What kind of flooring should you use for your basement? Many say that luxury vinyl is best for basements, but that can be rather expensive. Besides, you may want to check out other alternatives:
Laminate Flooring
Laminate isn’t exactly one of the flooring options that people first think about when it comes to basement flooring. That’s understandable, with laminate’s poor reputation when it comes to moisture.
When the base material of the laminate comes into lengthy contact with moisture, the laminate flooring will swell up. And it will stay that way permanently, and you can try to dry it forever and the laminate won’t return to its previous size.
What’s more, the top wear layer and the image will all start to peel off. Basically, the only solution to laminate flooring that’s been damaged by water is to replace it completely.
You can go with waterproof laminate, however. Since it doesn’t have any wood content, it won’t swell up. But waterproof laminate isn’t all that common yet, and so you don’t have as many image options to choose from.
Regular laminate flooring can still work, but you need to install a proper subfloor system. The subfloor, along with the foam underlayment, will protect the laminate flooring from the water vapor that comes from the concrete slab underneath. Also, the subfloor system raises the laminate flooring if there’s some (very) minor flooding.
If you can get that subfloor system, then you also get to enjoy the laminate flooring benefits. Installation is easy enough for an experienced DIY enthusiast, and you won’t have trouble finding the best way to cut laminate to get the planks to fit.
Laminate flooring also offers fair sound absorption, and the underlayment offers a nice way to warm up the basement. With the wide range of image options available with laminate flooring, you should have a basement with a truly attractive floor.
Cork Flooring
Cork is a natural product that comes from cork trees, and yes, there really is such a thing as a cork tree. It’s comfortable to walk on cork flooring, as it’s soft and warm. But it’s also highly susceptible to water damage, so you’ll also need a subfloor system.
With cork, the good news is that it offers great insulation against normally cold basement floors. The cork also absorbs sound nicely, so you don’t make an atrocious racket when you play music (or use power tools).
On the other hand, you’re better off if you have a professional to do the entire installation. Setting up your cork flooring yourself can be a bit too challenging, and there’s too much of a risk that things will go wrong.
Rubber Flooring
In most cases, runner flooring just doesn’t work for rooms that have a more formal use. It just looks and feels a bit too casual. But if you’re planning to set up a playroom or a gym in your basement, then rubber flooring works nicely. It’s also a good option if you’re just using the basement for storage.
Rubber flooring does stand up well to moisture. Water can still leak between the tiles and seams, so it’s not completely waterproof. But it offers maximum insulation against the subfloor temperatures in your basement. It’s also good with sound absorption.
It’s actually easy to install rubber flooring, especially if you go with the interlocking rubber tiles. It’s just like putting a giant jigsaw puzzle together.
Take note that lots of commercial gyms use rubber flooring as well. If that’s your plan for your basement, then rubber flooring may be your best bet.
Wall-to-Wall Carpeting
Everyone knows that wall-to-wall carpeting isn’t a viable option for bathrooms. That’s just common sense. Carpeting feels mushy and distinctly unpleasant when it gets wet. It also dries rather slowly, and you’re liable to just grow mold and mildew.
However, that doesn’t automatically make wall-to-wall carpeting a bad choice for carpets. If you take out flooding from consideration, basements actually have less moisture than your average bathroom. And so wall-to-wall carpeting may work, but again, you need the solid subfloor system.
You just have to take the risk of water accidents into account. If your basement doesn’t have water issues, then the carpeting may give you as long as 10 years of service.
But water accidents may happen, such as flooding from the outside. You may also have a broken pipe in there, or a water heater that malfunctions. If that’s the case, you’ll have to replace the whole carpet. It’s almost impossible to just replace the ruined parts of the carpeting.
In recent years, carpet squares have become more popular, however. This means you can just replace the ruined carpet squares, and not the entire flooring.
Go with carpet squares, and your basement becomes a nice playroom for kids who like to play on the floor. The carpet also boosts the sound quality for home theaters. The carpeting also warms up the basement nicely.
Check out all these alternative flooring systems for your basement, and go with the one that best suits your needs!
