Flooring options in lower floor bonus room

Trustmemalawyer

Hi All:
Just wondering what the pros here suggest for flooring options in a downstairs bonus room, which is adjacent to the garage. The challenge I have is that the room is also where the washer/dryer are located but it's large enough to be a play room for our one year old daughter. My initial thought was to lay tile on the portion of the room where the washer/dryer is and then just carpet the rest but I'm not so sure I like the look. I don't reallllllly like the idea of an engineered hardwood but that though crossed my mind too. Any suggestions? The subfloor is the concrete slab. Thanks!

Trustmemalawyer

One more thing to add. The room has exterior access to the backyard so the flooring needs to be durable/easy to clean as there will probably be a decent amount of traffic there.

Bud Cline

Are you sure you spelled your "User Name" correctly?

Trustmemalawyer

There are a limited number of characters one can use for a username. So yes, I know it's not spelled correctly. Got a suggestion for some flooring?

oh'mike

Ceramic tile is the natural choice ---not damaged by water--can take dirt and grit--

Add a nice thick rug for your young one----done----

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Bud Cline

How about: "Trusmeimalawyer"?

Oh Yow That! How about ceramic tile it is the natural choice and not damaged by water. It can also take dirt and grit.

oh'mike

Add a nice thick rug for the young one.

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Bud Cline

Add a nice thick rug for the young one.

RhodesHardwood

Maybe consider acid staining the concrete. Has a very nice look similar to expensive stone. It can even be scored with a tile pattern. All this can be done for less than the cost of most flooring materials and installation labor.

Trustmemalawyer

Thanks for the recommendations everyone. After doing some further research, I think it makes the most sense for us to install tile. I had a chance to pull up the old carpet yesterday and noticed two things: 1) old vinyl tile and 2) that, at least around the perimeter of the room, there is some moisture seepage. The house was built in the 50s and so there is no drainage system around the house (something I will address down the line at some point).

Whatever the case, I was hoping to get some advice/tips on how to prepare the floor. Of course, I will remove the tile and try and clean as much of the adhesive off as possible. The floor is slightly of level and though I will try and level it out a bit with the thin set, I think its something I am okay living with since it’s the basement. I have read varying opinions about how to prepare the floor, i.e. cement board, plastic vapor barrier etc. What do you all suggest? Since this will be a playroom, I would like to keep the room/flooring as warm as possible but I know my options are limited, as this IS ceramic tile flooring and it IS the basement but I would like to limit it as much as possible.

Thanks in advance!

rusty baker

I guess you realize that it's possible that the old vinyl tile and adhesive contain asbestos. You haven't said how old it is. VAT was common until the 90's.
http://www.asbestoshistory.net/asbestos-tile.html

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Trustmemalawyer

Yes. I'm having a company come check it out and if it's asbestos containing, well have it removed accordingly.