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Any suggestions on what type of flooring we should use in our basement? Our concerns are durability (we have a 100lb dog) and we want something that is easy to clean if there are spills. Water in the basement has not been a problem aside from the wash tub overflowing once but I guess something that can handle some moisture would be best in the basement. We do not want wall to wall carpeting. We are looking for an inexpensive but attractive option.
Currently we have old wall to wall carpeting that we will rip out, old vinyl tile is under the carpet. The vinyl floor is attached to the concrete floor and we plan on leaving the vinyl tile in place (it is in ok condition, just ugly) rather than messing with removing it. So the new flooring will be installed over the old vinyl.
Thanks in advance for any advice.
Well, you seem to have limited your options already. The least expensive options are vinyl and carpet. You don't like carpet, so that leave vinyl. Hardwood and ceramic tile are attractive, but not inexpensive.
You seem to have only three choices left. Vinyl tile, sheet vinyl or paint.
How about removing the vinyl and painting the concrete? The possibilities are endless, and you can get pretty creative with it.
Here's a link to a website with several pictures of different designs. They're quite striking, and I would think, pretty low maintenance. Note: The link is to a pdf, so it may take a minute or two to load.
I'd just put down burber carpeting... it's really common in basements. I know you said you don't want wall to wall carpeting, but this kind of carpet might be different enough from normal carpet that you'd like it. Also it's generally less expencive than normal carpet. (you should be able to get it for under $2 a square foot installed with a new carpet pad)
I just moved into a house with a basement. The rest of the house is hardwood, but the basement has laminate. I don't love it, but it is very easy to take care of. What about cork? I have seen alot of it on HGTV and I would love to put that in!
I just moved into a house with a basement. The rest of the house is hardwood, but the basement has laminate. I don't love it, but it is very easy to take care of. What about cork? I have seen alot of it on HGTV and I would love to put that in!
I was going to suggest cork too. I have a friend that did her basement in cork and it is great. It is warm on your feet even in a cold MN basement in the winter.
Any suggestions on what type of flooring we should use in our basement? Our concerns are durability (we have a 100lb dog) and we want something that is easy to clean if there are spills. Water in the basement has not been a problem aside from the wash tub overflowing once but I guess something that can handle some moisture would be best in the basement. We do not want wall to wall carpeting. We are looking for an inexpensive but attractive option.
Currently we have old wall to wall carpeting that we will rip out, old vinyl tile is under the carpet. The vinyl floor is attached to the concrete floor and we plan on leaving the vinyl tile in place (it is in ok condition, just ugly) rather than messing with removing it. So the new flooring will be installed over the old vinyl.
Thanks in advance for any advice.
When we redid our basement (had wall to wall), we went with slate/flagstone tiles. I have 2 dogs (100lbs and 75lbs). the biggest test came when we lost power during a very bad rain storm and our sump stopped working (no backup generator at the time) and our basement had 3 inches of water in it. Once the power came on and we pumped everything out a through mopping was all the floor needed.
i found them on clearance at home depot (got them really cheap too something like 75% off original price but my store didn't have enough so i ended up driving to 3 different stores in order to get enough tiles).
I don't know if you can put these over vinyl though.
One suggesiton I can make if you go with slate, make sure the person that installs them knows what they are doing. we used my dh's uncle who is a brick layer by profession and to my surprise had no idea what he was doing with the slate (and they show it ) but that's a whole 'nother long story.
When we bought our house, we scraped off the glued-down cheap carpet in the basement and put down ceramic tile. It was a tad more but it's supposed to last forever.
HUGE WARNING!!! We used white grout and when our huge dog came in and out of the garage he got the grout really dirty. I've spent hundreds of hours cleaning that grout despite the fact that the grout was sealed after the installation of the floor.
Also, the ceramic tile we used was very smooth and it shows dirt very easily.
When we finished the next basement room, I had learned my lesson with the grout and I chose a matte-surface tile that has a slightly uneven surface. I got a reddish-brown color and they put in the same color reddish-brown grout. I also sealed that grout and the room looks terrific! It was around $1,000 for an 11x23 foot room but well worth it. And with the darker color tile and grout I'm very happy. Wish I had known about that the first time around.
Leaving the old tile in place is probably your best bet and cover it as you were saying. Some of the older floor tiles may contain asbestos so you would want an expert to take a look and give you advice if you changed your mind and wanted to remove it. A new sheet vinyl would probably be easiest to clean but I do have one other suggestion. Check out the carpet tile panels that are available in the home improvement and carpet stores. These are about 2 feet square and can be put down without adhesives. If they get soiled, you can pull them up to clean them and put them back in place, or replace them with a new tile square. It would be worth it to purchase extra squares for this purpose. Cost is around $140 to $160 for 40 sq. ft. of coverage. I think you'll be surprised at how nice it looks.
How about removing the vinyl and painting the concrete? The possibilities are endless, and you can get pretty creative with it.
Here's a link to a website with several pictures of different designs. They're quite striking, and I would think, pretty low maintenance. Note: The link is to a pdf, so it may take a minute or two to load.
Stained concrete floors is the hot ticket these days. They are a bit cooler but durable. Were seeing stained floors in commercial and residential construction more and more.
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) but that's a whole 'nother long story.
