Basement flooring

[PantherMac]

We're going to be looking at replacing the flooring in the basement of our home. Half of it is finished off into an office/hobby area for me ( I _had_ a large Saltwater Reef Aquarium)....

I'm currently not very impressed w/ the holding power of silicone, long-term....

Whelp... Long story short, it's been a few weeks and our basement STILL smells like the harbor at low-tide. We're looking at new flooring options. Currently the bottom layer is your typical floating-slab concrete foundation/floor. Relatively level/flat, only a few cracks in the pad (no real heaving, it's only a 20-year old house).

Carpet was the previous flooring, had a nice thick pad underneath, it was nice. I've seen some tile-basement's... but they were very cold, I didn't really like it much (nice in the summer...) Curious if folks have tried anything else?

Yes, there is a basement sump-pump, the risk of flooding exists (not getting out of the hobby, either), so we're not looking to spend a mint. Anything handy-man capable is plus, too (I can do a few things in passable fashion).

Thanks!

- Mac

 

[oxburger]

Are you using a dehumidifier at all? We had one in our basement draining into the sump and it seemed to take care of the musty smell.

I heard cork flooring is really nice. Haven't seen it "in action" so to speak, but from what I've read, people rave about it...

 

[cjwworld]

Is this a print forum? LOL but my friend had used cork flooring and he is really happy with it

Update: just realized that I am in the 'Lounge" so that figures

 

[PantherMac]

Thanks Ox,

Yes, big heavy-duty one. W/ the tank, I evaporate a lot of water every day. Great in the winter.. not so good in the summer. No, the smell is coming from the leak my large tank suffered... Shampoo'ed the shit out of the carpet.. still stinks. Guess that's what 50-gallons of salt water will do.
Thanks.

- Mac

 

[edwinb]

Ive just glued pine floorboards down in an office/workshop area- I dont think cork wouldnt take the traffic or bridge the gaps on my floor.
edwin

 

[PantherMac]

Thanks guy's! The cork looks nice, but found a few sites say it's not good for wet area's (Basement's specifically mentioned). I was thinking of floating laminate flooring, but don't know what kind of underlayment to use (and of course, any water and....)
LOL! Maybe I'll just paint some lines on the concrete and get the kids some roller-blades?

- Mac

 

[oxburger]

Unfortunately, the water will probably be an issue for all the materials you WANT to use (laminate, cork, carpet) for that "warm, cozy" feeling, and the issue with tile, painting the floor, using a textured surface (like you'd find in a garage) is that you're safe when it comes to the water, but not exactly cozy in the winter. Maybe ditch the aquarium (I know you love it, but it's probably not cheap to maintain) or build some sort of safety mechanism into the aquarium to handle any slow leaks you may encounter (like setting the aquarium into a big plastic tray of sorts with a hose attached to it that runs to the sump pump. Now the only issue you will have is having salt gunk up your sump pump....

Anyways, good luck with whatever you end up doing and keep us posted...

 

[PantherMac]

DAMN YOU AND YOUR INFERNAL LOGIC!!!

LOL! Thanks Ox!
It's funny you mention the safety mechanism... Was kicking some numbers around w/ a friend who also has a large tank... and it's a surprisingly large area of tile I would have to create to hold any kind of volume! LOL! The idea of a tiled area w/ a slightly raised lip, was what we were debating (aesthetics ultimately killed it, I think?)

I'm leaning towards a cheap layer of carpet from a remnant or something, so when I do leak again.. LOL! Actually, the hobby's gotten to a point of paying for itself at this point (well, I pay the electric bill, but downsizing will seriously take care of that). I've gotten a few corals that do well for me, and I'm able to trade 'extra pieces' in to the local fish store in exchange for the maintenance items I use regularly. Wifey would have put the kibosh on the big-tank age's ago, if it wasn't paying for itself! LOL!

Thanks again.

- Mac

 

[iwing]

Thanks guy's! The cork looks nice, but found a few sites say it's not good for wet area's (Basement's specifically mentioned). I was thinking of floating laminate flooring, but don't know what kind of underlayment to use (and of course, any water and....)
LOL! Maybe I'll just paint some lines on the concrete and get the kids some roller-blades?

- Mac

I think an inexpensive laminate floor would be a good way to go. As far as underlayment, it would be something like this. <--Click

 

[kmick612]

Another underlayment to consider is dimpled plastic. Here is a link of an example:

Do It Yourself - Lay a Basement Floor

Hope that helps.

 

[PantherMac]

Huh. Very kool idea! Thanks for the link (ripped the old stuff out last weekend...)
Thanks!

- Mac

 

[oxburger]

Yes. Very Cool. If I had known about that stuff, I would have put it under my laminate floor in the kitchen. May have saved part of my floor when the dishwasher flooded!