Finishing a wavy basement floor

Q: What can I do to even out an uneven basement floor? It’s bad enough that you can feel the bumps and hollows with your feet. I’m looking to install a new finished floor. Would laminates work here? How about carpet?

A: Carpeting applied directly on basement floor is a popular, but very bad idea. Even if your basement appears dry all the time, the floor is still likely to be cool in the summer. This means that it will almost certainly be a source of condensation when weather is hot and humid. Carpeting holds condensed moisture and that promotes the growth of mould, mildew and musty smells.

A better approach is to level the floor you’ve got using mortar or a floor levelling compound, then apply a subfloor product before a finished floor. Laminates are an option, but they’re especially dependent on a flat installation surface. You can safely install carpeting over a subfloor without fear of condensation.Solving toilet troubles

Q: What can I do to get my toilet flushing properly? It’s not a water saver model, so that’s not the problem. The other toilet in our house works fine.

A: There are a few reasons why toilets don’t flush well. Some are simply designed poorly, and they’ve never flushed well from day one. If your toilet used to work fine, but is lazy now, then a partial blockage of the drain line could be to blame. A clogged vent pipe can also cause poor flushing because it prevents air from moving into the drain pipes to replace the volume displaced by the flushing water. Though these two causes are possible, from what I’ve seen there’s another cause that’s more likely.

As toilets age, mineral deposits build up inside hidden passages behind the bowl. Changing the shape of the internal passages, even a little, definitely can cause trouble. This is consistent with the fact that your other toilet works fine. Pipe or vent blockages are more likely to affect both.

Given the fact that your troublesome toilet is an old, water-hogging model, I’d recommend replacement with a low-flow toilet. Have a plumber come in and check the pipe and vents beforehand, but don’t be surprised if they’re okay. You might think that a toilet should last forever, but they don’t always endure.

When I built our house I didn’t realize that the toilets I installed were such poor performers. I replaced them with two Toto Drake models more than 10 years ago, and they always worked flawlessly. For the latest information on the performance of particular toilet models, you can download a free performance report at www.map-testing.com.

Better trim and moulding

Q: What’s the best way to sand wood molding before finishing? I've been using a flexible, foam sanding block, but it's taking forever. Is there a better way?

A: Sanding moulding and trim gets rid of marks left behind by the machines that made the moulding, and this step is important for getting the best possible finish. Trouble is, sanding isn’t often done because it takes so long working by hand. A much faster and better approach uses something called a sanding mop.

It’s a Canadian invention (www.stockroomsupply.ca; 877.287.5017) made from many layers of cloth-backed abrasive, held together on a shaft that spins in a hand-held drill or drill press. As the cloth spins, it smooths the curved and irregular surfaces of the moulding quickly and effectively. The really surprising thing is that the sanding mop also works without rounding over the crisp edges and details that make moulding look great.