Explain better "starting to fail". The reason I asked is because that is not a good sign.

I should add--in (roughly) 1000 square feet of flooring--only about five tiles seem to be in trouble. Still, that seems to me to be "starting to fail." I can't tell you about the apartment...it's all under vinyl or industrial carpeting. The largest room in the basement is the "family room"---15' x 20'. Don't know if the size of that room will have any sway in any recommendations/opinions.

I HAVE asked the local flooring folks, but short of saying "we won't remove your existing floor"--they are being VERY noncommittal. I'm hoping the pros on this board will be a little more forth-coming...if only because you don't need to worry about potential litigation.

melanie

I would not rule out a decent laminate just because the basement is below grade. It would depend on how dry your basement is. Have you done a mat test with some plastic taped down to get an indicator? Also would need to know the normal humidity level in the basement.

Ok--so I need to get hold of a hygrometer...I will say that our basement never smells musty...which is something, considering I live in humid NC! The only water we've had in it came in through some window wells during a serious frog-strangler--7" of rain in 90 minutes. We've had that area re-graded and a drainage system installed, so that should never happen again.

As to the tape test--did a forum search--I should put down a 4" x 4" strip, leave it for 48 hours, and then check for moisture under the tape, correct? Do I have to do that in every room--or is it OK to just do it in a couple of places?

It is probably worth noting that we are in a terrible drought. The soil moisture levels are MUCH lower than they normally would be. That will affect the way the tape test works, will it not? As well as the humidity test?

If I went with laminate--could I lay it directly over the existing tile? What do I do about the few tiles that have gone missing?

My real reason for ruling out laminate at the onset of this project was that the local flooring company I've been working with told me that laminate really "wasn't a good idea" below grade. Most folks here put wall to wall carpeting in their finished basements. I don't care for carpet because of the cleaning/allergy aspects. I'm a hard-surfaces kind of girl...though I don't like tile outside of a bathroom. The rest of the house is hardwood, ceramic, or high-end composite (Azrock).

Thanks for answering my questions--I really appreciate your time.

Get some 4 or 6 mil poly and cut it into 2' x 2' squares and tape them down very securely for 48 hours. I would put them down in 4 or 5 locations. If you don't see any evidence of moisture.... like the concrete darkening or beads of water you should be Ok. This test is just an indicator... not an absolute.

I see no problems with a quality laminate if you have a dry basement.

Do you have a basement drain in the finished area? That would be a deal breaker using a floating floor.

If your basement is dry you can also float an engineered wood floor... done that many times below grade. Your main concern is whether the basement is dry or not.

I'll try the poly test. I'm pretty certain we have a dry basement...the only time we've had a water issues in the ten years we've owned the house is when we had water enter through a window well. There is a basement drain...but in the furnace room. I won't be putting nice flooring in there.

If we decide to go with laminate, do we need to remove the existing tile? (I'm really hoping not...my back and knees would be happier...)