Concrete contractor Shawn Doyle is on hand to review the techniques used in pouring the concrete floor of the garage. A laser levels is used to ensure an accurate level and several power and hand tools are used to smooth the floor. Lastly, a control joint is installed to allow for expansion and contraction of the floor.

Bob talks with homeowner Howard Brickman about drying out of the new addition. Concrete can pose problems for the wood-floor installation business. Brickman's consulting business created a device that measures the relative humidity of the interior of the concrete and predicts what will happen after the concrete is covered with a floor covering. The whole exterior structure of the addition, except for the roof, is made of concrete. It's critical that the concrete that makes up the floor is dried before the wood floor is installed. This is especially true in Southern climates where there is a high amount of humidity.

Bob talks with Howard Brickman of Brickman Consulting about waterproofing the concrete basement floor. Brickman is putting water down on the floor to make the floor more absorbent for the sealant he will be applying later. To seal the concrete, Brickman will use Bone Dry, a sodium silicate with enzymes, to penetrate and seal up any spaces in the concrete to prevent water intrusion.

Tom Moorad joins Bob to show how his proprietary technique and product for color staining concrete is applied. He explains that the concrete slab should first be etched then treated with a mineral acid -- not muriatic acid, as that is too strong and will degrade the acrylic stain that goes on the surface. This is called "shocking the substrate". Moorad then applies the stain with a hand pump, making drip patterns over a small area and using a squeegee or skimmer to move the material across the surface. The key is to avoid pooling or puddles and to be sure that it sinks into the surface. The stain dries very quickly and will be covered with two other colors to complement the dark metallic look of the Porcelanosa tile inside. Moorad applies a final clear coat sealant once the colors have been set. Homeowners Jim Minardi and Teresa Fogelini tell Bob about the other selections they have made for floors, including a light oyster color for the pool deck, which will reflect light and stay cooler. The bedroom adjacent to the lanai area will have Bellawood hardwood Brazilian walnut.

The PEX tubing is set in the concrete and will circulate hot water used to heat the addition. Jason McKinnon of Viega North America reviews the features of PEX tubing. PEX is electronically cross-linked polyethylene tubing that is made to be stronger and resistant to high temperatures and pressures. The PEX tubing was placed in the concrete slab. The concrete acts a low-temperature radiator for the tubing. High temperature water will be pumped through the coils and heat will dissipate into the slab. A heated slab acts as a radiant heat source for the home. Tim Cutler of TJ's Plumbing & Heating reviews how the tubing was placed within the slab. In a radiant-heat application, the tubing is evenly spread out across the floor. With radiant heat, the air is not heated, only the floor. The heat is modulated according to outside weather conditions so a precise amount of heat is sent through the coils to warm the building's interior to the desired temperature. A heat/loss analysis done on the home indicates that the tubing should have nine-inch spacing for five circuits. During manufacturing, the tubing has 10,000 volts sent through it which cause the molecules to cross-link. This makes the tubing virtually indestructible. An oxygen barrier is sprayed on it to protect the boiler and the heating system from oxygen infiltration, which causes cast iron boilers to deteriorate. A foam stapler pushes plastic clips with prongs into the foam decking to secure the tubing in place.

Bob watches a strip of concrete being poured between two existing slabs. Rebar is placed in the two adjoining floors to prevent craking and a joining compound is added to ensure proper adheasion.

Here's another great tip from BobVila.com. Whether you re building a whole house or just adding a new bathroom, one of your first decisions has to be how you re going to heat the new space. According to the U.S. Department of Energy, radiant heat is more efficient than baseboard or forced air systems. Rather than just blowing hot air around the room in bursts, radiant systems slowly and steadily charge the floor with heat, keeping it where you want it, longer. Hydronic, or water-circulating, radiant systems are best for new construction or large additions. They come in many forms, for installation just below the subfloor between the joists, directly under tile or hardwood flooring, or even inside a concrete floor slab. Where you only need to heat a small space, like a bathroom, electric radiant is an easy luxury option. Electric radiant mats can be installed directly under tile and are ideal over a concrete subfloor. Set the timed thermostat to turn the system on only when you ll be using the room, like the morning when you shower, and it ll use less than 15 cents of electricity per day. This way, you don t have to make room for ductwork or baseboard units when you add a bathroom. On a cold winter morning, your toes will thank you for choosing radiant heat! Find out more at BobVila.com: The ultimate home improvement web site! BobVila.com 2008

The new family room is all done and furnished and looks terrrific. Bob talks with Sarah Monzon, the homeowner who also acted as the general contractor on the project, about the remodeling work done on the room. The room was a "cave" according to Monzon before the project was started. A pitted soapstone sink was previously used as a laundry and had become an eyesore. The room was also cluttered with accumulated junk. Because of the shortage of space in the house, the family decided to finish the basement to add to the living space of the home. Monzon acted as the general contractor for the project because there wasn't money budgeted for the expense, which was not necessarily an experience she would choose to repeat. The local inspectional services department provided a large amount of information for the novice general contractor. It is imperative before homeowners do any work on their home that they obtain the necessary permits and find out what is safe and what is not. If homeowners do work on their homes without a permit and anything goes wrong, insurance will not cover the damage. Before any work was done on the house, the basement floors were concrete and heating ducts crisscrossed the ceiling. There was flooding damage in the basement during the past fall which needed to be corrected and prevented in the future. Basement Systems was called in to install a perimeter drain and drainage system. A lot of existing plumbing was then moved from the ceiling to make more headspace and a new HVAC system was installed to move the heating ducts. The new central air system complete with an air filter made the house much more livable. In one of the smaller spaces in the basement, a new bathroom was installed with the help of technology from Saniflo. Owens Corning Basement Finishing Systems was then called in to install new finished walls. Many of the mechanical devices in the basement are now hidden behind the walls but are still accessible as the walls can be easily removed. A new entertainment center was then installed in the finished basement featuring a S1 Digital Media Center. The media center allows the homeowner to browse digital pictures taken using the family's digital camera or to set the image as wallpaper for the screen. Television shows can be watched or recorded using a schedule guide. The media center also can store home videos, movies, and music. New reclining chairs from Bell'O were put in the entertainment room. When laying protection from flood damage in a basement, it is important to elevate wood from the concrete floor. Instead of using a plywood underlayment, a plastic tile system was used which interlocks and can be screwed down onto the concrete. Plastic webbing underneath the tiles diverts any water which may come up through the concrete or spill in the basement to the perimeter drain. Slide-Lok cabinets were put in the basement to increase storage space. The Slide-Lok wall system was put in place to hang tools in the workspace. The husband of the family is a musician and uses much of the storage space to hold his instruments. Because the room can double as rehearsal space, two and a half inches of fiberglass are in the walls to reduce sound transmission to the outside. The basement has a small office space for the husband as well. Accents throughout the space correlate with other things in the room. The lampshades on the desk have a design which relates to the flooring product. The floor does not have a wall-to-wall carpet although it looks as if it does. The floor is from Binvetec and features tiles of carpet which stick to the floor. The product has interlocking patterns which can easily be layed down. Bean bags from Sumo were put in the room for lounging in and the kids love to play on them. A stairwell fishtank from AquaVista is only four inches deep.

Bob recaps the work done so far in the basement remodeling project in Melrose, Massachusetts, converting an old cluttered basement into a playroom for the homeowners' two children. A perimeter drain was dug and a triple pump installed in the basement to prevent any moisture problems. A vapor barier was also put in place over the foundation walls to channel water into the drainage ditch. A waterproof coating was applied to the concrete floor as well. Old plumbing fixtures were updated and the oil tank, heating ducts, and kitchen drain were all moved to make way for the playroom. The water tank was replaced with an on-demand hot water system that is more efficient. A Trane furnace and air filtering system were installed to maintain air quality in the home, which should help combat colds, allergies, and other illnesses. The old windows were also replaced with Energy Star-rated windows.

Gilson Novaes from Gilson Interiors uses a bullet-nail gun to install a steel plate directly to the concrete floor for the partition wall that will hold a pair of pocket doors. When open, these doors will create a five-foot opening and give the apartment a great-room feel in the main living space. The standard prefab pocket doorframes are screwed to the steel framing and leveled. The advantage of using the prefab doors is that the framing serves is both wall and door framing, eliminating the need for second wall to hold the drywall. Bob also looks at the advantages and versatility of steel studs.