Before you can start installing an insulated floating subfloor in your basement, the first thing that you are going to have to do is clean it out if you’ve got a bunch of junk down there. There could be a ton of different reasons to put down a subfloor, but one of the best reasons for this type is to help keep your basement warmer when you happen to be below-grade and to protect your finished basement floor.

If you’ve got a concrete basement slab or even a finished floor that tends to get really cold, this could be an excellent solution. But to take full advantage of it and make the space warmer, you really need to make sure that you have already insulated the walls and ceiling as well if needed.

Of course, if you already have a finished floor and want to do this project, you are going to need to remove that first. If it’s reusable, great. If not, you may need to keep in mind that you’ll need another flooring material to go on top of this one once it’s finished before you decide to tackle this project.

Once you’ve gotten all the “stuff” out from the basement, just make sure that you have cleaned and swept the floors as well. Then you are ready to start putting down the subfloor.

The subfloor system that we are going to talk about using down in your basement today is from DRICore. Although it’s a bit on the pricey side, I’m really impressed with this product. For one, this subfloor has a patented moisture barrier built right into it and will protect floors, furniture and electronics from potential water seepage in a wet basement. Plus, they are dead simple to install making for a perfect DIY insulating and waterproofing solution for your basement.

The product itself is actually made like engineered wood flooring with a whole lot of pressure compressing a bunch of wood chips together. After wards, it’s all sealed up tight with a waterproof glue. For an extra layer of protection, there is a raised polyethylene moisture barrier that allows for any condensation or moisture that’s captured underneath to dry adequately and without harm to those items on top of it.

One thing to keep in mind though, just like any other flooring material, you need to let the panels acclimate in the room for at least 24 hours before you start working with it. Oh, that’s right, forgot to tell you that they come in panels that are easy to work with and approximately 2-foot square. The panels actually lock together like regular tongue and groove flooring to make for easy installation with no glue required.

This particular system is called a floating subfloor system because it doesn’t actually get attached to the concrete with glue or nails. It just sort of “floats” on top of the concrete. This is actually really good in this type of environment because it allows for the entire floor to contract and expand with temperature/moisture changes.

Another thing to keep in mind is you will need to use spacers around the walls like you would with laminate basement flooring. A quarter inch gap is really all you need. That gap is what gives the subfloor some of it’s durability allowing it to expand as needed. Plus, if your concrete floor isn’t as level as it should be, these panels come with shims designed to fit right over a portion of the moisture barrier panel to help level it all out. You’ll be able to tell where you need them by simply sliding one panel up to the next and see if there is a gap where they are supposed to come together.

Simply start in the furthest corner with the longest wall and begin piecing together the first row. Use a wood block and a hammer on the end of the second pieces to tap the boards together to fit in the grooves. When you get to the end of the first row, you’ll likely need to make a cut to a full panel for it to fit correctly. Just measure and mark the appropriate distance.

A table saw works great when needing to cut a DRICore subfloor panel. But if you don’t have a table saw, a hand held circular saw will work just as good. I personally don’t like to use jigsaws for this cut but if that’s all you got, it’ll work too. I save the jigsaws for more intricate corner/pole notch cutting, not when I’m cutting the piece basically in half.

Once you have your cut piece, it should just drop right in place. However, now you got a bit of problem getting the two pieces to fit together snuggly in the tongue and groove. Now’s the time for your first flooring trick. When you do a job like this, you’ll find that a tool called a pull bar quickly becomes one of your best friends. This particular one is a Sinclair pull bar that has a wide tail block and welded hammering area that will let you adjust and compress the panels in the groove quite easily.

All you have to do once the piece is in place is slip the tail block into the space between the wall and the panel with the hammer block laying across the piece you want to secure. Take your hammer and give it a few taps until the joints come together cleanly and then simply remove the pull bar.

But what about that other piece that was cut? Do you throw it away? Absolutely not, that’s the piece you can start with on the second row. No need to waste it here. Plus it gives you a bit of strength and security to your subfloor as well because using this piece allows you to stagger (or overlap) the panels so the seams aren’t at the same place. Ideally, you’d like the second row of seam’s to fall in the middle of the panels from the first row.

Now that you’ve got the hang of it, just continue building and cutting row after row until you have a finished floating basement subfloor. This system is perfect for finishing any basement but even better if you have concerns due to a low ceiling. It is a raised system, but it’s about half the height of a conventional subfloor coming in at about 7/8ths of an inch in thickness.

Here’s what I like about this insulated floating subfloor:

• You get a built in vapor barrier for protection.
• You get a finished surface that’s ideal for basement carpet, laminate, vinyl plank basement flooring, engineered hardwood basement floors and even basement tile.
• You get some insulating value as the floor is raised off the cold concrete slab.
• You get a professionally quality subfloor that’s do-it-yourself friendly and goes in quickly.

Here’s what I don’t like about this subfloor: cost. Period. That’s it. It’s simply the cost of the system. You’ll end up likely paying as much, if not more depending on what you use for the finished floor as you would for the subfloor. The panels cost about $6 each. So if you have about a 1000 square foot basement, you are going to need an estimated 303 panels and at that price you are looking at around $1818. However, if you can swing it, this floating subfloor system is definitely worth it for a basement.

At some point, you may need to know how to level an uneven basement floor. Whether it’s for a vinyl flooring installation that’s going to go over a moisture barrier or simply a tile installation that’s going to go directly on your concrete basement slab, if it’s not even you will likely have some headaches down the line. So before you go putting down that basement flooring, make sure your slab is level first.

As your home ages, your concrete basement floors will have a natural tendency to cure and settle/shift a tad simply due to the nature of the materials. These slight changes will likely cause your concrete to either crack or roll slightly leaving you with an unsightly surface to deal with. Lucky for you, it’s a fairly easy process to level the concrete surface making your flooring project much easier to manage as well as add longevity to the life of the new flooring material. Just follow these 6 simple steps.

Step 1 – Get Materials To Level Your Basement Floor

Unfortunately, this job really isn’t one where you are going to be running out in the middle of it to pick up something you forgot on your list. It’s best to make sure you have everything up front prior to starting this task. Here’s what you are going to need:

• Self-leveling compound
• 5 Gallon Bucket
• Stirring rod (even better if you’ve got a cordless drill and rod to mix with)
• Concrete trowel
• Concrete caulk
• Caulking gun
• Expansion tape
• Broom and dustpan

Now, I can already hear the questions formulating about “how much self leveling compound am I going to need” or “how much concrete caulk do I buy”. And my straight forward answer to you is this, I don’t know. It’s all going to depend on how many cracks you are going to need to fill and how big your basement concrete floor is that you are going to cover. If you take your measurements to one of your local home improvement stores, they will be able to give you a better estimation based on the compound you purchase to cover the square footage of your basement. As far as the concrete caulk goes, you are going to need enough to fill the cracks in your concrete whatever that amount may be.

Step 2 – Clean Out Your Basement

If you’ve accumulated anything down in your basement, now’s the time to get it out. Old storage boxes that have been thrown in the corners, discarded furniture that used to hold a treasured place in your living room, maybe even a toy or two that’s been dropped down the basement stairs. Bottom line is if it’s on the basement floor, it needs to get out of the basement now. Find a new home for all these objects for the time being so that you can get started. Once everything’s been removed, use that broom and dustpan from the list and get it all swept up so that you are looking at a clean, dust and dirt free floor.

Step 3 – Repair The Concrete Cracks

Now that you can see your concrete floor again, it’s time to repair and chips or cracks that you may have in the concrete. Load up your caulking gun with the concrete caulk and then simply follow the manufacturers instructions. The only thing you need to pay particular mind to other than that is to get rid of the excess caulk that will extrude from the filled surfaces. Use your trowel and scrape it down like you would mudding tile. Before moving to the next step though, make sure that there has been proper time allotted for the caulk to dry.

Step 4 – Build Your Expansion Tape Perimeter

If you are going to use a lot of leveling compound and expect it to touch some walls or possibly even go wall-to-wall, you are going to want to build out a perimeter around your floor. Basically, all you do is take the expansion tape and cover up the 90 degree angle where your concrete floor meets the wall. Half of the tape should be on the concrete while the other half should be on the wall. This provides for a means of keeping your compound in a contained area as well as give the compound an ability to start self-leveling instead of running everywhere.

Step 5 – Level The Basement Floor

Now comes the part of the project where you are likely to get a little dirty. Take that 5 gallon bucket and start mixing out the self leveling compound as per the directions. This is where that variable speed cordless drill with mixing attachment will come in handy and save your back and arms a bit. If you’ve got one, I definitely suggest using it or you’ll simply need to use that manual labor to get the job done. Just be careful and don’t splash it everywhere so mix slow and steady. Once the compound is mixed to the right consistency, simply pour it in straight even lines along the surface of your concrete floor. You’ll likely be mixing and pouring for a little while. Once you’ve got the floor covered correctly, you’re ready to move on to the next step.

Step 6 – Finishing The Newly Poured Leveling Compound

Here’s where you get to work the self-leveling part of the compound. Take your concrete trowel and start spreading the mixture around a bit. As you do this, be sure to work out any little inconsistencies that may be part of the mixture. The reason we are spreading it around a bit now is to help the compound a little in gaining that level surface. By spreading it around, the level compound will work itself back into a nice flat surface with a little help by gravity pulling it back into the uneven spots.

Special Note:

Here’s one thing to keep in mind when you do this. Most all self-leveling compounds take a long time to dry and cure properly when you are leveling the basement floor. Make sure you have planned for this and by all means, keep the kids, dogs and cats away while it’s curing or else you will likely end up with little footprints that you really didn’t want in the first place.

When you’ve successfully leveled an uneven basement floor, you’ll see that it really is a fairly simple task to accomplish. Problem is, just because it’s simple doesn’t mean that it won’t take quite a bit of time to do from cleaning out the space to being patient and letting it dry. If you’ve done this particular job before, please feel free to chime in below and tell us how it went for you, send us a pic and show us what you did, or give your tip(s) for what you found to be the easiest way to level a basement floor.

Looking for something a little different for your basement floor? Take a look at the Blacksburg Barn Board laminate flooring if you are thinking about redecorating or remodeling your basement. This floor can bring a unique look to just about any room and can be something special in the right below grade installation.

This particular laminate is by Dream Home in their St. James collection. It does have some special features to it in that it is a V-groove laminate that’s 12mm with an additional 3mm of pre-glued underlayment already attached to each plank. The planks sport some very deep medium colored hues that’s sure to warm up an area that’s mostly thought of as cold and dreary. Not only will this flooring be very durable but it also comes with a 30 year warranty.

The St. James Barn Board laminate will give you the ability to create a simply stunning floor in your basement. The V-groove makes installation a breeze as their is no glue or nails involved. And as an added feature, the planks also come in random lengths which adds to the impression that you have a solid, real wood floor in your basement. This is an HDF Laminate that’s made for a floating floor installation.

Installation Tips For Barn Board Laminate Flooring

There’s really not a lot you have to watch out for with this flooring, other than if you are planning for a weekend upgrade you are going to want to get the packages in the room a little early. It’s recommended to get the flooring and store it flat in the packaging for at least 48 hours in the room where you are going to install it. This lets the flooring acclimate properly and you won’t have any surprises after you lay the floor down. Just like any other flooring, the concrete slab or subfloor should be a stable, flat, dry surface that is clean. One thing that is recommended is that if you are going to install it directly over a concrete slab is that you lay down some kind of moisture barrier first.

Because this flooring material is really easy to install, you can do it yourself without the help of a professional installer. So if you do this project yourself, here’s a professional installation tip to help you along the way and get that good-looking, unique floor. You don’t want the floor to be all uniform, take your time and mix up the planks as you install them. This way you won’t end up with too many light and dark panels sitting next to each other. Rather they’ll be more spaced throughout and give the look of a professionally laid solid wood floor.

One Word Of Caution

This flooring does not need additional padding underneath. It already has 3mm underlayment padding attached to the planks. Adding additional padding under the planks could actually cause the floor to weaken and break in the joints over time. It’s good to go right out of the box.

Why Would You Put This In The Basement

There’s some definite advantages to using this as your basement floor. First, you get the look of a real wood floor as the packages come with three different plank lengths in each box. As I said earlier, it’s got easy click installation without the need for glue or nails. It’s also a moisture resistant board with a pre-glued underlayment that comes to a total thickness of 15mm with a 30 year warranty.

Blacksburg Barn Board laminate flooring is a quality laminate that can be used on your basement floor today. With it’s easy installation and durability, beautiful color and attractive finish, you could have a new living room, family room, or even bedroom in your basement this weekend.

Armstrong basement flooring is some of the most durable, quality flooring material that you’ll find most anywhere. With a product line ranging from engineered hardwood to laminates to linoleum, you are sure to find one that will be a perfect fit for your basement. After all, having your style in your basement should be the ultimate goal in your remodeling project.

If you plan to buy a new floor for your basement, do yourself a favor and first research to find the exact floor you are looking for at a price that you can afford. There’s nothing worse than installing a new floor that you’ll have to look at for years to come only to feel like you’ve been cheated, doesn’t fit, or that you’ve overpaid for it. So let’s take a look at a few of the options that Armstrong can provide for your basement.

Armstrong Linoleum Basement Flooring

Although linoleum is not the perfect flooring material for a basement, it is one that certainly can be used given favorable conditions. Thankfully, linoleum is fairly easy to install and can be put on almost any subfloor or bare concrete. One thing to note if you are planning on going directly to the slab, make sure that you have no moisture issues at all and that you do a proper bonding test to ensure that the linoleum will bond to the floor. I would highly recommend that you do not go directly to the concrete in a basement scenario though as there’s simply too much that could go wrong. Even though something may be possible to do, it’s not always the wisest decision to do it.

Linoleum is actually a green alternative flooring for the basement as it is constructed out of all natural materials. Manufacturers like Armstrong use items like linseed oil, wood dust, limestone and other various recyclable materials to construct quality linoleum floors. One very cool trait that most people don’t know about linoleum is the entire thickness of the piece (except the backing) is a single wear layer. That means that the color and pattern that you see on the top goes all the way through to the backing.

That’s a good thing because linoleum flooring is available in a huge array of vivid colors and patterns that range from solid to flecked to marbled to various graphics. But if you like to keep the green-effect, you can also get it in earth tones to remind everyone you are environmentally conscious. This flooring can be used in both new and older basements in a variety of colors and creative patterns to produce a stunning basement floor.

If you are looking for something a little different that will stand out in your basement then there are two linoleum’s by Armstrong that I would suggest to take a look at. The first one is the Bamboo Tan. This low gloss flooring looks spectacular sporting all the different shades of bamboo with an excellent swirl mixture of white. For a darker finished floor I’d suggest the Oak Brown.

Cost: Linoleum’s not that expensive in that you are looking at two to three dollars a square foot, maybe a little more. The problem comes in the installation as it can sometimes be a pain to do and is one that’s really better left to the professionals if you’ve never done flooring before.

Armstrong Laminate Basement Flooring

If two qualities that you are absolutely looking at for the floor in your basement is durability and easy maintenance, then laminate basement flooring is something you should really check out. What you may not know is that you can get this flooring in a stone design as well if you don’t want a wood looking floor. Plus, due to their construction and makeup, laminates are almost indestructible. They also make a great project floor for a first time do it yourselfer because they are so easy to install in a basement.

Laminate planks are actually made up of four layers: a wear layer, a design layer, a core layer and a backing layer. The wear layer is the top portion that you see that protects the boards from fading and stains. Underneath that is the design layer. This is where the visual appeal comes in. This layer is literally a high quality photograph of an actual wood, stone or other natural flooring material. Then comes the core layer that actually gives the board its strength. The inner core is typically made up of a plastic resin that will keep it all stable and flat. Finally is the backing layer which creates a moisture barrier. This will help in protecting the floor from warping. Using this layered technology gives the floors their durability.

Armstrong laminates have something that most laminates don’t, they can be installed virtually anywhere. Whether it’s for a formal living area, a bedroom or even the basement, these laminates can be assured to perform confidently. Sporting an above average stain resistance and wear layer, you don’t have to worry about the foot traffic and they even manufacture commercial grade laminates as well. Armstrong stands behind their laminates with warranties that vary from 20 years to a lifetime based on which floor you choose.

If you like the stone look as a floor, you could check out the Weathered Way laminates from Armstrong. These will give a lighter, more natural looking stone floor in the basement that will keep the room fresh. For a more traditional looking wood basement floor, you might go with the Vintage Pine or even the Wild Cherry that’s kind of in between a dark and light wood. These give a more “at-home” appeal. They do have some spectacular looking distressed wood versions as well and I really like the White Wash Walnut!

Cost: This one you will see in a wide range of prices stemming from 99 cents for the cheaper versions all the way to around $7 per square foot. They do make ones with padding that are a little more expensive. You can save on installation though as these are easy to do yourself, but if you have someone do it, you can expect another $1 to $3 a square foot installed.

Recently, I received an email from a reader who’s having a little bit of problems with her basement flooring as they have installed bamboo flooring that is buckled and dark from the water that’s penetrating their basement. It seems like they’ve got a drainage issue that pretty much keeps the basement wet or damp most all of the time. Read her problem just below and then we’ll discuss if there is a solution for wet basement flooring.

“We have a basement level that is susceptible to water penetration from an exterior drainage problem. Unfortunately, we only found out about this after we installed bamboo flooring which is now buckled and dark from the moisture. (It’s really not possible to fix the exterior drainage problem.) We’re going to take out the flooring, but we’re not sure what to put in. The sub-floor seems to be a mix of concrete and plywood. We can’t put in a floating floor. I could really use some advice. Assume that the floor will be damp all the time .

Thanks!
Jocelyn”

Well, as you can tell Jocelyn is in a little bit of a pickle here without being able to fix the drainage issue. One thing that would help would be a bit more knowledge and information around what exactly that drain problem is that’s keeping the basement wet. Not knowing is causing me a bit of a problem here as we can’t decipher where it’s coming from. The window, walls or up through the concrete. Another puzzling piece as well is how much water is actually getting in. At any rate, you should do all that you can to at least minimize the water coming into the lower level as this could be a potentially dangerous and unhealthy situation. Whether that is having a company come in and waterproof the basement or take measures into your own hands to do so, then do the best you can. Nobody wants their basement to end up potentially flooded. Hopefully nothing of value is down there as you certainly wouldn’t want it ruined and be out of pocket on it or worse, something not replaceable like family heirlooms.

What I wouldn’t use for flooring in this basement

Let’s start here first as it’s easier to say no then yes, at least for me. Wooden subfloors or any type of subfloor that maintains solid contact with your concrete basement floor would be out. That’s not to say that you can’t have a subfloor, as there are other types that will leave a vapor barrier in between it and the concrete so it can dry appropriately and also not rot from the water. Carpet or basement carpet tiles would also be out. The carpet will mildew and mold and the adhesives used to stick the tiles in place typically don’t hold up to repeated soaks in water. Engineered or laminate basement flooring would also not be a wise choice as you can already see what it’s done to your bamboo flooring. These would also likely buckle into an unsightly mess as well. I know most folks have an affinity for hardwood floors, but this basements a no-no.

Possible Wet Basement Flooring Ideas

Idea 1: Paint the basement floor. This could be a viable solution for many reasons. One, it’s cheaper to paint it than to install some type of flooring on it. Two, you can pretty much get any color that you’d like to have down there. Three, it won’t buckle or rot with water exposure, provided you get the right kind of paint. Finally, painting is easy. If you can paint a wall then you can paint a floor. Just don’t paint yourself into a corner. The one drawback with painted basement floor is that in a few years or so, you’ll probably have to paint it again as it will likely chip and peel in places depending on the exposure and traffic.

Idea 2: Stained basement floor. This is actually a growing trend. Although a little tougher than simply painting the floor, the outcome are beautiful and you can get really creative design wise with etchings and such. Plus with all the different types and colors of stains you have a wide range of choices to pick from. Look for some more from me soon on this one.

Idea 3: Tiled basement floor. This is another very viable option for wet basements. This one will take a little bit more manual labor than others as you’ll have to haul it all downstairs, but it also opens up the realm of possibilities as you’ll be able to use single patterns, multiple patterns, sizes, borders, etc. You can get very creative with using tiles and when they do get wet you just have to mop them up.

These are suggestions and to be used at your own risk. I would definitely consult a local basement professional to take a better look at the issue and then make a decision as to what you want to do with your basement floor.

“Best” is one of those words I don’t like to use much as it’s more of an opinion word. Not being a very opinionated type person, especially surrounding one’s home as it’s in the eye of the beholder (or homeowner in this case), I like to leave that part to you to make as to which one of these solutions would be the best flooring for a wet basement.