Underlayment for plastic garage tile?

[CT2012]

Depending on the weather, I occasionally have light surface moisture on parts of my very, very old detached garage slab. I'm putting down GarageDeck floor tiles, and would like to have it a little quieter via putting down some sort of underlayment, either landscape fabric or a very very thin foam liner, similar to what would go under a Pergo floor.

My question is, because of the occasional moisture, is it a bad idea to put such a liner down and instead just let the floor breathe? If it is, I'm ok with the noise tradeoff (it'll clop clop clop in a few locations where the slope is off, and I haven't gotten around to a self-leveling fix).

Thanks for any tips.

 

[Shea]

If you go with a synthetic landscaping liner then you shouldn't have any problems with mold or mildew. Most polypropylene tiles are designed to drain water and allow for air circulation underneath the tile which will allow the liner to dry.

 

[Kevin54]

If it were me, I would put down some 15# or 30# felt paper that is used under shingles. That will keep the moisture from coming up through into the garage. Now on the other hand, and not knowing where you are from (please put it in your profile for this and future questions) whether it be from the deep humid south or the rust belt from Ohio, you will eventually end up with moisture from the top down. This will tend to make it a little longer to evaporate. But in using the roofing felt, I don't think you would have to worry about any mold starting. You don't want to put anything down like a foam underlayment as that will just create more problems than it would solve. You are asking for something to seal moisture and not trap it. Using a felt paper will let the moisture or water runoff if you have a slope in your garage.

Post up some pics as to this project!!!

 

[RaceDeck1]

You really want to only use a synthetic / breathable material in the garage. With a garage floor like RaceDeck, it is engineered to allow air and moisture to evaporate and escape.

 

[CT2012]

thanks all.

i'll go with the landscape fabric.

i have a bunch left over from yard work, just can't recall if it's synthetic or not (polypropylene). it likely is, and i got it from home depot.