Basement Flooring Options
When you have plans to renovate your basement, among the most critical things you have to think of is the flooring of your basement. As you would prefer to have your living space as inviting and cozy as possible, the hard, cold, cement floor of the basement is not an ideal option.
Painting
There are many ways to convert the basement into a more comfortable and livable space. One cheap method is painting. Select the semi-permeable latex paint if you face basement water seepage problems. If you apply normal paint, the paint would start peeling in a few months.
Carpeting
Another flooring option for basement is wall-to-wall carpeting. You will have a comforting and warm feeling under your feet and particularly during severe winters. It’s also the ideal choice if you are planning to transform the basement into a children’s bedroom or a living room. However, again, in case you have seepage issues, carpeting can be a wrong decision for basement flooring. The reason is that carpets do not dry fast when it accidentally absorbs water. Also its fibers can invite molds which thrive in highly humid conditions. Plus, if your basement is poorly ventilated, your carpets will be damp and infested with bacteria.
If you can’t avoid using carpets for your basement flooring, the best thing is to address the seepage problem first. The easiest method is installing a felt covering or polystyrene foam over the concrete floor. While laying leave a 4″ margin on the sides. After the full floor area is covered, you can trim off the extra foam or felt.
Next, over this surface lay a sub floor of ply. This would prevent creeping up of moisture to your carpet or any other basement flooring material you would like to try. A sub flooring would add to the comfort.
Ceramic Tiles
If you like the classic appearance of ceramic tiles, try them. They can be cleaned easily and are resistant to stains and spills. You can choose from hundreds of designs, colors, and textures and your basement flooring can be matched with almost any type of furniture you have in your living space. Their disadvantage, is that they may be cold. This may be very uncomfortable particularly if your basement is not heated. To overcome this problem, you can try radiant floor heating. In this type of heating, you can install a wood laminate or natural wooden floor a few inches above the ceramic tiles so that the basement will feel and look comfortable.
Conclusion
These days, there are unique basement flooring options to select from like bamboo or soundproof mats. Whatever you choose, always weigh its disadvantages apart from its advantages. Always remember that a basement when compared to the other rooms in the house is not well-ventilated and are much colder, and allow almost no natural sunlight.