[clawlan]

The house I recently moved into has a finished basement consisting of 3, yes 3, different flooring materials: Laminate, Tile, and Carpet. Oh and some bare concrete. I am planning to knock out a wall in one area and cut a door-frame/pass-through in another, uniting the 3 areas with different surfaces. As such, I want to unify it all. Any suggestions for neat, affordable flooring, good for a walk out basement, good for pets with a doggy door (easy to clean when dirt is tracked in), and most important, looks good in a man cave? (no AstroTurf, i know you were about the type it).

 

[de-nagorg]

A real cave has a stone or dirt floor! :wink2:

Seriously: a stained concrete floor is the easiest to keep clean.

Sweep it, damp mop occasionally and you are done.

And what is wrong with astro-turf?

ED

 

[joecaption]

Stain would have been OK if you had a bare floor to work with, now that there's going to be repairs, old glue ECT. to deal with that's out unless you want a blotchey looking floor.
A tile floor would be almost bullet proof.

 

[clawlan]

Buddy of mine just had his basement floor stained, came out pretty neat but I want something a little more refined looking I think. Tile definitely a solid choice.

 

[b-boy]

Tile would be by #1 choice, but it will be expensive and a lot of work to install.

I'm a fan of laminate in a basement. I had carpet for several years, but it started to smell after awhile. Good laminate is pretty much indestructible, and fairly inexpensive.

 

[clawlan]

Tile would be by #1 choice, but it will be expensive and a lot of work to install.

I'm a fan of laminate in a basement. I had carpet for several years, but it started to smell after awhile. Good laminate is pretty much indestructible, and fairly inexpensive.

Yea, I like the look and price of laminate. I could probably take on click lock laminate, but I wouldn't even consider laying tile.

 

[rusty baker]

Most laminate should not be installed below grade. It violates the warranty.

 

[clawlan]

Most laminate should not be installed below grade. It violates the warranty.

How does a walk-out basement factor into this? Most is not below grade.

EDIT: I just went to Floor and Decor's website and randomly picked a few laminates, and they all stated OK for below grade.

 

[rusty baker]

How does a walk-out basement factor into this? Most is not below grade.

EDIT: I just went to Floor and Decor's website and randomly picked a few laminates, and they all stated OK for below grade.

Good luck. I have seen many failures in laminates, even those supposedly ok for below grade. If there is enough moisture for it to fail, the warranty is no good.

 

[AlexEverette]

So, carpet and hardwood are definitely not good options for a basement, and even laminate is a bad idea unless you live in a super dry desert with no chance of flooding. You don't want to lay tile, so that's out. I'm assuming you don't want plain old concrete, although it is fairly easy to maintain once you paint/seal it up and a great basement option, minus the fact that it's kind of chilly. I would personally recommend either vinyl tile (hey, it even comes in peel-and-stick!) or bamboo flooring. You should check out this article on the best/worst flooring options for basements. It's pretty in-depth and will help you make an informed decision!

 

[clawlan]

So, carpet and hardwood are definitely not good options for a basement, and even laminate is a bad idea unless you live in a super dry desert with no chance of flooding. You don't want to lay tile, so that's out. I'm assuming you don't want plain old concrete, although it is fairly easy to maintain once you paint/seal it up and a great basement option, minus the fact that it's kind of chilly. I would personally recommend either vinyl tile (hey, it even comes in peel-and-stick!) or bamboo flooring. You should check out this article on the best/worst flooring options for basements. It's pretty in-depth and will help you make an informed decision!

Thanks, will check it out. A friend of mine just had his basement redone after a water pipe broke. He went with stained concrete and it looks interesting. My concern is it being a bit "un finished" looking, as well as being very hard. (not great on the joints or my bad back when standing a while). But it would definitely be the easiest and most durable im sure. I'll have to look ingot it a bit more, it may just be the style he chose that i don't like.

The basement is only partially below grade, not sure if that makes a difference at all. There is laminate in there now and seems to be standing up ok, though i don't really know how long it has been in for. Why would bamboo we a better choice over laminate? I figured since laminate is much stronger than solid wood, it would prove better in this setting.

I recently came across "luxury vinyl" which looks nice. It's thick, easy to install (glue-less), durable, etc. Anyone ever use that before?

 

[clawlan]

You should check out this article on the best/worst flooring options for basements. It's pretty in-depth and will help you make an informed decision!

This link appears to just be to this thread?

 

[AlexEverette]

This link appears to just be to this thread?

Oh no, I tried to be all fancy and add the link into some text, but let's face it, I don't know too much about computers. But, I do know that bamboo isn't a hardwood, it's a grass (a very strong one... stronger than steel) that is moisture, mold, and rot resistant, which is why it's better than laminate (which is still made of wood.) Anything below-grade, even partially, is much more susceptible to moisture damage, so that's why really any wood isn't a great option. It just won't last long, and if there's even one tiny flood, it's toast. Anyways, here is the article: https://www.ambientbp.com/blog/best-flooring-for-basements

Also, concrete can look alright if you paint and finish it, but no matter what you do, it is always, unmistakably concrete, so it'll feel unfinished even if you jazz it up. It could work if you play up a "modern industrial" theme with your decor, though...

 

[clawlan]

Funny you should mention "modern industrial" because I am considering going with that type of theme. Hmmmm