| When finishing your basement, you must determine | | | | to be pretty common. You can even use carpet if |
| the best flooring option. First figure out if your | | | | your floor does not have a moisture barrier. Simply |
| basement's concrete slab has a moisture barrier | | | | install a cellulose underlayment before you put in the |
| underneath it. If not, then you will be dealing with | | | | padding and carpet itself, and you will have created a |
| moisture levels that will reach through the slab to the | | | | moisture barrier. |
| basement flooring. | | | | Another basement flooring option is free floating |
| To find out if there is a moisture barrier under your | | | | engineered flooring, which is great for basements. |
| concrete slab, cut a few plastic garbage bags and lay | | | | This type of floor has a foam underlayment on which |
| them down over a few areas of the concrete slab. | | | | it "floats", which aids in counterbalancing any uneven |
| Tape them down and leave them there for a few | | | | areas in the basement floor and also acts as a sound |
| days. When you check on them and the underside of | | | | barrier. This floor also adapts to the varying moisture |
| the bags are wet, then there is no moisture barrier. | | | | levels in the basement. |
| This will narrow down the flooring options available to | | | | A third option is laminate flooring, which also floats on |
| you. | | | | an underlayment. However, this flooring requires a |
| One thing you can do to keep your flooring options | | | | basement with low moisture levels. |
| open is to waterproof your basement floor using a | | | | Ceramic tile can also be installed in your basement, |
| basement waterproofing sealant on the floor and | | | | but they tend to be very cold when you walk |
| walls. A much more expensive option would be to | | | | barefoot on them. Low moisture is needed or your |
| install a French drain at the basement foundation, but | | | | tile's lifespan will be impacted. You also need a level |
| that is a much larger undertaking involving excavation | | | | floor to install tile. |
| and PVC pipe installation. | | | | A cheap option is to just paint your basement floor, |
| If your floor does have a moisture barrier, then there | | | | which may be best if your floor has high moisture |
| are many flooring options. You can install carpet in | | | | levels. Finally, there is hardwood flooring, but this is |
| your basement, although carpet is not necessarily the | | | | not recommended for basements. |
| wisest choice for a basement. Nevertheless, it tends | | | | |