Basement Flooring Guide

There are a few things that need your attention before you get started with your basement flooring. A very important factor is to know the purpose for which you are going to use the basement. Once you have defined the purpose, it becomes easy to zeroing on the best choice of material for the purpose. The basement may be used for many different purposes. For instance you may consider using it as a bedroom or may be a gym, else as a laundry room. You will agree that the requirements of flooring would be different if it were used for laundry applications than it was for say a bedroom. You may simply use it for storage purposes or develop it to a recreation room. Unless you plan to store edibles for a long time, the choice of flooring wouldn’t really matter on its being used for storing household items. So, the choice of flooring material changes with what you finally want the room for.

Having decided the purpose of utilizing the basement, you need to consider the type of flooring it would have. Basements are too well known to attract humidity and moisture, being below ground level. Quite often you may not see moisture or dampness on the floor or walls, but you may yet feel it from the smell of mildew or stale odor. The porous nature of cement facilitates seepage of water on the walls and floor, in case you have concrete floors that have not been sealed sufficiently. You have to arrange for its waterproofing to prevent seepage of water.

In case the concrete flooring of your basement is not too pleasing, you may consider having another material installed over it. While helping to make the space with more comfortable looks, it will also reduce the damages likely to be caused by moisture. The finished floor will get a smoother finish and look warmer. This will also help saving the floor below from any kind of spillage and keep it dry even in case of a broken or cracked pipe. However, if the basement is already very dry, you may avoid having a sub floor.

Basement flooring can have many of the materials for installation. But, it is good to consider the purpose for which you intend using the basement. Perhaps you plan to have a bedroom there, and then who is going to use that? Generally, people would keep it for guests who are not going to be around for long. Under such a situation any economical material that doesn’t require frequent cleaning and maintenance will be more suitable. Why not have plain cement floors? You may just coordinate the colors on walls and the ceiling to get a somewhat cool atmosphere as basements are generally totally enclosed having no windows.

It may be a good idea to have ceramic or porcelain tiles. They are easy to clean and maintain. Moreover, they are perhaps the easiest to install. However, it is too well known that the most important part of installing such floors is the preparation of floor. Before installing tiles make sure that the floor is devoid of any cracks or creases in cement, else the tiles may develop cracks soon after installation. Once the grout has set and the tiles have been cleaned to shine, you may start moving in the objects that you might have planned and continue to enjoy the place.