Anonymous wrote:We have a rancher with a walkout. We bought it with berber carpet that was apparently 5 years old and it was sooo mildewed and moldy due to the moisture from heat in the summer.

We went with hardwood and did it mid summer and the basement never once felt moldy or gross after that. We also did not have to use the dehumidifier.

Ummm, you are still going to have mold and moisture if you didn't correct the water issue.

We have a rancher with a walkout. We bought it with berber carpet that was apparently 5 years old and it was sooo mildewed and moldy due to the moisture from heat in the summer.

We went with hardwood and did it mid summer and the basement never once felt moldy or gross after that. We also did not have to use the dehumidifier.

Don't do berber if you plan to resell soon. I agree with prior poster that it is dated and looks a bit downscale.

When we bought our home, the basement was tiled, which felt very cold. We ended up putting in Berber and I love it. It has even held up to our cat who occasionally likes to claw at it.

We kept some tile around the walk out door since that area gets mud tracked in and that is where our sump pump is (hidden in a closet). It seems like it makes sense to keep a couple feet of tile near there anyway in case we ever get a bit of rain water coming in. And we have tile in the hallway with wet bar and bathroom. But for our cozy area with den, I love the carpet. And I'd also recommend one of those electric "fireplaces" that you can get at Home Depot. It adds to the ambiance and keeps the basement warm in the winter!

OP here... sounds like the berber is a good choice (and some tile at the threshold (thanks for that advice). I will look into the frieze stuff.

Ah DCUM - like a nice comfy shoe today.

Anonymous wrote:We did berber in the living area and bedroom and tile in the hallway.

Me again. We did tile in the hallway because we have a walkout basement and the hallway leads to the door. I didn't want dirt tracked in on the carpet.

'zactly.

09:56 here. Our basement is walk-out as well. The one thing I wish we had done is put a small tile or stone area in front of the door, as our shoes are often grassy or muddy coming in. We can't put a mat there because it interferes with the door swinging, and that's the one area that does get dirty.

But for the rest of the basement, Berber's awesome. It's the TV/family room/kids' rec area/home gym/yoga zone all in one, and the carpet is sturdy and versatile enough for all of it.

Anonymous wrote:We did berber in the living area and bedroom and tile in the hallway.

Me again. We did tile in the hallway because we have a walkout basement and the hallway leads to the door. I didn't want dirt tracked in on the carpet.

Anonymous wrote:I was just going to start a thread with a similar question. We're having to replace our flooring, which was Pergo. Put that back in? Carpet? Definitely no tile, that's ice cold. We have a very sunny walk out basement with a fireplace. THoughts?


To the OP: no tile. That's as much help as I can give, as I clearly can't decide either.....

Replace the Pergo. 100%

Berber is very outdated. Go with frieze.

no hardwood in the basement... tile's ok but cold to touch.

We did berber in the living area and bedroom and tile in the hallway.

I was just going to start a thread with a similar question. We're having to replace our flooring, which was Pergo. Put that back in? Carpet? Definitely no tile, that's ice cold. We have a very sunny walk out basement with a fireplace. THoughts?


To the OP: no tile. That's as much help as I can give, as I clearly can't decide either.....

We did Berber in our basement ten years ago and it's a great choice. Hardy yet comfy. Warm on the feet. Stands up to the wear, doesn't show "heavy traffic" spots.

So we are (finally) going to finish our unfinished basement. I like berber - rugged, yet comfortable - but I welcome the collective wisdom of DCUM. Berber, hardwood, tile, other? What say you for basement floor options? The basement will be where we do most of our chillaxing...