Best flooring for walkout basement: LVP, Laminate, or Engineered HW

3 years ago

What is the best flooring for a walkout basement (only the back half is below grade)? We've been to 4 flooring stores and each has been adamant about a different choice (LVP, laminate, tile, carpet, and we'd like to consider engineered hardwood) and says all others are disasters waiting to happen. One half of our home is downstairs (family room, game area, 3 bedrooms, bathroom, laundry room) and it's too large a space to make a mistake in, but we're so confused.

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Comments (5)

SJ McCarthy
3 years ago
OK...point #1. If any part of your slab is 'below grade' the ENTIRE THING is graded as 'below grade'.

Personally I would pick different flooring for the 'wet' rooms such as the bathrooms and laundry. The reason: 'water proof' flooring is expensive. So WHY pay for the entire basement to be covered in 'water proof' when only a few hundred square feet actually 'need it'.

The other thing is: a floating floor is really all you want to play with. Tiles in bathrooms/laundry room can be adhered to the concrete, the rest can be floated.

The basics for ANY floating floor is the same. You must have a vapour barrier (not always underpadding) and you must always have a WELL PREPARED concrete slab that is flat (no wonky subfloors for a floating floor...ever).

A laminate floating floor and a vinyl floating floor and a cork floating floor (and even a linoleum floating floor) all require the same thing. And the mechanism to install is always a 'click-together' system. An engineered hardwood can be floated but it almost always requires glue on the seams.

Again, all of the same PREPARATION is required. So go ahead and start paying for the concrete slab to be fixed up so that your flooring of choice can be laid down as soon as you can.

The 'nightmare' the sales guys are talking about relates to installation and moisture. They are TRYING to get you to purchase the product THEY NEED to move. Yep. I would hazard a guess that these guys have been given 'targets' to meet and/or they have been offered bonuses for moving a certain TYPE of product (too much in the warehouse is costing the company TOO MUCH money).

In a nutshell, the reason why you are getting 4 different opinions is because you spoke to 4 different salespeople with 4 different 'company agendas'. That's it. There is no mystery in that.

My questions for you (if I were your sales person):

1. What is your budget (do NOT fudge numbers with sales people...it pisses them off and makes them less likely to get the RIGHT floor)?

2. What is your FAMILY situation? Animals? Landscaping issues such as pools, etc?

3. What are YOUR expectations? Can you accept the limitations of certain flooring if it gets you the LOOK that you want for the price you are able to pay?
hikinganne thanked SJ McCarthy
Jina Kite
3 years ago
I am getting ready to put flooring in my walkout basement and I will always go with LVP. I will put a cheaper one but not taking the chance on getting wet and ruining carpet or other flooring. I want to spend my money once. Hope this helps
hikinganne thanked Jina Kite
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The DriCore R+ is closed cell STYROFOAM with OSB mounted on top. I can tell you that it is the vapour barrier system that DriCore produces for situations like yours. Your description makes it sound like the styrofoam was a jerryrigged system that mimics the DriCore R+ system. If the screws PIERCED the styrofoam and PIERCED the VAPOUR barrier, you essentially had a bunch of holes punched in the water-proofing system. The holes = water intrusion. And NO....LVT products do NOT LIKE underpad. That's why I'm suggesting going with a system that ADDS an R value. DMX has very little R-value. It is about the same as plywood. And just in case I misunderstood your post and there were NO HOLES IN THE VAPOUR BARRIER on the slab, then you have a MUCH BIGGER ISSUE than you anticipate. The stains on the DRYWALL is the big red flag here. And if you want an underpad, the DMX REQUIRES PLYWOOD to be placed over top! Yep. It says it in the very fine print of the INSTALLATION instructions. And to put the plywood on top....you need to SCREW IT DOWN onto the concrete!!! You need tapcons. And you need to the right drill bit, etc. And the DMX is HARD to "shim". You still need to get this floor flat enough for the LVT. Whew. DriCore R+ is SOOOOOOOO much more appropriate. The stains on the drywall concern me.
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Timi M
3 years ago
I’d go with porcelain tile with a hardwood design. Had it installed on our screened porch about 5 years ago and have experienced no problems despite hot summers and cold winters. Looks great, too.
hikinganne thanked Timi M
hikinganne
Original Author
3 years ago
SJ McCarthy, thank you for the info! To answer your questions:

1) We are gratefully able to pay what it will take to have a quality product installed.

2) We've got active kids and lots of their friends who will enter the area from the backyard (no pool). There are several game tables involved (we are leaning toward vinyl but are worried about denting). Also, we host a youth group once a month with 50-ish teens on folding chairs. There will be a small kitchen area with a sink, fridge, etc.

3) My priorities are sturdiness (will take a beating and still look good), will hold up to the water in the kitchen area, appearance--I want something pretty that looks like wood, and nothing that will make it noisier (the staircase and part of the ceiling are open to the upstairs).

This flooring will NOT go in the bathroom or laundry room. And I know I don't want tile (too hard) or carpet (dirty too fast). Any advice is VERY appreciated.
smada3
2 years ago
Hikinganne, wondering what you ended up choosing? We are wanting what you described, and for all the same reasons.

Best flooring for walkout basement: LVP, Laminate, or Engineered HW

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SJ McCarthy

Jina Kite

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Best flooring for walkout basement: LVP, Laminate, or Engineered HW

Comments (5)

SJ McCarthy

Jina Kite

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Timi M

hikinganneOriginal Author

smada3

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hikinganne
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