Vinyl tiles directly applied will lift as water vapour that is passing through your basement floor accumulates as water.

If there is no particular water problem, I have found that an unpadded commercial carpet works well. If your DIY level includes ceramic, by all means go for it. There are always lots of closeouts, ends of lines etc. that can be gotten for next to nothing. Use an uncoupling underlayment such as Ditra to avoid cracked tiles.

Worthy:

Thanks for the information. I was suspect of the vinyl tile idea for just that reason.

Ceramic tile seems like a little too much work for what we want out of the space, which is a comfortable enough place for a playroom for my young kids. Plus, there might be a major remodel in five years or so if my sister moves in when she retires, so I don't want to put too much money into it at this point. We just want it livable and not smelly.

I'm hoping to find some closeout carpet tiles to make the installation easier. Any ideas for online sources?

Thanks.

Carpet tiles could work. I'd avoid glue-on types to save you trouble in the future and problems now if there ever was any incompatible adhesive on the concrete. But I don't know any online sources.

Since this is planned as a long time residence, it could be well worth it to spend a bit more and use Dri-Core, Delta FL or XPS on the floor, so you can upgrade or change the flooring later with no concern of water wrecking your new flooring. Major flooding excepted.

Worthy: How much height do Dri-Core, DeltaFL or XPS add to the floor? That's a big concern for us because we are tall people. The height concern outweighs having the option of changing/upgrading the flooring in the distant future. In all likelihood, if my sister does move in, she'd have at least part of the floor dug out to gain more ceiling height. That's how much the low ceilings bother her.

My current new flooring choice really needs to be a here-and-now solution for my family alone - and we don't have a lot of money. Anybody else have any specific ideas?

Thanks.

I am not sure what you mean by "not a lot of money" but I am planning on putting in laminate wood flooring. There are several places around here that advertise on Craigs List for less than a $1 a square foot.

If the size is small you also might be able to get some really cheap where someone bought to much for a project and are looking to unload it.

I laid ceramic tile i got cheap from Hobo. the grout and morter cost more than the tile. We laid half the floor one weekend and the other half the next. If we had better knees it could have been done in one weekend. I love it. An area rug in front of the couch keeps your feet warm. we pulled up carpet that always smelled of mildew.

Dricore is 7/8" thick. I just noticed another alternative in a Big Box the other day. It's squares like Dri-Core, but the bottom layer is about 1/2" of XPS.

DH wants to setup an old couch and the Guitar Hero game in our basement for DSD since we don't have AC. I'm all for that being out of the way =D We are going to get 1 (or more) area rugs and just throw them down. I love area rugs. I have 3 now and while 1 stays in the LR always, the other 2 have been re-purposed multiple times.

how much was that dri core type stuff with the XPS on the bottom?

We have also been looking into budget-friendly flooring options for the basement. You could use laminate or engineered wood flooring. The laminate would probably be the thinnest, and is easy to install. It's easy to find the laminate for less than $1.00/sf, and the installation isn't has difficult as tile. Another alternative is cork, which would be warm underneath. However, it is a little more expensive. Good luck!

We did a floating laminate in an old house of ours (moisture barrier between the floor and the panels).

We did dri core in our other home with laminate floating. I have since moved to a rental unit, not sure what to do here. the basement is 100% undone, need at least two rooms for kids. was thinking of those big foam squares walmart sells for my daughters play area. I would do a fabric carpet, I did this in my livivng room, works great and was cheap and I can wash and dry it. I spent $80 including the non skid underlay got at len's mills. it covers 8x12. I might do this in basement or i might get discount carpet to go over the foam. Is there maybe a better option that is cheap to keep the cold off my little one while she is playing? also what would i do for walls? any idea's we are not allowed to put up dri wall or anything that stays or is permanent.

I'm looking into the same thing and I'm considering bamboo which is around $1 per square foot. I also found rubber gym flooring for the play area that is around $1.50 per square foot.

According to Building Science Corp., impermeable layers on floors and walls should be avoided as they "inhibit inward drying and typically lead to mold growth and other moisture problems."

The most budget-friendly option would be latex floor paint followed by throw rugs--even the foam squares mentioned above--as long as the rugs and the squares are regularly moved and laundered. Mechanical dehumidification to keep the relative humidity under 50% is a must.

interesting! Here in LA our basements are ridiculously built per our code with tons of moisture barriers. Of course we also live in a desert that is bone dry at the moment :-) My contractor tells me we'll never have an issue with dampness but I'll certainly still look into it! As a side note my inlays had a finished basement with laminate flooring in Ohio for many years and they did not have any mold issue. They did run a industrial strength dehumidifier though.

I'm leaning towards painted/stained floors with throw rugs. I know it's cold but fun can be had with all the acid staining type swirly colors (can be more subtle or as wild as you like) and if you get the right kind it's not going to have issues. Depending on how all else is decorate or designed, it can be appropriate looking for an old look, a mid-century look, a loft or industrial look or just something plain modern. It won't be warm and a glass cup could shatter but with a few cool throw rugs, some heat added in some form or another and attention drawn elsewhere, it *can* be a relatively inexpensive and trendy solution that's durable, mildew-free and doesn't hide scary stuff. It also doesn't add hight. You can even have lines drawn on it that make it look like wooden planks or tile (!). Here are some examples of stained floors: http://www.stainedconcrete.org/gallery1colors.html

A comfortable and cushioned option is 100% vinyl click together flooring. It is highly durable with a plastic coreboard. You can install it in designs such as herringbone or brick. Some of the 100% vinyls come in carpet looks, tile looks and wood looks, of course, which gives you a million design options. This flooring can get water on it, under it and all over it without taking a hit! if there is a significant water intrusion, the tiles come up, floor gets dried out with fans/dehumidifiers, and then the flooring goes back down.

The cushion effect also gives you a sound deadening bonus, is super easy to clean and does not shed like concrete. Concrete dust indoors is an irritant/health hazard.

You can take this flooring with you when you go!

I think the issue is not that the vinyl floor can get ruined by a flood but that since it cannot breathe u have a mold poential underneath it.

Since vinyl is not an organic compound, it does not encourage mold growth. Carpet will mold, no matter what kind you buy.

Mold will grow anywhere there is standing water which could happen underneath vinyl as it acts as a vapor barrier. Best option for warm basement flooring is XPS foam with plywood on top then whatever floor you want. Best option flooring for possible water exposure but to have a finished look is epoxy paint on the concrete floor. I agree carpet directly on concrete is just a mildew creating mess, and wreaks havoc on those with allergies. Vinyl is a better option for the basement but the concrete should be sealed first with a product that acts as the vapor barrier. Oil based watertite would be the best option to seal the floor before laying down vinyl.

Agree on xps but there can be issues there too in a bsement..pipe leak from above...burst water heater...washer issue...all this can still land on the plywood sitting atop the xps...then u r back where u started. Knowing the risks i out carpet down in smaller part of our basement where dehumidifier sits...no pioes or appliances here...still i understand the risks. For the rest that is more prone to get wet i had them glue down a vinyl type product ...think it was called fiber floor.