Best Flooring For Concrete Basement

The best way to install ceramic tile in a basement is directly over a concrete slab.

Best flooring for concrete basement.

Vinyl flooring comes in both sheet or tile plank form and there is a subtle difference. You can install vinyl planks on top of most existing floors including cement basement slabs and the planks are completely waterproof. Vinyl won t transfer the cold from the concrete which will create a durable and comfortable basement flooring. The best interior concrete sealer is a film forming sealant like epoxy or acrylic.

This matters because even seemingly dry basements can have enough moisture vapor migration to trigger mold growth. Although some manufacturers sell engineered wood flooring that can go down over a concrete floor it s better to install this type of flooring over a subfloor. The planks themselves won t get damaged by moisture but mildew can grow on the bottom of them. But that doesn t mean basements are trouble free.

If you have a damp basement it is recommended to lay a vapor barrier between the concrete slab and the planks. A concrete basement slab is porous and prone to moisture and water vapor migrating up through the slab. Best flooring for concrete basement sealed and polished concrete make unsurpassed floors for your basement. This is a possible basement flooring project you can diy.

Vinyl flooring also known as resilient flooring ranks with concrete and ceramic tile as one of the better basement flooring options. Flooring choices for basements. Most types have a thickness of or less. First vpf and vtf are impervious to liquid and vapor moisture.

For added protection even though ceramic holds up well against water you can install a water barrier layer between the subfloor and your tiles. If the concrete subfloor is always dry however laminate floors can be placed directly on the slab. Unlike exterior sealants that penetrate the concrete with uv protection while still allowing breathability interior types create a film over the top. If you use a plywood subfloor you risk the plywood warping if water does end up reaching it.

Many basement concrete slabs are cold underfoot especially during the winter. Laminate floors which may be tongue and groove or snap together are floating floors and not attached to the subfloor. That leaves you a lot of basement flooring options such as ceramic tile engineered wood rubber and laminate flooring made with a moisture resistant plywood core. In addition to its affordability vinyl flooring offers temperature benefits for basement installation.