Basement flooring

[Anonymous]

What kind of floor do you love for your basement? And what’s an approximate cost? I have no idea where to begin!

I don’t know the square footage but the house is a 4 bedroom suburban home. Looking to make it a family room/ tv room, and it currently has carpet that we need to replace.

[Anonymous]

Concrete finished is best but more expensive.

Tile if you don't want to go to the trouble and will still look nice.

LVP is mostly cheap looking but easy to DIY, however the concrete will likely need to be smoothed out anyway, and underlayment needed to keep it from being too noisy and loose.

Rolled linoleum is fast and easy, as is carpet. Green pool astroturf stuff is really cheap and durable.

[Anonymous]

If your basement runs cold, as many do, poured concrete and tile are not great choices - they will be cold underfoot and create a sound echo. We have tile and I hate it for those reasons (we do use area rugs but they only help so much).

LVP has come a long way- I’ve seen many that look great. If I were to redo our basement floor, that’s what I would go with.

[Anonymous]

Lvp or wood like tile. I've seen both in 5 million plus builds

[Anonymous]

A good LVP. That’s what we just did. Agree with the PP that they’ve come a long way. We’ve had a few contractors come by for other stuff and everyone has stopped and commented on the floor and said it looks great. Without fail. It also feels good underfoot.

[Anonymous]

Lifeproof 22ml LVP water and scratch resistant.
About $6 per sq foot including insulation at the Home Depot.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If your basement runs cold, as many do, poured concrete and tile are not great choices - they will be cold underfoot and create a sound echo. We have tile and I hate it for those reasons (we do use area rugs but they only help so much).

LVP has come a long way- I’ve seen many that look great. If I were to redo our basement floor, that’s what I would go with.

Heated floors are great for basements.

[Anonymous]

We put in wool berber about 10 years ago and it still looks great. Keeps feet warm in winter! But you need a basement that doesn't get water to do it

[Anonymous]

LVP here. It's high quality, looks great, is easy to care for, and resists water in the event of infiltration. We have hardwood on the other two levels of the home, but would never put real wood in a basement since the risk of moisture damage is too great in such a location.

As others have noted, LVP comes in a range of price and quality points. Many are quite attractive, unless you're a flooring snob.

[Anonymous]

Tile with underfloor heating

[Anonymous]

LVP, bought it from Home Depot with extra just in case (and we needed it due to a flood). No carpet, just area rugs.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Tile with underfloor heating

This is what we have. No regrets whatsoever.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Tile with underfloor heating

Definitely the nicest option! Warm and helps keep humidity condensation down, and doesn't look as cheap and gaudy as the LVP stuff.

[Anonymous]

I have tile with rugs. It’s nice! If I had done it myself, I maybe would have done underfloor heating. But then I would never bother to turn it on. Maybe once a year.

Our basement is finished but I’m really glad for the tile. In the ten years we have lived here, we’ve had a hot water heater leak, some very wet laundry projects, a stair drain that was neglected and blocked and flooded the inside a fair amount. All easily cleaned up. Plus, our basement gets a lot of bugs. I wouldn’t want flooring like LVP because I know there would be stuff under there. The tile is easy to clean.

[Anonymous]

If basement ever floods, then tile or concrete will be easier to cleanup.