New Flooring In The Basement… Hardwood, Vinyl, Laminate…??
February 20th, 2010 | 
Author: What would be best for my finished basement? Some have told me that you can not put hardwood in a basement and some have said you can… what would be best? Does vinyl/laminate look bad? help! I’m not sure if the floor is perfectly level, I wont know that until we take out the old carpet…
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I’m no expert. But if the basement even seems like it could be imperious to water seepage you should stay away from hardwood floors. My neighbor put hardwood in her basement and it started warping in the middle of the room. The insurance company had to come in and pay for it to be redone. I’ve had a pretty good outcome with ceramic tile and I think that if you want to go with hardwood just do the real thing because it really adds value to your home and it lasts forever.
I’d do hardwood. Laminate and vinyl would look bad. Hardwood can go anywhere and it’s a great product.
I don’t like the looks of a vinyl laminate. Since you’re not sure if the floor is level, I’d select an inexpensive vinyl flooring or put down some durable carpeting. Once the old carpeting is removed, you may have to fill in the uneven areas, then recarpet or put down a vinyl.
laminate. The wood might warp with the increased moisture in the basement. You would have to run a dehumidifier all the time to keep the humidity down. The laminate will be easier to clean, even though it may not look as good, but they do make some nice laminate. Good luck
If your basement is musty or have a tendency to be damp do not use hardwood. it will just warm them. I would go for carpet.I have a finished basement and know others that do too and we all agree carpet is the best. Maybe laminated with big rugs.
I don’t know about putting hardwood in a basement, but I can help you with the uneven floors. I live in a house that is 104 years old, and nothing is level…. nothing. We are putting glued-down laminate “wood” flooring in. Keep in mind this is a pier-and-beam home, so there are no concrete floors but this house moves constantly. The flooring seems to be working okay, but I wish we would have done the floating wood floors. You need to check into that because it doesn’t actually attach to the original flooring, it just snaps together and is laid over a pad. This allows for a certain amount of movement and inconsistency in the original floor. I don’t see why this wouldn’t work in your basement. Hope that helped!