The hardwood, or even hardwood-lookalike vinyl. Carpet would feel warmer but also holds a lot of allergens.

Absolutely carpet, for comfort and sound reduction. We've lived in our home for 13 years, and had one flooded basement. (I tell you this so you'll know it can happen) We have ceramic tile at the bottom of the stairs and the walkway into DH's workbench area, and carpet in the TV area. The day after the flood, we called a local water extraction company, who came, extracted the water, left a large fan for a week, no problem since. Hardwood would have been ruined. When we looked at homes a million years ago, before we built, I usually discounted basements anyway in my price evaluation, unless it was a walkout.

But, what about the stained concrete that a couple of people here have done?

Dee

Hello beekeeperswife,

We are in the process of doing about the same exact thing with our basement! We will be doing a mix of drywall/drop ceiling, drywalling the walls and finishing the floors. We are already plumbed for a bath, but will finish that at a later time. We will have a space for exercise, a sitting area for viewing tv, and another area for a pool table. Basically a family rec area.
I have been doing a lot of research on carpet vs. laminate wood and I am 90% sure that we are going with the laminate wood. I have looked at tons of pictures of basements on HGTV rate my space, and the laminate wood looks awesome! I have also researched and found that a lot of laminates are rated for basement use and can be installed directly onto concrete, with an underlayment between (plastic barrier, not a subfloor). As nice and cozy and soft as carpet is, I keep reading that it is one of the worst choices to put in a basement unless you are installing it on a subfloor. Also read that if you do go with a carpet, that it is best to not use a padding (easier for mold to develop) and to opt instead for carpet square tiles. Anyway...this isn't my opinion based on experience, this is simply what I have been reading on the net over the last 2-3 weeks, so that it with a grain of salt.

Elaine

Another here who does not like carpet - so definitely the wood!

tina

Any flooring except carpet.

Personally, I would probably prefer carpet in my basement for the warmth factor. However, if I were looking at houses to buy, I would prefer to buy one with engineered hardwood. I don't like living with PO's carpet. I'd rather have the wood that I can clean. I could always add area rugs or even carpet if I wanted after moving in. But would prefer to see house with wood.

We recently finished ours, went with wood.

I put commercial grade berber in mine 10 years ago, with a pad. The bottom line is if your basement is damp, anything other than painted concrete is not going to cut it long term.

I'd go with carpet because it's less expensive. Wood would be nice, but a bit pricey for a resale.

Mom2sethc - make sure you check out walking on laminate wood floors in a pair of shoes - they're very noisy. Sortof an odd clicking sound with heels. On the other hand, maybe you won't be wearing shoes in the house and it won't be an issue, but my friend with laminate floors replaced them because they were so noisy.

Anything but carpet.

When we moved my mom down our basement I wanted my husband to put hardwood floors for her. He wanted tile but I felt it would be too cold, so we compromised on carpet. All was well until we a flood (live by the beach and the ocean rose up after a week of rain). My husband said moisture is heavy and tends to settle towards the bottom of the house. Lesson learned. We had to rip out the carpet. It would have been worse had we hardwood. He would have killed me! We put down tile and I bought her some beautiful area rugs at Home Goods. I just want to add my home is dry but you never know. We also have a door leading to the outside and while the room is below grade, the windows are large and it doesn't feel like a basement.

beekeeperswife

I'm not a fan of either carpeting or wood flooring in a basement. First choice, if budget were not an issue, would be ceramic tile. Second is vinyl but installed using mastic, not just the "sticky back". Then place area rugs for warmth, style and function. As mentioned by an earlier poster, there is vinyl flooring which really looks like wood.

Below-grade construction has several issues for consideration to control. The most obvious is water, be it ground water or system failure. Be certain you have a back-up for your sump pump for protection in event of electrical or primary pump failure.

Install a pan below the water heater to capture water when it fails (it will, eventually) and direct the leak toward a drain.

Insulate against the foundation (XPS).

Use pressure treated wood against the floor. I suggest plastic base and shoe too.

Have a dehumidifier for humid season - some will say to use year-around.

A membrane upon the floor to separate the concrete from the flooring is the safest way to prevent moisture intrusion from the concrete floor (concrete is porous). Dietra is a quality product to use.

Basements will naturally be cooler than the above-grade home, causing higher humidity, an easy growth area for mold and, of course, the musty odor. We live in N. Il and I spent a long time determining solutions to issues before finishing our basement so am only advising based on having prevented problems for myself. Good luck with whatever you decide to do.

Beekeeperswife, not sure why you are dismissing radiant heat on a slab. I grew up in houses that had radiant heat on the lowest floors (the levels on a slab). It seems to me that that is exactly where one would want radiant heat. It isn't necessary over heated areas on an upper floor. I would definitely consider it, if I were you. There are few things nicer than radiant heat IMHO :)

No carpet for me, either, in a basement. We have tile and area rugs in ours. Even if the basement only floods once in a lifetime, it isn't worth the risk for me. Our sump pump failed only once in all these years, and thank goodness I didn't have to deal with carpet! Area rugs roll up and dry in a few hours, and tile or concrete squeegee clean in minutes.

caroleoh - I haven't ever walked on laminate, never thought about that. Definately something to consider, we most likely wouldn't be in shoes as we don't wear shoes around the house, but it is something to think about.
Our friends just installed the wood look vinyl planks in their basement, and it looks really nice. Will have to look into both options. Thanks!

I agree with dee, carpet for comfort and sound reduction. Plus, if the basement ever floods, it's easier to pull out carpet than it is the engineered wood.

I vote for carpet.

I second the wood-looking vinyl planks! Perfect for a basement.

For me personally, anything but carpet. We recently had good quality cushioned sheet vinyl installed in our basement. Love it, right our needs, warm too (not as warm as carpet of course but much more so than tile). If I were buying a house I'd have to factor replacing carpet into the purchase offer, so given your options I'd choose the engineered wood.

Almost everyone I know that has a basement has had a leak or flooding to some extent at some time so I would go with whatever was most cost effective and moisture-resistant (tile, vinyl, stained concrete, etc.)

Thank you all for your opinions. Glad we aren't ready to make a decision yet. Looks like a split vote.

Except for the exercise area, we won't really be using the space ourselves. I have no desire to hang out in the "cellar". In fact we probably will just spread out the equipment throughout the entire area. It truly is being done so that when/if we go to sell the house it is not something that "should have been done" in order to get buyers to look at the place. Turns out having the basement finished in our neighborhood is expected for resale.

bee: the radiant heat in the basement is actually a good idea. we did it on the advice of an energy consultant that dh hired (we are as energy efficient as possible...all LED lights, radiant heat in basement & main floor, closed cell spray foam insulation, etc.). the radiant is under the concrete slab. very efficient.

and we carpeted the whole basement. it's actually the quietest space in the house.

Since its not really for you, is there a neighborhood standard?

We have a gym and a hobby room that has a slab floor and I used a commercial short loop carpet. If you check out some of the Carpet Outlets you can find a deal on them. We had the installer use a minimal amount of adhesive so it'll be easy to replace when needed. So far, it's been 8 years and it still looks great. Just enough warmth and comfortable enough for DH to lie on the floor for stretching exercises.

The short loop is also excellent underneath exercise equipment.

Here is a link that might be useful: commercial carpet

part of our basement is wood laminate (exercise area, kitchenette, etc) and part(at least 2/3's of it including steps) is carpet. i much prefer carpet in the basement (our basement is dry as a bone...) much cozier and more comfortable to play on/walk on, etc.

Another, any flooring except carpet.

Engineered (not laminate) hardwood or 16x16 or 24x24 ceramic tile.

Thanks again to all the thoughtful comments.

I have asked my neighbor who is a realtor what do customers in our area want. What would they expect in my basement if/when we sell. She said carpet. Sounds good to me. Cheaper, warmer. Just going with the best antimicrobial thickest carpet pad and the lowest pile rug we can get.

I'm not saying anything about the dryness of my basement, because I don't know how to knock on wood in cyberspace. ;-)

Regarding the radiant floor heating, I guess I wasn't clear. Yes, I do believe that it is a good thing, however, that is if it is true radiant floor heating, the kind you embed in the cement. This would essentially be a "carpet pad" of heat since it is on top of an existing slab. I am one to never say never, and who knows, maybe we will do it in part of the basement. But it really isn't in the plan. I suppose if we were going to use the room as an entertainment space, or a place to watch movies, then we might be considering something like this.

Floating engineered wood floor (with the foam backing). I would not want tile (too cold on a sub-grade cement slab) and DEFINITELY not carpet. No matter how dry the basement is, it's on a concrete floor so there will be condensation at some point. That means mildew/mold, or at least the potential for it. Yuck. I would immediately rip out any carpeting in any house we bought (and have done.) Even though an engineered wood floor might not be as cozy, it's easy to add throw rugs!