of which I had to look up, since I had no idea what they were!). Last year, I prepped, I sealed & painted the concrete thinking that it would fine, as I am in a warm, dry climate - but, it’s cold in the winter....so, now I’m committed to an insulating sub-floor. I know about dricore, but cost is a factor & it doesn’t look like rocket science...especially if I don’t have to drill. Thoughts & advice much appreciated!

Very good video. the lady behind the camera sounds that has hypnotized from your perfect job.

Great video, very informative. Thank you!

The holes on the top side of the Delta FL could act as cups and could hold water if the basement were to flood. You would have to take up all the osb. I recommend dry barrier subfloor. Has dimples on the bottom side and the top is flat.

Wow awesome great job

Your videos are very professional and very thorough. One of the best on youtube. Looking forward to more.

If you strip one just insert a piece of insulated wire about 6” long and run the screw back in same hole. It works so well you can use wood screws. No joke...try it....you’ll be blown away how good it works. Speaker wire, automotive wire, as long as its stranded wire it will grab like mad.

Great men. Excellent explanations. I understood every step. Thanks a lot. Good luck in every project.

Thanks been researching doing the same thing. Great video

Nice video and explanation. Only thing is the proper tape to use is the blue tape since it's waterproof.

Excellent tutorial!

thank you . that's what I'm going to do tomorrow.

I will be doing subfloor on the second floor at home. I was wondering, the concrete is poured about 3 years ago, should I install vapor barrier ?

Thanks for the video

Hi Simpson, Great job on the video, and all the information you provided. I have a question about the sub floor? I have a townhouse which is on a slab guess, and right now it has Ceramic Tile on it but I want to put down wood flooring thought out, and my question is can I just lay the padding that you have in your video on the cement floor and then lay the wood down? Any help you can provide would be great. Again, awesome job, and the Fireplace looks awesome as well!

Fantastic job well done I don't know if you are a professional or not but I know professionals that would not do a job that well done but I always like to do a nice base molding all the way around and a lot of times I will make my own base molding

Excellent video. Thanks for the information.

Great video very informative, I learned something knew today. Thank you for making this.

Going to give this a go this weekend. We just pulled up shag carpet to discover concrete. Not a basement, just an office. Anything you'd do differently for a room on a slab?

Great vid. It really affirmed a lot of the things that I've been thinking about in my head while weighing my basement flooring options. New subscriber here!

GOOD JOB BRO..

Nice install and video. Great tips.

Great job

Hey!! Thank you so much for. The video!! It’s Clean cut and easy to follow. I just pulled Up carpet, and it’s. Not in the basement so would you recommend doing anything differently? Will I still need the Poly product or could I just put the vapor barrier ? I’m in SC so chances Of flooding are Slim. I’m just wondering if there are any advantages to using it outside of a basement/ flood prone area.

thanks for the detailed video. much appreciated.

Great video. Great detail. The last one wants is to find out after the floor is done is they put the membrane down the wrong way. :-)

Great idea great video, great tips thank you

Great work on your video, this was very helpful

very informative - would a person still use the landscape fabric if there is already vinyl tile on the basement floor that the sub floor is going over ? (the tile is directly attached to the concrete floor , 1958 basement )

Great and informative video. I am going to be using this system on a pole building slab floor. New construction, cold climate here in Michigan. I have plenty of height and my entry doors are 3.5 inches above cement grade, so no clearance issues. I would like to use 1 inch ridgid foam board for added R value. My concern is could the TapCon screws compress the foam board at that thickness, making my OSB appear wavy? Should I step down to 1/2 inch foam board to be safe? Thanks and keep up the great video work. People like you make RU-vid great!

Great stuff! Many thanks

Nice video and good looking room also. Good job.

Awesome job man i really liked how it came out. Hopefully it ll be my next project in my basement

great video! I've done this a very similar way. If you add more screws you don't need the landscape fabric. I do 11 per sheet and seems to be enough, if you have more of a slop in your basement then you can add more. I thought the silicone was a bit much yet totally see the beneficial aspect to it

thanks for posting this video. great info.

great video, thank you for posting this.

Looks like a great idea, should use some rigid insulation as well.