What kind of flooring should be used in a basement?

Question

What is the best material to use in a basement? Our basement has flooded in the past and our ceilings are low. Do you know???

Answer 1

If you have flooding issues, you will probably want to get that resolved - see the following page about basement foundations (with branch pages about daylight and walkout basements):

http://www.building-your-green-home.com/...

and this quick click flooring guide on about every type of flooring you can imagine:

http://www.building-your-green-home.com/...

Hope this helps!

Answer 2

That which has very low maintenance.and if it has a tendency to flood an automatic pumping system

Answer 3

What you don't want is hardwood, which will warp in a basement, or carpet, which will get mildewy and stink.

Do you have a concrete (slab) floor in your basement?  Take a plastic trash bag or a piece of plastic drop cloth and spread it over a dry section of the basement floor (at least 1-foot by 1-foot). Using duct or masking tape, tape all four sides to the concrete, so no air can escape from under the plastic. Let it sit for 24 hours. Pull the bag up, and inspect the concrete underneath. If the concrete is damp, you have a moisture seepage problem and the concrete cannot be sealed.

This means you cannot glue any linoleum or other flooring directly to the surface, or it will come up from the moisture.  In this case, get some rubber tiling mats and lay those "floating" on the floor.

If you're handy, you can also install a plywood subfloor an inch or two over the concrete.  Put in a vapor barrier (plastic sheet) between the subfloor and concrete to minimize moisture wicking through.  Lay linoleum, vinyl, or basement tile over the subfloor.  Good luck.  

Answer 4

Ceramic tile, water will not damage it.

Answer 5

if ur basement is known to flood then the best flooring is indoor outdoor carpeting. plus it's really easy to clean up.