I’m going to be ripping up some carpeting in my finished basement (bad move, don’t ask) and want something that looks nice, family room-ish.
Something with a wood grain might be OK, but not necessarily. I’m leaning toward ceramic but I think there are newer products that look good and do very well in basements (some sort of composite material?) I prefer plank shape over square, I think.
Anyone have some knowledge in this area?
Bonus points for links to photos.
mmm
Laminate flooring is common. It can look like wood flooring, if it’s not a perfectly flat floor then a little easier to install. There are a lot of tiles that look like wood planks now. Your local Lowes or Home Despot will have plenty of both to look at.
I aways think hardwood is best for flooring in living areas. Use engineered wood on a slab. Tile might be good if you expect a lot of spillage, but hardwood = warm, tile = cold. Unless you live in the tropics, I’d go for “warm”.
You can get some cheap tile that is still pretty nice, but install cost is usually higher than hardwood. Save money on refinished hardwood.
I agree with John in general. However, if you have moisture problems you shouldn’t use wood, and the installation is more expensive over a concrete slab because you’ll need to add a subfloor.
I should have mentioned that real wood is out of the question, just 'cause it’s a basement. Wood and moisture don’t play well together.
mmm
How’s the floor underneath? A couple of weeks ago I saw an epoxy coated slab that looked pretty good. A couple of colors were swirled together to make a pattern on the floor. Regular patterns can be done also. Google Epoxy Floor Images (scroll down below the products).
There’s this stuff called DRIcore that’s a series of plastic panels designed to go between the finished floor and the concrete basement floor, so the moisture doesn’t touch the finished floor. There may be other, similar options.
OK. I live in CA, and we tend to forget that sometimes. 
But moisture isn’t going to be good for any flooring, so if you can the best route is to fix the moisture problem with proper drainage or a sump pump.
I have an unfinished basement that I’ve been working on. Not even close to finished yet, but when it’s time, I’ll opt for premium vinyl plank flooring. It’s immune to moisture, easier to install than laminate floor and looks great.
Price seems to be roughly equal to laminate floor, maybe a bit less.
The only downside is that the concrete slab needs to be quite smooth. Not necessarily level, but smooth.
I may use a subfloor on top of the slab in order to provide a thermal break between the flooring and the slab, but this is not really necessary.
I’ve done my own laminate flooring before, and vinyl is supposed to be much easier to install.
Here’s a primer on installation.
Yep, that’s the sort of thing I’m leaning toward (the vinyl planking).
Thanks to all,
mmm
Tile is still an option, I have a half basement that I finished a few years ago. I used a woodgrain look tile like this.
Two years later, it still looks great. No issues with moisture at all.
I just installed vinyl planking on the lower basement level, and laminate on the higher. The vinyl was a pain to install, but looks decent. Much cheaper than most laminates, and obviously much. better with moisture.
I finished my basement in two sections over two separate upgrades. Half was carpet over concrete and half was carpet over dricore ( i had an apartment in half my basement). The apt had an exterior entrance that flooded the carpet. You know, the once in a 100 year thing. I ripped it up and did it again. Less than a year later, another once in a hundred year flood…damn global warming and crazy weather. OK…time to make a decision. I was going to remove the apt anyway. Do I put down carpet a third time? Fool me once… I thought about adding more dricore where the apt used to be and carpeting over that. The dricore should raise the carpet off the floor enough that it doesn’t get wet. It’s at least an inch off the floor…but… if it floods, it is going to get moldy under that dricore. It really doesn’t matter what you put over the dricore…carpet…wood. I am no longer a fan. No air flow= mold in a basement. It seems like a good idea, but I’m not so sure anymore. I wrestled with this for a long time.
I decided to ceramic tile the area. I did it myself (I’m pretty handy). ASFAIK, ceramic and the glue that holds it, is the only flooring that should be impervious to water. They put down the vinyl planking at my work over concrete and had numerous fails due to moisture wicking. I work with the installers. Wherever there was excessive moisture, it failed. I’ve not yet had another 100 year flood, but I think I am ok if it does. I worried about the tile being cold and hard. Now, I use throw rugs over the tile (which is a benefit, cause you can tile it yourself, save labor costs and hide any imperfections if you’re not an expert tiler). This is 100% the way to go. I don’t even see it as a question. It was a lot of work. I put down the plank tile that looks like wood. That stuff is a bitch to put down. Ask me why if you’re interested. I get tons of compliments. Good luck to you
I don’t get flooding, my moisture concerns are more humidity/dampness/mold.
Ceramic tile does appeal to me. I am pretty handy too, but I’ve come to a point in my life where I am hiring out bigger projects.
I’m guessing ceramic is significantly more expensive than the other options mentioned, yes?
Here is another question: Would the installers rip up my existing carpeting? For an additional charge, of course, but is this something they typically would do?
mmm
What about finished concrete?
Before laying any floor you really need to sort out. Whether the basement needs tanking or just better ventilation, unless you sort that out you’ll be running into problems in the future.
Good point. But in my case, I am speaking more of the possibility of future mold/dampness. In other words, it’s not currently a problem, but basements are generally more damp than above-ground areas so I want to choose wisely.
mmm
MMM, not sure if you’re aware or not, but wood-grain tile is a thing. It doesn’t look half bad either! I’ve seen it in a few homes around here. Here’s two quick search results. Only $2-$3/sqft too.
I was very pleased with some laminate flooring I bought from Costco. Very cheap, and especially when it’s on sale, as is frequently the case, and has held up very nicely. (You need to buy some padding to put underneath.)
Been there. A dehumidifier will help. You may want to seal that floor before putting anything new down, although you may only be dealing with condensation. But whatever the cause you’re getting rid of the carpet, it’s never a good idea in the basement. Also check your ventilation, basements get shut up tight often, just encouraging all the moisture in the house to end up there.
