My house was built in 1984.  The slab under the attached garage continues and becomes the floor for the "family room."  There is no insulation on the perimeter of the slab, and I doubt that there's any under it. 

The outside temps are only down to the 30s at night, but it's already uncomfortable to sit in that family room.  I've tried putting pieces of 1.5" EPS where we put our feet, and it makes a marked difference -- which seems to corroborate that the problem is from the slab.

I am considering a dimpled sheet to control moisture, some EPS, and either 1/2 or 3/4 T&G ply flooring.  My problem is that the back wall has a sorta French door where one is fixed and the other opens to the inside.  Is there a common or an acceptable way to step down the added height to give the door clearance to open?

I am considering a drop down in an arc 8" or so larger than the door swing.  I'd build up the edge with two additional levels of ply and scarf the resulting edge at 60 degrees or so and then round the upper edge. 

Would the carpet lay properly over the edge?

Thanks for any suggestions that you can offer.

Larry

Larry,
Rather than try to roll the carpet down to the door level, why not just lay tile or some other more weather resistant flooring than the carpet in the lowered area around the door, and keep the carpet on the raised flooring.
By the way, there is a product on the market that is designed to use for your purpose. It is exactly what you have described-- plywood with dimple board attached to the underside. I believe its sold in 2x2 squares, and I'll bet its far more expensive than your do-it-yourself system. Also, the dimples go down toward the concrete with the backing against the plywood. This allows any water that might get in to drain away.

If it was me, I would adjust the door around my new floor. Small changes in floor heights are tripping hazards. You could remove the door, adjust the door header up the thickness of your new floor, put pieces of treated as shims under the door, and reinstall the door. That will make the door look like it "belongs" in the room, without making a tripping hazard.

Wes,

I'd thought of that, but it would seem to still need either the carpet to roll down to the tile level or some other treatment to cover the transition -- and carpet would seem easier IF it would take shape.

aardvarcus,

I agree, and your concern is the only reason that I've not done anything over all these years, but seems increasingly less comfortable each year as I age.  I'd thought of moving the doors up -- way too much work on an exterior door. 

I'd considered shimming the threshold up the 1 1/2 - 2 " it would take, but that would seem to look "off."  Would shimming the threshold create any problems? 

VERY respectfully,
Larry

Larry,
would it be possible to reduce the height of the door, itself, rather than having to raise the header?
You didn't say what materials the door is made of. If it is wood, then removing enough for your floor would be no problem. Metal is more difficult, but not impossilbe.

If you don't want to mess with the header, I agree with wes and you about cutting a bit off a bit of the bottom of the door and shimming the threshold up.

Now when I talk about shimming, I am not referring to what you do on the sides and top of doors where you only put shims where you are going to nail/screw through. I am referring to cutting a piece or pieces of wood (preferably treated lumber or Advantech for the water resistance) that will fit under the whole treshhold, supporting under the whole base and making it just as solid as it is now.

As far as looking "off", everyone has their own opinion. In my opinion, if there is already a small step up from outside to inside and if you put a nice piece of trim under the threshold that matches the door, it should look fine. If the door is currently perfectly flush with the outside, I leave it up to your best judgement to tell if it is the right look for your home. You might even be able to put in a small decorative step right by the door, so you would walk out onto a small step and then down to the level of the outside. Just let your imagination run wild.

At the same time though, there is nothing wrong with having a step up inside the house, however I would use a different material in the low spot than the high spot, just so it would be more odvious there was a level change, so that people would be less likely to trip. As was mentioned before, ceramic tiles by the entry are great, especially for muddy boots, just so long as you know you will be losing heat from that spot since there will be less/no insulation there.

Wes,

Unfortunately, it's metal.  But a slow cut with a good blade "should" leave me a clean enough edge that I clean it with a fine file and insert a filler strip. 

aardvarcus,

I was considering the different material because it might be easier than forcing a carpet to take the compound curves, but I was thinking of trying to minimize the difference.  I like the visual cue that you mention -- kind of like the high contrast edges for counter tops in a universal design. 

Thanks to both of you!

Very respectfully,
Larry

Larry;

I think I might order a 6' - 6" door blank and replace door & raise threshold, a fiberglass door is even trimable to a certain point

I'd look into the 2x2' plastic dimple/OSB squares mentioned above.  They raise the floor surface about 1 inch.  They also have an R value.  I'd definately use that if I were going to lay carpet on concrete and didn't know the condition, if any, of the vapor barrier. 

Don't just shim the door.  Since it's concrete inside and out, raise the door the required amount with plastic shims, put a couple of tapcon screws through the frame/shims, and use a grout bag to shoot Type S mortar under the door frame.  If it's a sliding door, the tapcons may not be necessary. 

I would then slope the mortar on the exterior out about 12 or 16", depending on the tile sizes at the local Home Depot.   Then, I'd set the large tiles so that they slope from the door to the garage slab surface.   It will be difficult to get the sides of the tiled area to look tidy, but if it's a garage, it may not matter too much.

That gives you a large exterior threshold with a fairly gentle transition slope that's easy to see.

Mark

Mark,

I was really interested in the 2x2 squares, but they'd raise the floor more than I'd like.  I was considering putting down the dimpled material, then the EPS, a 1/2 or 3/4 ply deck, and carpet over that.  I was assuming (risky) that if the EPS was OK under concrete, it would be able to take the load with a ply sheet over it to spread the pressure. 

Do I need a lower ply level below the EPS?

Very respectfully,
Larry

Ready,

The 2x2' squares that I've seen are 7/16" OSB on 1/2" thick dimple membrane (15/16" total), so it would raise the floor less than your proposed 3/4 ply/dimple/EPS.  Assuming you can find and work with 1/2" EPS, you'd be at 1.75 inches total before the carpet and pad.  You'd get some additional R value (maybe R3?) from the EPS, but my guess is that it would hardly be noticable.  The carpet and pad will likely have as much R value than 1/2" EPS.

EPS is a vapor barrier, so with the proper taping you could omit the dimple membrane.  In fact, I'd be concerned that the dimple membrane might poke into the EPS, thereby losing some of the R value.  Bottom line is that the squares are made for just what you want to do and they can't really be damaged in the installation process or subsequently.

Check for cold air infiltration.  Your project won't do much if there's cold air coming in around windows, doors, dryer vents, etc.

I have been putting off a similar project in my basement for years.  The office where I used to work tore out perfectly good and expensive carpeting from the conference room and I carted it home for nothing and laid it directly on my concrete basement floor.  It warmed the room up so much that we now watch TV in what was an unfinished basement.  During my last appraisal, the county added 400 square feet to my house!  Go figure.

The house was built in 1942, so it's not likely that there's a vapor barrier under my slab.  I'm concerned about mold, but obviously not enough to put the remodel high on my "to do" list.  But if and when I pull up that carpet . . . . I'd lay the 2x2' squares and cover them with the thin underlayment foam now used under Pergo type flooring.  The underlayment foam is only about 1/8" thick, but it's got some additional insulation, it's a second vapor barrier, and it helps eliminate any imperfections in a floor that wasn't intended to be used as living space.  Wood laminate flooring is so much easier to clean than carpet.  And, like you, my garage and a daylight back door enter right into the living area.  I now wish I didn't have carpet.

Mark

Big fuzzy slippers might also work.

Thanks Mark, I'll look into that further. 

I've tried the fuzzy slippers, but they clashed with the fishnet stockings.

Very respectfully,
Larry

Larry;

Now I have this mental picture that will never go away