basement flooring

Basements is often converted into living room areas, which demands some precautions involving their flooring.

Basement moisture

Moisture is a common problem in basement flooring. Moisture easily seeps through the concrete, below the floor, weakening the structures and materials. Wood floors are especially prone to these events, and carpeting is often a cause of basement smell, associated with mold growing. You may take adequate precautions and insist on applying hardwood or carpet to your basement, but the risk is always reasonable.

To avoid the consequences of exceptional events related to moisture, it’s better to avoid some types of flooring in your basement.

See, for details:

Basements basics: insulation
Basements and Moisture

Common options for basement flooring

Cement, laminated and engineered wood and, above all, ceramic tile are common and good alternatives for basement floors. Though common, carpet and hardwood flooring isn't recommended.

Cement & Basement flooring

Cement flooring is often the easiest option involving basements.

There are, today, many possibilities involving colors and textures applied to cement. Treated concrete is now a common choice, and it can mimic materials as marble and wood planks. Consider cement flooring for a durable and practical solution.

As expected, sophisticated treated cement flooring isn’t cheap. In other words: cement present significant flexibility with colors and treatments, but if you want it to go beyond basics, that solution will be more expensive than ceramic tile and other alternatives.

Wood & Basement flooring

Humidity is a common cause of warping in wood floor coverings. If you are determined to install wood in your basement, consider laminate and engineered wood possibilities.

A good insulation of the basement if always indispensable, but since laminated and engineered woods resist well to occasional moisture, they are a much better option than common wood flooring solutions. Laminated floor is not truly wood, and engineered wood only contains a layer of truly wood, but their higher resiliency to humidity is important in basement floors. Just make sure of the laminate or the engineered wood quality.

See, on these issues:

Laminate flooring
Engineered wood flooring
Bamboo flooring

Ceramic tile

Ceramic tile (including porcelain) is a good or excellent alternative for basement flooring. Seasonal problems with water and humidity, will not affect it. Just take the basic cares: the structural subfloor should be in good conditions to prevent tile cracking; choose the right ceramic tile (there are many types of ceramic tile, involving different degrees of hardness, porosity, wear and water resistance).

See: Ceramic Tile and Porcelain vs. other ceramic tile