Hello All, I am totally at a loss for which product is best to install in basements. Our basement is now ready to have the floor installed. I've been told to stay away from hardwood (which I simply love). OK, so now my choices are engineered hardwood or laminate. Today I went to a flooring store. The sales person talked me out of using engineered flooring due to the fact that it easily scratches and it is just as finicky as hardwood. She veered me towards laminate as it is a forgiving product not to mention inexpensive.
Is there a strong debate as to why I can't use engineered flooring in the basement?
Any advice would be so appreciated.
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Is bamboo ok for basement floors? I saw some beautiful bamboo at costco this weekend for around $2.30/sqft.
My MIL had a laminate installed in her family room in the basement. It looks good, wears well but I find that the floor is cold. She had carpet before and her room was much cosier.
Thanks to all for your kind advices and quick responses. The basement will be an extension of our home. It will be an entertainment area with a t.v./fireplace (side-by-side) built-ins, bar (DH and I still working on design) with a pool table and lots of room for a large eating area for those holiday times when family and kids of all ages come over. I'm sure you can all identify with this.
We have HW on the main floor and the upper hallway on the 2nd floor, so my concern was to carry the same theme to the basement. I am geering toward engineered HW. It looks so beautiful and very hard to tell it's not HW. So what if we end up with a dent here and there. Need to relax and realise it's just a floor, and then there's the resale value issue....
I came across an engineered HW flooring product at Home Depot for $3.99 sq. ft. Still searching to find it at a lesser price. If not, this seems pretty reasonable.
Thanks all.
Alegria,
Ypou need to speak toanother sales person - engineered HW is a great choice for below grade applications. Not sure what they meant by 'finicky'?? No need to be dissapointed re: no HW in basement - you won't see any difference between engineered HW and full thickness HW - it looks the same when laid.
I guess it depends on how will you use the basement - If you want a cosy space you could go with resilient ( the nicer word for linoleum :p ) or even carpet; if it's going to be a games/party place - I vote for laminate all the way.
Either way there are tonnes of options in terms of quality, and price and the moisture problem can be addressed too. the price for it, again, depends on location, age of your house,....
Personally I'm not fond of hardwood in the basement because IMO that's the place I don't want to stress about dings, scratches and spills.
Have a
look at Tarkett vinyl wood planks in wood grains. Most large box stores sell it like Home Depot.
Water Resistant
Because FiberFloor is dimensionally stable and virtually impervious to moisture, it can go in your most challenging spaces, like bathrooms, kitchens and even leaky basements.
Easy to Maintain
FiberFloor cleans up easily. Normally just sweeping and an occasional damp mop will do.
As far as I know, the big concern is the moisture that comes up from the cement being the issue with some materials (Like wood). As long as you get that part out of the way, how a floor wears is no different than any other room I expect.
Is the 'just as finicky as hardwood' concern the scratches or the moisture? If it's the scratches, well that is what wood does, no way around itand something people have to accept or be driven insame. Laminate doesn't scratch as easily (as a matter of fact it's pretty tough) but it also has a colder, harder feel than real wood.
Have you looked at cork? Cork is really nice to walk on, very quiet and durable and lays like laminate. I am not sure if you can put it over cement, but if you can it might be another option for you.
Here's one bit of info from a google that suggests you can use engineered and laminate (and I assume cork since the criteria seems to be the floor needs to float which cork does). Anyway, take a look and see if it helps sort it out for you
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