Hi, I'm a novice to the hardwood world, I am moving into a house next month that I plan to install HW in a large part of the house. What I am concerned is that this house is different from what I have seen regarding the basement and I know that if there is moisture under the floors it can and will cause problems with the stability of the floor.
My basement is varied in many ways, of the part that I plan to put hardwood above most is finished (55%) with a concrete floor/drywall and heating, while another 40% is an addition that is unfinished/unheated basement, but all concrete, it has a walkout to it and its used to store stuff, lawn mower, etc. The last 5% is the bare floor basement, its a block foundation with a bare limestone ground and none of the floors have any vapor barrier, just bare floor joists and subfloor.

I live in Ontario and the house is heated with forced hot water (not infloor)

Before I install any flooring are there any suggestions as to my basement and moisture? will i have problems?

thanks

Would I be correct it saying that all I need to do is lay some 6mil vapour barrier in the bare floor part of the basement and add a dehumidifier down there year round?

Before doing anything, you'll need to determine IF you even have a moisture problem in the basement. See if you can find an inexpensive humidistat and monitor the basement's relative humidity. Ideally, it will read between 45 to 60% but no higher than 60% and preferably lower; like 45 to 50%. If you can get your hands on a quality wood moisture meter, then test the wood subfloors (not basement) for their moisture content. This should be done at any rate for any kind of wood floor installation. It may just be easier to hire a local pro to come out and make these measurements for you as buying a moisture meter is a $300.00+ investment. IF your subfloors are above 12% moisture content, there's a good chance you have some sort of moisture problem that will need to be dealt with if you want solid wood floors. How to deal with it will depend what the problem is and where it is. Moisture control in basements is a complex issue and should probably be handled professionally.