Basement flooring options

[DC.chief]

Say you had a townhouse and a water leak damaged the already shitty carpet you have in the basement. You then rip the carpet out but you don't know what type of flooring you want to replace it with. What type do you go with? Keep in mind you have 2 90lb dogs that roam that basement during the day.

[Perineum Ripper]

Go with dirt..easier to bury the dead hookers

[thabear04]

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[DC.chief]

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That's exactly what I need

[DC.chief]

Go with dirt..easier to bury the dead hookers

Great point, dogs may dig up dead hookers however so i'll have to dispose of said hookers in another manner

[Halfcan]

Damn Pughsley is a Beast! Looks like Poe's little bro.

[LoneWolf]

With the dogs, I'd go with a laminate flooring or tile.

[Halfcan]

You can tear the carpet out and use a concrete stain on the basement floor - should not be damaged from future water leaks. Probably work better than paint since your dog might scratch it up.

Go with large ceramic floor tile-but your dog might scratch them.

Stain is the cheapest option.

[ChiTown]

I had seepage issues at my house in Chicago. I pulled up the carpet and went with tile and throw rugs. Still had the seepage issues, but a hell of a lot easier to maintain than carpet.

Go with tile - especially with the dogs

[ChiTown]

You can tear the carpet out and use a concrete stain on the basement floor - should not be damaged from future water leaks. Probably work better than paint since your dog might scratch it up.

Go with large ceramic floor tile-but your dog might scratch them.

Stain is the cheapest option.

Stained cement - GREAT IDEA!

My neighbors have that in their basement and it looks great

[jjchieffan]

I have a basement and I plan to go with etched concrete at some point. It looks really good. Do a Google image search

[Mr. Laz]

Painted and textured concrete?

[mikeyis4dcats.]

Lvt or plank

[Stewie]

If looks aren't on the top of the list, install a good indoor/outdoor carpet. It covers imperfections and won't mold/mildew if it gets wet once in a while. It's cheap, too.

[Halfcan]

Stained cement - GREAT IDEA!

My neighbors have that in their basement and it looks great

I had some of the same issues with my old house- I stained the floor and it looked great. There is a lot you can do with it for a very good price.

Here is a few pics from a google search that I found-very cool stuff.

Hopefully his carpet pad was not glued down- that sucks to fix.

[Ming the Merciless]

I dont know how stained cement compares with LVT (price wise), but I would consider LVT for sure.

Its water proof, fairly indestructable so the dogs can't scratch it...and its fairly easy to lay down.

I think you could find pretty serviceable options that look like either tile or wood for around $2.50 / Sq.Ft.

From what I have been hearing, LVT is pretty much going to replace laminates because it holds up so much better.

Im sure stained cement would be awesome too, but I have no experience with it.

Good luck!

[Kaepernick]

Race Deck plastic tile.



http://www.racedeck.com/?crtag=value&gclid=CNjM197Us8cCFQUOaQodLgsGMQ

[Rain Man]

Go with dirt..easier to bury the dead hookers

Yeah, you don't want to go with concrete. The re-poured areas are a big red flag during police searches.

[displacedinMN]

Drain tile the basement

heater under any thing you put down

[scho63]

I would lay down the new radiant heat pad first, then self leveling agent and then go with tile.

I hate laminate but it would be second option with a very good underlayment, not the crappy default stuff. Also upgraded laminate, not thin crap or else you will freeze.

[notorious]

http://www.karndean.com/en/floors/look/wood-flooring/dark-wood-tones?link=mm

Vinyl tile that looks very nice.

[Buehler445]

Depends on what you have down there. If it isn't living space I would do epoxy paint.

We put the industrial rustoleum in our shop and it is really good. You have to have the concrete super clean and then put on some acid to etch it, but it is great shit. You can squeegee water off of it and the epoxy makes basically a solid surface.

[Brock]

Cheap carpet. Because it's cheap and who gives a crap if your basement leaks again.

[BWillie]

How much does interior stained concrete cost anyway? I really like the look of it, but I don't know much about it. How long it lasts, how resilient it is to water etc

[JohnnyHammersticks]

I think the practical thing to do would be to leave the bare concrete, hang some lights, and start growing pot.

[DC.chief]

I had some of the same issues with my old house- I stained the floor and it looked great. There is a lot you can do with it for a very good price.

Here is a few pics from a google search that I found-very cool stuff.

Hopefully his carpet pad was not glued down- that sucks to fix.

The padding wasn't glued down. Hardly had any padding at all actually. The problem with the stained concrete is the concrete is damaged in a couple spots. The carpet tack strips were nailed down and it pulled up some of the concrete when removing them and there is a crack in one corner. I know that stuff can be repaired though

[DC.chief]

I would lay down the new radiant heat pad first, then self leveling agent and then go with tile.

I hate laminate but it would be second option with a very good underlayment, not the crappy default stuff. Also upgraded laminate, not thin crap or else you will freeze.

Radiant heat pad? now we're talking. That was my hesitation in using tile. The basement is my man cave and I spend a good bit of time there in the evenings and I'd rather not have cold floors. I need to research heated flooring I guess, I know little about it

[mikeyis4dcats.]

How much does interior stained concrete cost anyway? I really like the look of it, but I don't know much about it. How long it lasts, how resilient it is to water etc

Depends on type of stain, prep work, etc. In a commercial setting, the cost runs $5-9/sf.


I personally stained the floor of a liquor store we built to familiarize myself with the process. Used a water based stain, on exterior work or somewhere with good ventilation acid stain is better. It's not a difficult process, just takes some practice.