Basement Flooring Ideas

Imagine a day when the basement can be an additional place of retreat and solitude from the busy world around you, and your family.  The basement does not have to be that dark and unwelcoming place that is damp and cold.  With today’s amazing advancements in flooring and home decorating, that lower level can be your favorite retreat, complete with a new basement floor.

Being underground, basements are often damp, cold and can turn some flooring choices into a wrinkled, moldy, mess. You might think because of the dampness and coolness of the basement your choices in basement flooring are limited but, you can design as big as your dreams or budget will allow.  Manufacturers want you to enjoy this space, and they offer plenty of wonderful flooring choices to help you do just that.

For example,  the following products have taken dampness into consideration while not sacrificing one bit on style or design.  The basement flooring ideas range from hardwood to tile and everything in between:

• Alt=basement flooringLuxury Tile – Adura by Mannington [1] is a high fashion, high performance rigid tile that offers whatever look you desire for your basement floor.  Made by Mannington, the tiles are16” x 16” wide and a solid 5mm thick, with patterns that range from Tumbled Stone with realistic grout lines to slate or even sisal and grass cloth.  Using adhesive and standard tools, these tiles are installed the same way as you would install any vinyl floor tile.  Depending on the condition of your existing floor you can install them directly on top of concrete, sheet vinyl, or even over floors with radiant heat. So, to give your inner designer the freedom to mix and match, choose any of these beautifully coordinated tiles for a winning combination!
• Engineered Hardwood – You would be right to think we had lost our minds to suggest hardwood flooring for the basement but now you can have it all.  Engineered Hardwood Flooring [2] is made of five layers of plywood with a top layer of actual laminated veneer of the wood you love.  These engineered hardwoods come in planks and are installed with a tongue and groove.  The planks simply “float” over your existing basement flooring as long as it is in good condition.  In fact, the only prep work you need is to lay out a moisture barrier sheeting over your concrete floor.  Engineered hardwoods are designed to withstand moisture and can be installed below grade without fear of the warping or buckling common to solid hardwood floors.  Armstrong offers a beautiful engineered hardwood with planks in a variety of sizes, styles, and finishes under their Bruce Hardwood Floor line.  
• Epoxy Coating – This is a great option if you are really just looking to spruce up and finish your existing space without making a huge design commitment. It seals and finishes your existing basement floor and gives it a retro and industrial look with a durable coating.  Rust-Oleum makes Epoxy Shield [3] which is mixed in two parts and applied to the floor.  It is available in neutral shades which you can enhance with decorative chips. This product is also great if your basement has concrete walls and you are looking to finish them with something other than paint. 
• Acid Staining Concrete – If you love the look of concrete but are not thrilled with the color gray, acid staining is the technique for you.  This unique and affordable flooring option enhances the condition of your existing concrete floor by coloring and transforming the current look.  The stains can be applied to your basement floor in a decorative way, creating patterns and details while drawing out the beauty that hides within your concrete slab.  Gaye Goodman is an amazing concrete acid artist who has used this technique on hundreds of homes and businesses.  Check out  Gaye’s tips and advice [4] on how to bring this unusual effect into your home.

On our radio program The Money Pit [5], we open each and every hour by inviting calls from “floor boards to shingles.”  If your question is about how to floor the rooms right under those roof shingles or floor boards, there are lots of fabulous flooring ideas for your attic flooring [6] and basement flooring!