Basement Floors

Handled with care, a basement can be a versatile area that adds value to your home. Basements are below grade and it’s hard for natural sunlight to find its way down there. When designing your basement and selecting a new floor, remember that it is a unique room that has different requirements from other rooms in your house.

When it comes to basement floors, there are many patterns, designs and styles to choose. Vinyl tiles, linoleum flooring, ceramic and stone tiles, cork tiles or engineered wood floors, are all great choices that will hold up well to the moisture levels usually found in basements. Alternately you can choose a simple stained concrete floor with natural rugs to create a very modern feel.

Which Basement Floor is Best?

• You can use your basement as a home office, entertainment area, bar, gym, bedroom, play area, or for any other purpose. Determining what basement will be used for is the first step in choosing your basement floor. The appearance and properties of a floor in a home theater will be different from one in a home gym floor.
• The soil type in your area and moisture levels in the surrounding earth are important factors to be considered when choosing your basement flooring. If your basement is prone to flooding, bare concrete floors would probably be the only suitable material. If you have sealed your basement floor and walls properly or if you are in a dry area, the basement will be free from moisture and you may install any flooring of your choice including hardwood flooring.
• Whatever flooring you choose you will need to repair any cracks in the basement floor before you can install the floor.

Basement Flooring Options

• Concrete – bare concrete or painted is the only choice you will need to make. You can paint the floor in one single color, paint patterns or stencil interesting designs. Paint does reduce moisture in a basement but only to a limited extent. The moisture may accumulate below the painted surface and result in the ultimate de-lamination of the painted surface.
• Vinyl and Linoleum floors – Both vinyl and linoleum are easy to install and relatively unaffected by moisture in the floor. You will need to glue them to the concrete. If the concrete floor is susceptible to moisture the glue will give and these floors will show folds after some time floor.
• Laminate flooring – Laminate flooring can give you any appearance you like including that of premium hardwood floors. It is also relatively unaffected by moisture in the floor.
• Ceramic, Porcelain and Stone Tiles – These are water resistant materials. Fixed to the floor with mortar they are less likely to delaminate like vinyl and linoleum might. Rugs can add that touch of panache to your tile floor that you are looking for floor.

Whatever flooring you choose for your basement, moisture is a factor that needs to be considered and managed. You can choose surface or penetrating sealants to do control moisture levels in the basement. A penetrating sealant is better suited to handle moisture problems in the long term. Sump pumps and dehumidifiers do work but they can hardly be expected to remove a torrential downpour before it wets the tufts of your beautiful Berber carpet!

At Contempo Floor Coverings, we offer many professional flooring services ranging from free no obligations measurements to floor care and maintenance services.

Visit our Los Angeles Flooring showrooms for more information about Flooring.