Basement Flooring Guide

Intentionally or otherwise, the basement in most households ends up being used for dumping of all the things not required in the main house. As a result, it gets neglected most of the time, though it’s very much a part of the house. Nevertheless, basements can really be put to a number of better uses. Whichever better way you may decide to use it, you will need to give its flooring a treatment in accordance with the intended purpose of use. So, here are some of the more popular types of basement flooring with their purposes and plus and minus points.

Concrete – That’s the kind of flooring you come across most often in basements. Most of the people use basement for storage purposes and concrete floor is just fine for that. Basements that have lot of foot traffic or movement of goods do well to with concrete flooring. Concrete flooring is also desirable for people who like to tinker with things in the workshop modeled in basements. They can conveniently keep moving things in and out of house without causing any disturbance to the rest of the household. Perhaps only concrete floor can accept that kind of abuse. But these concrete floors certainly don’t make a very pleasant sight.

Ceramic Tile – Though a better option than concrete, ceramic tiles are not desirable for basement floors that witness high foot traffic or haulage of heavy items more regularly. As basements are known to attract moisture with high level of humidity, tiles will protect your floor from water damage. That makes them good for having washing and drying machines.

Hardwood Laminate – If you have really transformed the basement to be an extension of your home, this is the ideal flooring. In true sense it means your basement is not used as a dump yard but is functioning like a game room, library, music room, or whatever. For such conversions of basements hardwood laminate make warm nice looking flooring. But again, you have to provide a good ventilating system for using such floorings because basements are known to inherit moisture build-up. If the basement remains closed for most of the time, the humidity reaches a high level that damages wood.

Thick Carpeting – that’s the easiest way of giving a new look to your basement. The limitation is that carpets can’t bear heavy traffic for long, nor does it allow frequent dragging or hauling of heavy items on its surface. However, if the basement is used for storing comparatively lighter and small items, carpets help to give a soft look to the basement. Another problem with carpets, as we all know is that they help build-ups assisted by the moisture and humidity that can’t really be avoided altogether in a basement. But, then it may be taken care of by installing a dehumidifier.

Rubber/Foam Mats – They have the best of properties of both, carpets and tiles. They are better than carpets as they don’t encourage molds and or other build up yet remain softer than tiles. They are waterproof. The most significant feature is that they dampen noise. That makes them very useful for basements that have a lot of activity and the resultant noise, as rubber mats will muffle up the noise generated therein. You can further add to their noise absorbing characteristics by suitably incorporating insulating materials in the basement. It can be so effectively designed that you may even use power tools at night without causing any disturbance to the household or neighbors.

Radiant Heating – Houses in cold climates would really find it difficult to get a better option than this. These waterproof panels are sturdy and would continue to contain heat even in severe winters. But these very characteristics make them undesirable for houses in hotter climates, as basements are characteristically hot and the heat contained in basements brings around humid conditions. Naturally, such a flooring will add to the problem in houses located in tropical regions.