Shoutout to the guy at Totem who saved me from a big mistake with my basement floor

I was about to put down a vapor barrier directly on my concrete slab. The guy at the counter asked what I was doing and stopped me. Said in Edmonton, with our soil and freeze cycles, you need a thermal break first. He showed me a 2 inch rigid foam board. Put that down, tape the seams, then your poly. Did my whole basement that way. My floor feels way warmer now. Anyone else run into this? Almost cost me a ton in heating.

3 comments

3 Comments

morgan_ramirez1mo agoMost Upvoted

Same thing happened to me last year. I used the foam boards and it made a huge difference in how cold the floor felt. Really glad someone spoke up before I messed it up.

margaret3041mo ago

Oh man, my friend did the same thing without the foam. Her floor was like ice all winter. @morgan_ramirez is totally right, it's a game changer.

the_oscar29d ago

Foam's actually for under laminate, not under the boards themselves.