Basement flooring options.

[Tom2]

I need to put down flooring overtop of concrete in my basement. About 600 sq ft or so worth. The space is evenly divided into 2 large rooms. (load bearing wall in the middle..could remove and put in a beam..but, eh..the house is solid, why screw with it??)

Id like one room to be the "nice" side. Some nice home built furniture, nice TV, nice book cases, etc.. The other side has the washer and dryer. It can be a little more utiltarian. May still work for a game room.

My wife and I are having a heck of a time agreeing on a floor.. Personally, I think Id like to just do VCT tiles in both rooms. Its cheap, holds up well to water (in case it ever flooded), and is easy to install.
I could do a nice diaganol pattern. 2 colors with 4 squares of each color.

Whats even better, is that I have about 400 sq ft of black and white tiles sitting in the garage. The plan was to use them there..but I really need to get the house finished before remodeling the garage.
But, my Wife refers to them as "garage tiles" and thinks they are too ugly to put in a house.

I also have about 400 sq ft of laminate flooring. However, this is cheap laminate flooring. Which can often be "clicky" and not terribly attractive. The concrete floor has some slight wavyness to it. Nothing bad, but something that could be a problem with a floating floor(subfloors really need to be immaculate for floating floors). Not to mention, if it gets wet..Youre pretty well screwed. (our bsmt is dry though). Im thinking of just letting that flooring go on Craigslist or something.

Then, I think..What about ceramic or stone tile? Big 16X16 tiles arent too expensive. That would work well below grade..

Also, I think about regualr wood flooring. Maybe just put down some sheets of plywood over the concrte floor, then nail down whatever flooring I want. Anyone ever do that? Is that at all damaging to the slab? (cant imagine it being too good for it..)

Anyways, as you can tell...I have alot of options and no idea what direction to go in.
Any help is appreciated!

 

[Lookin4'67Galaxieconv]

I think you want to move this over to Flooring...

 

[Tom2]

I think you want to move this over to Flooring...

Well, I thought since it wasnt technically garage related, it would get moved..but that would make the most sense. If a mod can move it, that'd be great.

 

[dipper]

i would lean towards the laminate if the wife won't go for the vct. Get a good laminate though and be sure it has a vapor barrier before you install. I work part time at a grossmans bargain outlet and there is cheap laminate there, < $1 sqft but it's pretty crappy. Better stuff can be had for $1.30 to $1.75 sqft.

 

[fourfeathers]

I am in a similar situation here, and am interested in what you decide on. I have looked at the bamboo @ Sam's club, at the lay-in subfloor mat and 2X2 dimpled plastic/plywood, etc. We have carpet, but I don't trust water leaks ruining it. My neighbor used garage epoxy on his floor, but he is not really a handy guy. My folks have the old floor tile, and it has held up well over the years, but it is cold!
What about a carpet you can just interlock, like Legato? It is pricier though. We bought a cheap *** unpadded carpet at Lowe's for like .95 a square ft, and it is taped down to the office floor at work. Cheap, easy, and it works ok, meaning it is still alive after 3 years of constant use. It is directly on the concrete there too, so it's cold, hard, and unforgiving, like my Wife, lol. Good luck

 

[tatra]

cork......................nice and warm and soft.................

 

[jade97]

We used the 'Subflor' product in our basement. It's a 2'x2' plywood T&G with a ribbed plastic on the bottom (to allow airflow). I laid this product & had Lowe's do the carpet & vinyl.

Big temperature difference over carpet/vinyl/tile directly on the concrete.

 

[Tom2]

That would be the ideal situation..Unfortunately, that would add alot of $$ to the budget. But that plywood with plastic on the bottom is nice..

 

[Richard Givan]

About two years ago I went through this same process. My wife and I wanted to have ceramic tile installed (I've done it, but my back is pretty dodgy for this kind of work and I know a guy who does fast, good work for a good price). Problem is that we painted the bare concrete when we first finished off the basement walls and ceiling about 12 years ago. The tile guy took a look and said the paint would all have to come off, and however it was done (stripping, sanding) it would be a huge mess and considerable expense.

I went with laminate flooring I bought from a discount close-out sort of place for about a buck a square foot. It was pretty good stuff, though, and very quick to lay. I did five rooms with lots of corners, closets, etc. that needed fitting in a few weeks of very spotty, part-time work.

I (and more importantly, the wife) have been quite pleased. It does clack a bit, but I never notice it anymore. Do be sure to use decent padding underneath, though. It's easy to keep clean by sweeping, and one area did get wet during a deluge of rain, but to no apparent harm.

My suggestion is to try your laminate in one prominent room. Give it a month of use and if your wife and you aren't happy, take it up (not that hard to do) and then sell it.

Of course, you could also give the VCT tiles the same trial. If she can't abide it, you can still lay laminate or carpet over it without a problem.

Whichever path you take, I bet you guys will be so happy with the change from concrete you will stick with it.

 

[Tom2]

I appreciate the advice.

I installed laminate in our living room and hallway. It was fairly cheap (about $1.75 sq ft). In the main floor its pretty decent. But in the hallway its very clicky. To the point where I just got fed up and face nailed every board. Its flimsy too, so it takes about 6 nails per board. Surprisingly, the nails are really not very noticable when set correctly.

After that experience, I have been reluctant to use another cheap laminate. Especially after other horror stories Ive heard that are even worse.. The only reason I bought the stuff I have sitting in boxes now is because it was like 70cents a sq/ft. Im tempted to maybe put it in a couple upstairs bedrooms that have old carpet. Carpet just never seemed sanitary to me anyways...Cant imagine all the germs and bacteria that live in carpet.

The basement slab is in pretty darn good shape (thank goodness)..but it has some sloping (probably how it was originally poured). Nothing you can really see with a naked eye..but I think if you put a floating floor over it, it would be noticable. Of course, I could level it..but floor leveling stuff gets pretty expensive. Especially over a huge room.
I did a floating floor in the dining room (engineered wood, seams glued together). Even it has a couple floaty spots. Im now convinced you really have to have a PERFECT subfloor to float a floor.

I think the floor is good enough for tile or vct tile..they would just go with the slopes, and no one would ever notice it.

Luckily to the basement doesnt get water either..It used to get a slight wetness every once in a while in 2 small areas. Since I put up gutters, theyve been dry ever since. I pulled up the old bsmt carpet (probably 20-30 years old), and there was no mod or signs of water, except the 2 small areas.

 

[snorky18]

In case you didn't already have enough options, add one to your list:

Stained concrete.

Resturants and commercial buildings have it. We even have friends who built a brand new house that put it in.

Looks good, low maintenace, doesn't harbor dust, doesn't "clack". Cost is ~$0.50 / SF for all materials if you DIY. We just stained our 600 SF basement, and are probably going to seal it this weekend. If you ended up not liking it, you could always put something over it.

 

[Tom2]

Yep..Thats another viable option..The downside is that there is some light residue left from the original carpet padding. Basically, it would take a lot of prep work before I could stain the concrete. Im going othave to prep before any floor, but to stain, I would probably need to shot blast or scarify it. Something Id prefer to avoid..
Ill look into it a little more, ask the wife what she thinks. Thanks

 

[Tom2]

I think Im wearing down the Wife a little bit.. Told here I put down the VCT and we dont like it, I can easily go over it with another floor.

She seems more open to tile though..If I can find some real cheap tile at a discount store or something..Maybe we can do that. HD and Lowes had tile for around 68c a square foot. Basically the same price as VCT. Its not exactly granite..but still decent looking.

 

[bach939]

In case you didn't already have enough options, add one to your list:

Stained concrete.

Resturants and commercial buildings have it. We even have friends who built a brand new house that put it in.

Looks good, low maintenace, doesn't harbor dust, doesn't "clack". Cost is ~$0.50 / SF for all materials if you DIY. We just stained our 600 SF basement, and are probably going to seal it this weekend. If you ended up not liking it, you could always put something over it.

I'm thinking to stain mine too. Did you use acid stain? If so, where did you buy it and are you going to use epoxy for the top coat?

 

[TONE]

Hi fellaz..........

My wife and I are in the same situation. We want to finish our basement (meaning me) and we are exploring flooring options.

Im also scared of the dreaded broken water heater or god forbid rain flooding.

Anyway, weve narrowed it down to two options. One being acid staining the floor, which I lreally like.

Another one is this new wood look flooring. But get this, it just looks like wood. its 100% waterproof.

It looks just like real wood floor but is mostly plastic. Looks awesome on its site.

link.............

http://www.basementsystems.com/basement_waterproofing/basement_floor/basement-wood-finishing.php

Im really looking into it so I will let the forum know any info when we get some samples.

 

[Tom2]

Looks good, but I bet its crazy expensive..and I wonder if they even sell it for DIY'ers. Looks like a good product though.. Wish they gave a ballpark of the price.

 

[john2499]

Hello,

I just put this in my sister's basement. http://www.homedepot.com/webapp/wcs...51&N=4217+90401&marketID=401&locStoreNum=8125
It was very easy and should last a long time as the planks are made of vinyl with a good wear layer. It cut easy with a Stanley Knife and a hook blade. It does sound a little hollow when walking not unlike laminate, I though am very biased against laminate. I hate it. It installs terribly, It is not nearly as durable as Mfgs. claim, and it is loud when walked upon (Especially the scampering dogs claws.).

John.

 

[Scotto]

In case you didn't already have enough options, add one to your list:

Stained concrete.

Resturants and commercial buildings have it. We even have friends who built a brand new house that put it in.

Looks good, low maintenace, doesn't harbor dust, doesn't "clack". Cost is ~$0.50 / SF for all materials if you DIY. We just stained our 600 SF basement, and are probably going to seal it this weekend. If you ended up not liking it, you could always put something over it.

Have any pics of your basement floor? I'm also going to be finishing off the floor in my basement and am looking at different options.

 

[snorky18]

I'll try to get some up in the next couple weeks. It's stained, but we haven't had time to seal it yet, so it looks really dull right now. The sealer is what gives it the depth and sheen.

 

[snorky18]

A little later than I would have liked, but we finished sealing and waxing the stained concrete basement floor tonight. Laundry really starts to pile up after 3 weeks

Also, there's one pic of stained concrete pic in post #20 in this thread:
http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=3148&showall=1

Quite happy with the results of the floor overall.

BTW, Pic#5's color is a bit out of whack, sorry, I'm not too handy with color correcting.

 

[Floorman01]

To reduce the "clack" from the laminate get a better quality underlay.There is some that is called Quiet Walk that is speced for alot of condos.

 

[rlk]

Hello,

I just put this in my sister's basement. http://www.homedepot.com/webapp/wcs...51&N=4217+90401&marketID=401&locStoreNum=8125
It was very easy and should last a long time as the planks are made of vinyl with a good wear layer. It cut easy with a Stanley Knife and a hook blade.....

John.

John, I just installed the same product, but the design on what I used looks like ceramic tile. I put it in a kitchen, hallway, and bathroom. You are right, it installs easily, requires almost no preparation, and is waterproof.

I think it is a great product for a location that may get wet from a plumbing leak or a heavy rain.

Bob