Basement Flooring

There’s a lot of talk out there about whether or not you should use and how you should install basement tiles. There’s definitely some benefits to it’s use as well as some things that you should be aware of if you go this route.  So let’s spend a little time talking about the advantages and disadvantages of using them in your basement.

The Advantages of Basement Tiles

• Tile is versatile and comes in many different styles, shapes and colors. This makes it very easy to build a custom floor in your basement that you’ll be proud of for years to come. The ability to use either a single pattern and size or really let the designer in you come out by using multiple shapes and sizes, designs and colors is one of the greatest appeals to me for this floor covering.
• If something ever happens to a single tile, you can replace it. It’s not the most easy thing to do but you can. Here’s what you can expect if you are installing them directly onto a concrete basement floor, there is a possibility that you might have one or two or so crack if the foundation shifts or cracks, but this is something that would happen to an on-grade slab as well.
• Most ceramic tiles are  both waterproof and stain resistant if they have been glazed. As anyone knows that owns a home with a basement, water is enemy number one. If you can have a flooring that’s impenetrable to water, you’ve just saved yourself a lot of headaches.
• Cleaning tile is a breeze, no specialized tools needed. Just a mop and a broom. Plus, you don’t have to worry about spills or accidents like you would say a carpet or something of that nature. Simply wipe them up and sweep them out. I know I appreciate that kind of application.

What’s Bad Basement Tile Flooring

• The main disadvantage of ceramic tile in a basement is two-fold, it’s hard and it’s cold. It’s already colder in your basement naturally than the rest of your house and when you put tile down on it, it doesn’t do anything to actually warm-up your floor. Sure you could use rugs or install some kind of in-floor heating, but that’s an added cost.
• If you use any tinted grout color, it could fade. This happens from time to time.  You could also end up with different tinted grout unless it’s mixed all together at the same time. This isn’t the end of the world or anything but it does cause some frustration after a period of time and things change. There are fixes for it like sealers that can be used to preserve the colors and stains that can totally change the color if you prefer, but these types of floors you really only want to do once.
• You’ll need to invest in one of those wet floor signs because tile can be slippery when wet. Eventhough that’s what makes them so advantageous for the basement since they are virtually waterproof, some tiles, especially those in a glossy or high gloss finish can get down right dangerous when they are wet. I’ve seen more people fall and have fallen more times myself on wet tile than I think I have on any other surface.
• Tile can be a bit more expensive than other flooring. Now I say can be here before somebody decides to let me have it in the comments as some brands and styles can actually be a bit cheaper. But if you’re looking to add a really decorative floor covering via tile, some of those decorative pieces can get quite pricey per square foot.
• They can be heavy to transport downstairs. Just think about it, these things are not that light when they come in their boxes. How many are you going to need to cover that downstairs room? How many trips is it going to take you up and down those basement stairs? Just as an example, say you get a 12″x12″ that will weigh a little over 3 pounds a piece or even a 6″x6″ floor tile that weighs just under 3 pounds a piece. If they come in a box of 10 for the bigger ones and 20 for the smaller ones, that’s about 35 to 45 pounds approximately down those stairs each time. Is that something that you’ll be able to handle and then work with if your doing this job yourself?
• Tile is hard by nature. Depending on what kind of room you’re putting in and even though you may love tile, it might not be the right basement flooring for the room. Even though I probably shouldn’t, I’ll tell on myself a little here. I like to lay down on the floor while watching television. I’d certainly like something a bit softer than tile to lay down. So if you’re putting in a TV room you may not want to tile it. I know what you’re probably saying, then get on the couch. But that’s my comfort zone and the way I relax. I’ll let the kids have the couch.

In trying to sum it all up here is that basement floor tiles are highly durable and would come to good use in pretty much any basement. I wouldn’t suggest installing tile over another product like vinyl flooring, even though you’ll see from others around the web that this is possible, it’s just really not advised. To many things can go wrong with this type of installation. You’re better off getting the old flooring out and installing it either directly over a sealed concrete floor or a sufficiently built subfloor. If you want to do it, it’s something that can definitely be done in a weekend, but fair warning here, tiling can get messy and due to some of the things involved with the tile installation, I’d rather leave it to somebody who’s done it a time or two. You will need some specialized tools to get the job done right, luckily most all of them can be rented so you won’t need to buy them just to use them only once.

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Before you even think about basement carpet, or any other type of flooring, you need to make sure that you have a dry basement. These rooms are typically problem areas for a lot of homes as they are by their sheer nature a moisture magnet due to being underground. If you don’t, there are some precautions that you need to take in waterproofing the room. Unless it’s completely dry, year round, a carpet is going to cause you problems and you’ll end up replacing it more often than not and more than you’d want to. However, if your basement is dry and you’ve done all the precautionary measures to protect your investment, then you should be able to install some good carpeting downstairs.

Question: Is carpeting good for basement floors?
Well, there’s definitely a few things that you’d need to check out first. First it’ll depend a lot on what exactly you are planning to do in your basement, like whether you are having it as a family room, workout room or laundry room. That’ll determine whether or not you should use carpeting or some other form of flooring. If it’s going to be a laundry room you’re not going to want to put carpet in it, maybe something more along the lines of some ceramic tile. The second is whether or not you have a dry basement. If you don’t have any water problems and never had any to start with in your basement and you can without a doubt say it’s dry, then you should have no problem using basement carpeting. I would suggest installing a good subfloor first just in case you do ever come about some water issues from leakage or seeping if you have the headroom and to also protect the carpet from getting wet and producing mold or mildew.

Question: What is the best carpet for a basement then?
There’s nothing particularly required for installing or selecting a carpet for your basement, but there are a few things that you need to keep in mind to get the best basement carpeting for your needs. You’d really go about it any way that you would choose carpeting for any other room as to whether you’d want a loop or twist style carpet. If it’s going to be a high-traffic area or a place where you’re pets are going to roam free, you might consider an inexpensive version or brand that you won’t mind replacing after it’s had a few years of use like you would any other of this type. But if you’ve addressed all those other issues and want one that’s going to last for a while you’re going to have to spend some more money. The only real item of importance on my list when selecting a carpet for the basement is that it don’t have a jute backing. This is a pretty normal backing for most less expensive carpets these days as it stands up well above ground level. But due to it’s strong resemblance to an old potato bag, you can bet that it’s not going to stand up to any type of moisture pressures that could be put into it below grade as you can tell from it’s picture just to the right. It’s quite porous and the water will seep through to the carpet fibers. I do like the carpets that come with the new Dow polyurethane backing. This will offer your carpets a strong tuft bind, moisture resistance, delamination and anti-edge raveling. Not only will they retain their characteristics but they also have a natural adhesion to nylon fibers. This makes them able to to stand strong in those high-traffic areas for years to come.

Additional Basement Carpet Precautionary Measures
So let’s just say that you are able to qualify your basement as being “dry”, there are a few other things that you should consider to help you along the process of keeping it that way. The first thing to do is try and create a very dry environment to keep the mold and mildew down. These little buggers simply thrive in a moist environment like a basement and will ultimately end up making your freshly installed carpet smell to high-heaven. By installing a quality rated dehumidifier you can get one step closer to solving that issue. Just make sure it’s one that’s rated for basements as the air is typically much cooler down there and harder to remove the moisture from. The second step is if you have the headroom, put in a ceiling fan. This will keep the air moving and not allow it to get stagnant, not to mention keep the room a lot more comfortable in the process. The third thing is if you are going to use a carpet padding, make sure it has an anti-microbial built into it. This will help in that it won’t be a conducive surface that will support mold and mildew growth. If you’re going to put carpet downstairs, you might as well take the precautions to protect it fully.

Basement Carpet Alternatives
Although it’s not an impossible task to carpet a basement especially if your dead set on the look and feel of it all, it’s probably the right choice for you. Even if you have the driest basement on the block, you still have some alternatives to carpeting that you should keep in mind as they could save you some money in the long haul. One of the newer trends is actually staining and finishing your concrete basement slab. Although beautiful with some of the more decorative surface patterns being etched in, I’m still not a very big fan of implementing this in a basement as you’ll end up with same cold surface for your feet as you had before. Sure you could throw some rugs down to cover the more trafficked areas but I guess it depends on what you have planned for the room, hey, to each there own. Another alternative instead of a fully laid carpet is to use the newer basement carpet tiles over a properly installed underlayment. These aren’t just your regular carpet squares here. They are thick pieces of rubber backed carpeting that come in a multitude of decorative designs and patterns. You can really design your whole flooring with these and in the end still look like you have a one-piece carpet installed. There are many other alternatives to carpeting that you can choose from and instead of going into all of them here, I’ve just listed a few. If you want more feel free to click around the site for other options for your basement floor.

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Problems with your basement? Is it nothing more than a cold, damp, unfinished storage room? Don’t feel like you are the only one as you probably have a lot more in common with other homeowners than you imagine when it pertains to your basement. General rule of thumb is if it’s cold and damp it’s the concrete. Concrete is great and is the best standard when it comes to foundations, but when it comes to actual flooring unless you plan on spending the time and money finishing your concrete floor to make it sealed and shine, it has one inherent quality that’s not good. It’s porous. If a flooring material is installed directly over concrete in a basement it will leave it feeling cold and damp. It doesn’t matter what you choose, whether it’s tile, laminates or even carpet, if you install it directly on concrete it will feel cold and have the possibility of getting damp.

If you really think about it that’s a ton of space going to waste in your home. If you have an average size basement, they can normally take up from a one-third to one-half of the entire space in your home. You should really be able to make the most of that space. A home office maybe? A guest suite for the in-laws? Maybe that entertainment or home theatre where you and the guys can escape and watch the Super Bowl or the family to retreat and see the latest flick. Well, now you can and you can do it in comfort too with the ability to install an OSB floating basement subfloor. These subfloors were created with the weekend handyman in mind as you’ll soon see in a typical question/answer type format.

Question: What is a floating subfloor
Answer: Well, basically its a floor that goes over the concrete and under the finished flooring you are planning to install. They are very easy to assemble and you can knock it out during a day on the weekend. They come in a standard two-foot by two-foot section and are put together using a tongue and groove panel setting (much like the tongue and groove you’ll find on engineered flooring or laminate flooring). It’s said to be “floating” because it is not permanently connected to the concrete floor via nails, screws or glue. It just sits on top of the floor.

The subfloor though has one thing that really sets it apart. The OSB (or could be plywood) portion of the subfloor sits atop a waterproof, corrugated underlayment. This truly never lets the wood hit the concrete. The corrugated portion of the underlayment creates an air gap just above the concrete and below the OSB flooring. When they are all placed together and “locked” in tight with the tongue and groove, it creates a generous thermal layer that acts like insulation for the floors and will warm them up. Some products even state that it could raise the temperature of the flooring material installed on top of them as much as ten degrees.

Not only that, because they are corrugated and raised off the concrete, it actually acts like a moisture barrier because the wood doesn’t touch the concrete. This keeps it dry from any of the natural water moisture that typically comes through concrete foundations, especially sub-level foundations. This will also allow any water that accumulates here to easily evaporate or drain and highly reduce that stinky, musty smell and any mold that may grow. Because of this kind of protection provided you could easily choose to install most flooring choices if you use this type of system in your basement.

A typical floating subfloor has a corrugated bottom and an OSB or plywood topside.

Question: How does a floating subfloor benefit my basement
Answer: One word, durability. This floating subfloor system is tough. As noted above and due to the nature of their construction, they are built to withstand a lot of the turmoil and mishaps that can regularly occur to a basement concrete floor. Plus, you don’t have to worry about what you are going to have on top of it as it can withstand the weight of pool tables, refrigerators, workout systems so you can feel free to have the basement you really want. Not only that they are an ideal foundation for basically any type of floating floor you might want to install as a finished product from laminate flooring, engineered flooring, cork flooring, vinyl flooring and even hardwood flooring and carpet. You will want to check with the manufacturer of the specific brand that you choose but most warranty against any type of warping or splitting. One of the better brands available on the market today is the DriCORE(tm) system. One of the big benefits touted by this system for all you do-it-yourselfers out there is that this DIY subfloor can be done in one days time and with the basic household tools that most handymen should already have so there’s no specialized equipment to buy. Just plan your layout and start fitting the pieces of the subfloor system into place by tapping them together. Just remember to use a wood block or something as the cushion when tapping the subfloor pieces together.

Question: How do you install a floating subfloor?
Answer: Well, one of the first things that you don’t want to do is simply go out and get a subfloor system and start to immediately install it especially if this is for a basement application. Go get the material and store it in the room where it’s going to be installed for at least twenty four hours so it can get acclimated to where it’s going to be. I know, sounds strange, but this will let the moisture content of the material adjust to the room it’s going to be in so you won’t have problems the day after you install the subfloor. While the subfloor is climatizing, you can take the opportunity to shore up the foundation in any problem areas that you might have. If you have a seepage problem in your basement definitely fix it now. Do the standard moisture checks using the plastic sheeting and tape and fix it all up right. If moisture collects or beads up your best bet would be to seal it with a concrete sealer prior to installing the subfloor. The last step in prepping the slab for subfloor installation is to simply sweep or vacuum up all the dust and debris that may be present to ensure you are working with a semi-smooth surface. Don’t worry if the basement floor is not completely level as the subfloor system should come with shims you can use for leveling during install. Any more than a quarter inch though and you could have a problem that would need correcting via some kind of leveling compound. The shims will correct an unlevel basement floor within that range. As with any type of floating floor installation you will need to account for a quarter inch gap around all walls and columns in the room for expansion. You can accomplish this by either snapping a chalk line or even better using some quarter inch strapping pieces butted up against the walls and wherever else needed. This way is probably the easiest method to use to acquire that needed expansion gap.

After that, start off placing the panel down in your starting point (most likely should be a corner of the room), align the next one and tap it into place using a block of wood and a hammer. Be sure to use the wood block to cover the panel where you will be hammering as it will force even pressure and not damage the panels when setting the tongue and groove pieces. You’ll want to make sure that they fit well and are not loose so the don’t separate later. Take your time and set the first rows good as that sets the mold for the rest of your subfloor installation. As you work your way down the rows you are going to want to stagger the panels so the middle seams don’t line up. Every other row should align in the middle with the previous rows panels. This will lock the panels in place.

Question: What’s the best way to plan a floating subfloor layout?
Answer: First thing you need to keep in mind here is that although the walls may look square, all walls are not created equal. Check to see that the corner you plan to start with is square. You can use a common framing square to see if it’s true or not. If it’ not then just keep in mind that you’ll be trimming the edge closest to the wall for the first row of subfloor. This will keep the following rows square in comparison. Some things to keep in mind while you are planning, rows should be staggered and no edge should be less than six inches. Knowing this because you are working with a square subfloor system, its no different than if you were doing a tiling job. Get the measurements of the room and divide it by the width of the panels. Sometimes it’s best as I’m a typical strong back/weak mind type person to write it all down and actually sketch out the layout somewhere. Once that’s all done and finalized take a chalk line and snap the grids for your subfloor installation.

Question: What sort of tools do I need to install a floating subfloor?

• leveling kit(if needed)
• square
• pry bar
• hammer or rubber mallet
• circular saw
• jig saw or rotozip
• chalk line
• tape measure
• pencil for marking
• dust mask and safety googles for cutting

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