NWMR: Basement flooring

snicksnack · June 2014

I live in Maryland and we have a large basement. The previous owners finished it but not as much of it as we would have liked. The part that is finished is above ground. We don’t want to do a major redo at this point due to cost but in the future we plan to expand the finished part. For now we just want to replace the flooring and make half of it a play room and the other half a sitting area for us when we are down there with the kids. We don’t plan on entertaining adults down there unless they have kids we have plenty of space in the main part of the house. My husband wants to put tile down there because we have cats who spend a lot of time down there and our one seems to get sick at least once a week we think he has reflux as the doctors have never seemed to pinpoint what is going one. I am concerned over tile that it will be too cold, basements sometimes have moisture etc…, and it can be expensive, I would rather do carpet. Has anyone ever used another type of flooring in your basement and if so what kind and was the experience good. TIA<?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" />

Pips09 · June 2014

We have both tile and carpet (half of each). If you have a cat, though, I'd agree with your husband. You can never, ever get that smell out if they have a mess on the carpet. Do tile and use area rugs.

DiveFrog · June 2014

We put cork flooring down in our basement. I just put an inexpensive area rug in the main play space for DD.

We absolutely love the cork flooring. It is much warmer and quieter then laminate or tile, but still cleans up much easier then carpet. It was a breeze to install and was a bit more expensive then tile (but much less work and time to install), but much cheaper then a good carpet would have been to have installed.

snicksnack · June 2014

Thanks everyone. The cork floor sounds interesting and I never would have thought of it. so many options out there I hate making decisions LOL

DiveFrog · June 2014

A high quality laminate is also an option. We laid a 12mm/pad attached laminate in my parents basement for them and it is a lovely floor. Warmer then tile, a bit louder then cork, but very easy to clean and will last a long time. It is also very easy to install yourself so very cost effective.

The key to any good basement floor is making sure you put in the necessary vapor barrier between the concrete slab and flooring as well as a good subfloor (if necessary).

snicksnack · June 2014

Thanks I was just reading about laminate I like the look of it vs. tile because I prefer the look of "hard wood" I think we should price several options and take it from there. I like the idea of tile, easy to clean up etc... just concerend about it being too cold even with area rugs.

litzo27 · June 2014

I would do tile because it's easier to maintain. Plus if the basement ever gets flooded the tile generally remains intact while the carpet would be ruined. And just do area rugs or playmats.

mae0111 · June 2014

could you put in radiant heat under the tile? my BIL did this under his tile floor and it's wonderful.

mittensonkittens · June 2014

Have you looked at luxury vinyl? My parents just put some on their porch, and I was really impressed with the quality, durability, and the look. They chose something that looks like wood. It comes in planks and installs like a laminate.

mommaoftrips · June 2014

Allure - it's basically a rubber floor. The sheets stick together and forms a waterproof seal. This is what we did in our basement and it comes in many different colours and has the look of hardwood. It looks fantastic. I love it.

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NWMR: Basement flooring

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