We are planning to install carpet on our old basement concrete floor in Chicago. It is currently painted w/a latex acrylic floor & deck coating, but w/all the chipping/scraping probs, we now want carpet. Do we need to treat/prep our floor in any way before the carpet install? Also, our floor is very cold & the new carpet is only 1/4" thick, is a anti-microbial padding really so bad? We'd like to warm it up--cheaply.
Answer:
Unless you have a watr problem, you don't have to any preparation and under no condition would I put in an underpad in spite of having to forego the warranty on the carpet if its not there. Put that money into a more plush carpet instead.