do you have to go with carpet in family room?

[Anonymous]

Just bought a home with a lower level (basically a walk out basement transformed and marketed as a lower level). floors seem very dry, it looks really like a lower level, not a basement (the terrain is slanted so all rooms have windows and natural light). In the bedroom, the owners put some sort of fake wood (upstairs is hardwood), looks good ( It think it is in the "engineered hardwood flooring" category). In the family room next to the bedroom they currently have carpet. I have to change the carpet before moving in and I want to add value to the house. Make the lower level even more of a lower level then a "former basement" (because the house is not huge and 3rd bedroom is downstairs).

My questions are the following:
1- would you actually prefer to retain carpet in a famliy room instead of wood floors?
2- I don't think it would be very reasonable (or even possible?) to put hardwood in the lower level even if we triple check that everything is super dry, correct? (it is a bungalow)
3- what kind of options would you consider for floors in a lower level/walk out basemenr that would be the closest possible to the feel of hardwood floors ? Engineered harwood? Bamboo ? Cork? Laminate ?
4- would you actually prefer tiles? (not a fan myself, always feel like I am in a kitchen?)

[Anonymous]

I absolutely hate carpet. It's filthy. I prefer hardwood with area rugs. You can put hardwood anywhere. In a basement I think you need engineered though. We plan on putting the tile that looks like hardwood in our basement with heated floors underneath it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I absolutely hate carpet. It's filthy. I prefer hardwood with area rugs. You can put hardwood anywhere. In a basement I think you need engineered though. We plan on putting the tile that looks like hardwood in our basement with heated floors underneath it.

+1

We put porcelain tile in the family room in our (daylight/walk-out) lower level. We opted against hardwood or laminate because of the possibility of it getting wet in a deluge.

We use area rugs in the living areas (TV, play area).

[Anonymous]

We liked it in our basement family room because the kids would lay on the floor and play. They would have sleep overs and such down there. We had a no shoes policy down there and the dogs didn't go down there very much so it stayed pretty clean and cozy and comfortable. Tile would have been cold, but a wood floors may have been o.k. You could even use a porcelain tile with a hardwood look.

[Anonymous]

you only need carpet in a family room if it's 1975.

hardwood is way cleaner/nicer.

engineered hardwood is real wood with additional layers underneath to make it more stable so it won't warp/expand with changing moisture levels. maybe you are thinking of laminate = fake wood?

personally I'd go with hardwood (maybe engineered if you're concerned about moisture/humidity) or maybe a tile. Terracotta or encaustic cement tiles.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I absolutely hate carpet. It's filthy. I prefer hardwood with area rugs. You can put hardwood anywhere. In a basement I think you need engineered though. We plan on putting the tile that looks like hardwood in our basement with heated floors underneath it.

Ditto. Carpeting is nasty. We have hardwood throughout, with floor cloths.

[Anonymous]

You'll need to do engineered hardwood or laminate (e.g., Pergo) in a basement because it has a concrete subfloor. I actually think Pergo can look nice, esp. if it's a lower level and not adjacent to the real hardwood upstairs. Add a nice area rug. Pergo is very durable and resists scratches. We had engineered hardwood in the family room of our old house, and it scratched and dinged very easily. It is not nearly as durable as real hardwood.

[Anonymous]

I would be afraid of how crazy cold the basement floors would be in the winter with tile or engineered wood on the basement floor. Plus with the wood, I'd be terrified about getting any water down there. ($$$$$ fix)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:You'll need to do engineered hardwood or laminate (e.g., Pergo) in a basement because it has a concrete subfloor. I actually think Pergo can look nice, esp. if it's a lower level and not adjacent to the real hardwood upstairs. Add a nice area rug. Pergo is very durable and resists scratches. We had engineered hardwood in the family room of our old house, and it scratched and dinged very easily. It is not nearly as durable as real hardwood.

Not sure why you don't think you can install real hardwood over a concrete subfloor. Virtually every high rise and mid rise condo in the United States does this. You just can't nail it down; you can either glue it down, float it directly over concrete, or float it over cork underlay (which is the most expensive but nicest option, in my opinion).

That being said, agree OP should look at engineered, because even a very dry basement might get wet once in a while, and the engineered wood might survive the experience if dried quickly. I would look at engineered with very good hardness ratings since there are limited refinishing options.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I would be afraid of how crazy cold the basement floors would be in the winter with tile or engineered wood on the basement floor. Plus with the wood, I'd be terrified about getting any water down there. ($$$$$ fix)

Engineered wood with a floating install will actually be a bit warmer in winter than carpet. Agree with you about tile.

[Anonymous]

Thanks everyone!

[Anonymous]

I'd prefer wood, engineered wood or laminate, at least same color on each floor with area rugs.