Category: Flooring

If you have a finished basement or you plan on finishing it in the near future, you’ve probably started to look into flooring ideas in terms of styles and materials. Well, you might like to know that you have quite a few materials available to you. But, these materials are strictly for finished basements – and basements that won’t get flooded or have water issues, otherwise, you would just be better off going with something like concrete.

What Will The Space Be Used For?

One of the first questions you will need to ask yourself, is what the basement is going to be used for, this will help you figure out the best material for your specific needs because each material has its own rating and its own use. For example, for a gaming room, you would probably want something that is good for medium to high foot traffic, easy to clean, won’t scratch or dent. On the other hand, if you plan on using it for a media room, you need a material that is cushy under your feet and won’t allow noise to bounce all over the place – for this, carpet would work better than a laminate and yet there are people who would rather avoid carpets.

Luxury Vinyl Tile – LVT

LVT is a pretty new option available. It works a lot like a wood laminate in that you can use a photograph to mimic another material and “print” it onto the vinyl. You can make the vinyl look like wood, leather, stone, ceramic or just about anything else. Vinyl is also puncture and scratch resistant, stain resistant, waterproof and incredibly easy to clean which makes it ideal for a basement. However, if you don’t want the entire basement to use this material, you can also mix it. For a game room/media room, for example, you can use carpet in the media area, laminate in the gaming area and then use something like vinyl in the kitchen or bar area and it all makes sense. Carpet for comfort and sound, laminate for a cool look in the gaming area, and easy to clean and take care of vinyl in the kitchen or bar area. Vinyl comes in an area of looks such as distressed wood, specialty wood, traditional wood, stone, and patterns. It also comes in all sorts of colors like white, black, gray, copper, orange, brown, green, blue and many more.

Multi-ply Construction – Engineered Wood

Engineered wood has a multi-level construction that makes it incredibly durable, amazingly beautiful, and it’s easy to clean. This is why it makes a great material for a finished basement. Engineered hardwood also comes in a lot of different options in terms of the colors, plank sizes, and styles such as; Color: white, copper, red-brown, dark brown, gray, black, yellow and tan. Look: distressed wood, specialty wood, traditional wood, stone, and patterns. Types Of Wood: Birch, Oak, Cherry, Walnut, Maple, Exotic and Pecan.

Laminate Wood Flooring

These are very similar in terms of style, look and feel as the engineered wood above, but also hardwood, but at the fraction of the cost. If you don’t have an eye for real wood, you can trick people into thinking that you spent thousands of dollars on a real wood floor, when really it’s just a very good look alike.

Laminate flooring can also be made to look like anything and be “printed” onto the material; stone, tile, patterns, and more. This is a very easy to clean material, it’s easy to install, moisture resistant, and most companies that offer it, offer amazing support and a great warranty.

Colors: White, beige, tan, copper, red-brown, brown, dark brown, gray, black and blue.

Look: distressed wood, specialty wood, traditional wood, stone, and patterns.

Laminate planks or laminate flooring are used in the basement as flooring very often because of their properties. Many homes in the United States of America have them installed, the price point is pretty fantastic too, so if you want the look and feel of wood floor, but you don’t want to spend $25,000 or more, this is the material for you. Engineered hardwood is amazing too, but out of the three, laminate is the cheapest, then engineered hardwood, and then real hardwood flooring.

Out of all the materials listed here the LVT and the carpet are going to be the cheapest non-wood material. If you’re worried about the LVT looking too glossy, don’t; you can also choose what you want the gloss to be; high, medium and low. This is a really nice option because as you go further down the line of the gloss, it starts to look more and more like real wood.

You may find too many flooring options, that look beautiful but can be too expensive at the same time especially wood floors for the basement. The basement is quite prone to humidity and moisture and thus bamboo flooring works well here. Bamboo is a great choice because many basements have sub-floors and an overall atmosphere that is high in moisture. There are a few other things also that you need to consider before selecting it. However, your priorities should commence at the budget, and end with the maintenance. But if budget is not a constraint, one can easily opt for engineered bamboo flooring as it appears to be stunning and certainly easy to maintain when compared to carpeted flooring.

#1. Consider Basement And Family Requirements

If you have children and pets around it is important to have bamboo flooring that is not only hard but stain resistant too. While wooden flooring develops a few scratches with use, ceramic flooring is stain and scratch proof. Hardwood floors are easy to clean. Ceramic tiles give a clean look, but with use dirt does accumulate in the grouts. Joint free tiling and using larger sized tiles does help to minimize this problem.

#2. Serves Purpose Of The Basement

It is important to select the right flooring depending upon the purpose of the room. Non-skid and non-glossy flooring is recommended in all work areas, including the kitchen and the bathrooms. Thus, these floors are widely used in both these regions  Bamboo floors have also become popular due to its easy availability and large variety. They come in numerous shades, patterns, colors and sizes. They are easy to install and are cost effective also.

#3. Easy Maintenance

These flooring are easy to maintain. You just have to sweep or vacuum it regularly to remove small particles debris.

#4. Enhance Your Décor

The flooring can easily enhance the look of a room and brighten it up. Bamboo is natural and quite sturdy. It offers a durability and rustic style that other flooring options cannot match. The price range depends upon the quality of bamboo. The expensive varieties come free of any fillers and cracks. You can select from a range that gives you a clean and more contemporary look or go for something that is more traditional and rustic.

#5. Compare Prices

You should compare prices for the flooring options like bamboo floors give a classic feel and fall under the expensive variety. Discount wood flooring is an alternative that a lot of people opt for. These are also available in a large number of shades and come at lower prices.

#6. Go Eco Friendly

Bamboo and cork flooring are the eco-friendly flooring options. Bamboo flooring is hard though a lot of people think otherwise. Both bamboo and cork flooring are durable and cost effective. They are easy and faster to install  as compared to others. They are also warm underfoot and absorb sound too. So if you are looking for a kind of flooring that does not put a dent in your savings, looks attractive and earns you admiration for being environmentally concerned these bamboo flooring options are just the right one.

On the whole, you should make sure that you evaluate price factors, requirements, décor, and maintenance factors before purchasing flooring. Doing so would ensure that the bamboo flooring not only enhances your basement decor but also gives you a more practical and viable design. In the long run, you have a durable and sustainable design for your basement, which is practical too. So go ahead and install these in your basement for a swanky look.