Workout room help AGAIN please!

G

Grace10209

Cathlete
Hi All
about a month ago I posted asking where to put my workout room in new house. Well we just moved in two weeks ago and I went with the basement. I am using the same flooring I had used in condo garage, but now its been raining for 2 weeks and its moist in the basement, my mat has moisture on it and is SLIPPERY! im doing turbofire and slipping!.
what do i do? someone said buy a humidifier but they are $250!.
any other ideas?
im thinking of just working out straight on the concrete??? if i get good sneakers do you think that will be ok or kill me overtime?
I guess basements - even if they dont leak, they still tend to have moisture???
help ! any thoughts, ideas, would be great!! thank you!
 
Dehumidifier. It's worth the expense, because frankly if you're ever planning on storing anything in your basement, and it's a damp basement, what you store could be damaged. I'd spend the money. It will be worth it in the long run.
 
I would definitely not recommend working out on concrete. I teach at a club that installed low pile carpet directly over concrete with no padding and over the course of 3-4 months I had a stress fracture in my foot and pulled my hamstring and my Achilles tendon. Not worth it.

At least invest in a good shock absorbent matting. They added 3/4" puzzle mats at the club and that's made a huge difference.

Hope that helps! :)

Laura
 
I second the motion to NOT workout on concrete. I don't even have bad knees or anything, and I can tell you that after a few workouts on my concrete basement flooring, I was aching!

If the moisture is from condensation or general humidity, a dehumidifier may be all you need, but if there's actual leakage of water through the basement walls, the dehumidifier may not work. Maybe try a different surface on your mat or different shoes?
 
thanks all. I ordered a new plyo roll mat today - its 4 ft wide by 7 ft long - and im getting a dehumidifier too. I had to take my wet mats up so tomorrow's workout will be on concrete but im hoping i'll only have to do that for a day or two.
also, i do have a plyometric mat i bought from beachbody. i bet i could use that til my new bigger one comes in.
Amazon.com: P90X Plyometrics Mat: Sports & Outdoors
its not as wide or long but i bet i can "make due" with it til the new one comes.

so, moisture in basements is normal? i never thought of this. i dont remember this in my home growing up =- but then again i never spent much time down there?
 
No!! Moisture in a basement is NOT normal.

You have major foundation problems if there is even a little bit of moisture down there. If it's enough that you're slipping on your workout mats, I would call your contractor ASAP.
 
I agree. We don't have any moisture in our basement. My workout room is in our basement. I have low pile carpet over a decent pad and it is not wet at all. I would call your contractor.
 
So glad you decided to go with the dehumidifier and not work out on the concrete... Bad bad bad on the knees! Congrats on your new workout space though! :)
 
Thanks everyone for your input. I also ordered a new workout mat, the company said this one should have pretty good grip and not get slippery if moist.
Recycled Rubber Flooring Rolls 3/8-inch | Rubber Floormat | Floor Matting Rubber
I got 4ft X 7Ft so Im hoping that is enough room for me to do Insanity, TurboFire, etc.
Does anyone have this mat? its all one piece, my other one was puzzle pieces I put together.
I have asked several people around here about the moisture in the basement and they all have said its normal. Even a realtor and a builder, Both were not involved in the building of our new house, the builder is a husband of a coworker so i had her call him.
Maybe its cuz im in NewEngland. I dont know. anyway hope the new mat and dehumidifier fix this problem.
This morning I did TF55 on the concrete, yikes. Mat should come soon !
 
JeanneMarie said:
No!! Moisture in a basement is NOT normal.

You have major foundation problems if there is even a little bit of moisture down there. If it's enough that you're slipping on your workout mats, I would call your contractor ASAP.
Click to expand...

I think that might actually depend on where you live. I'm in northern NJ with the added disadvantage of living in an area with hills & valleys. If you don't have a sump pump here you end up with a swimming pool in your basement. I lost a $4K aerobics floor last year before I had my pump installed. :(

Anyway, before I got the sump pump I had a dehumidifier. I got an LG on ebay for about $130 & it worked fabulously. Def. check out ebay before you go retail. :)

ETA: my basement floor is concrete. When I firsrt moved in it was my only option & it made some of my chronic injuries absolutely agonizing! Even the puzzle mats didn't work very well over the concrete. The aerobics floor has made a world of difference. Plus it looks purdy.
 
LauraMax said:
I think that might actually depend on where you live. I'm in northern NJ with the added disadvantage of living in an area with hills & valleys. If you don't have a sump pump here you end up with a swimming pool in your basement. I lost a $4K aerobics floor last year before I had my pump installed. :(
Click to expand...

I live in the mountains of north Georgia. Our house is perched on the side of a hill with a huge valley behind us and a hill in front of us and we don't have an ounce of water in our basement. The proper way to construct a basement is with poured concrete walls and french drains. Also, water proofing and insulation should be added. All of this is done before you backfill around the wall.

The idea that you wouldn't do all of the above when building the house just blows me away! A sump pump? Why would you build a leaky basement and then spend your time and money pumping water? I guess I just don't understand.
 
Thanks for the info. tell me about your flooring - that is the long term goal and i'd love to hear what you got and from where. Im lookin at one called maple select, its like a gym floor at a school - TX!!
 
Grace10209 said:
Thanks everyone for your input. I also ordered a new workout mat, the company said this one should have pretty good grip and not get slippery if moist.
Recycled Rubber Flooring Rolls 3/8-inch | Rubber Floormat | Floor Matting Rubber
I got 4ft X 7Ft so Im hoping that is enough room for me to do Insanity, TurboFire, etc.
Does anyone have this mat? its all one piece, my other one was puzzle pieces I put together.
I have asked several people around here about the moisture in the basement and they all have said its normal. Even a realtor and a builder, Both were not involved in the building of our new house, the builder is a husband of a coworker so i had her call him.
Maybe its cuz im in NewEngland. I dont know. anyway hope the new mat and dehumidifier fix this problem.
This morning I did TF55 on the concrete, yikes. Mat should come soon !
Click to expand...

I also live in New England, and it's very normal to have moisture in your basement. We always use a dehumidifier. Good luck with your new mats!

Linda
 
RE: damp basements: I think it does depend in part, on where you live, and also on the age of the home (construction norms have changed a lot over the years). Some areas have basement water issues that other areas don't. If you live in an area with higher water tables, humidity, or are near water, you are going to have more issues than someone in a dry climate without groundwater nearby. I've lived in areas where ALL of the homes had french drains, sump pumps, and built in dehumidifiers.

My current home is in a high area with no ground water issues and our basement is finished. We run a dehumidifier in the summer because the humidity in the air seems to condense in the cooler basement level and cause dampness - not actual dripping water, or anything, but definite dampness.
 
Ok All. so I have been doing some thinking and Im wondering if I should RELOCATE my workout room to one of the upstairs bedrooms. I intially did NOT want to use a bedroom as im working out at 5am and Insanity/Turbofire and many other require high jumping and i didn't want to be TOO loud and wake everyone............but now with the moisture in basement issue im wondering if i should switch.

The new mat I ordered is ONE piece and Heavy - about 60lbs. so it will stay in one place. A few users said they bought it to reduce noise as they live on a 2nd floor apartment. so im wondering if i should move my area to the bedroom and workout on this new mat. Their is carpet in the room so the mat would go ontop of it.
Any thoughts??????? then i wouldn't have to worry about humidity, moisture, etc. Ughhhhh!
 
JeanneMarie said:
I live in the mountains of north Georgia. Our house is perched on the side of a hill with a huge valley behind us and a hill in front of us and we don't have an ounce of water in our basement. The proper way to construct a basement is with poured concrete walls and french drains. Also, water proofing and insulation should be added. All of this is done before you backfill around the wall.

The idea that you wouldn't do all of the above when building the house just blows me away! A sump pump? Why would you build a leaky basement and then spend your time and money pumping water? I guess I just don't understand.
Click to expand...

Maybe it has something to do w/the age of the house? Most of the housing stock in my area is pre-1920. The basement isn't "leaky," but when we get a lot of snow, then it melts & we get a heavy rain, the ground is so saturated it seeps through the walls. I don't know anyone in this area who has a basement without a sump pump. They're absolutely a necessity, esp. if you have a finished basement.

Grace, this is the flooring I used:

TileFlex - Raised Flooring

I think Amy Bento actually recommended it. The first time around I used regular padding underneath. The second time I used sisal padding b/c it's supposedly 100% moisture resistant.
 
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