Basement Flooring Ideas Don't Require A Fortune
Basement Flooring Ideas
Looking for basement flooring ideas? Well, there are actually many things you can do to your basement floor to have it looking great! What's more is there are some incredibly inexpensive basement flooring ideas as well.
Home owners can do pretty much anything with a basement that they could do to any other room in a house, provided they keep in mind what the basement is going to be used for. Remember, as the kids grow older, you find yourself a new hobby, or times change, you want to ensure you get as much use from your basement as you possibly could.
For this reason, carpeting the basement is one idea that needs to be considered carefully. If you are planning on using the basement as another room for someone to stay in, this will probably suit your need. But remember that basements can very often be prone to moisture and even flooding. You will need to ensure that the basement is insulated well, but even some of the most insulated basements can experience flooding.
Installing vinyl flooring, ceramic tiles, outdoor carpeting, laminate flooring or acid etching the concrete are probably the best ideas that take the factors mentioned above into account. These are water resistant, look great and will provide many years of service regardless of what you use the basement for. Wood flooring (solid hardwood) is expensive and obviously very prone to water damage.
One thing that must be made sure of when choosing flooring is that all building codes are honoured. There are some laws about the height a basement must be from the ceiling and if one installs a certain type of flooring it may go beyond what the law says in terms of height. When you want to then sell the home you're going to find you won't be able to sell it due to this issue. You will need to do some research in this matter of ceiling heights to prevent any headaches.
Probably one of the most cheapest, if not the cheapest flooring idea is acid etching concrete. The reason for this is that it is a great D.I.Y. Method. One simply uses masking tape to etch out tile lines, and then uses acid wash stain on the floor. After the flooring is sealed it will look as if it has been tiled and be a great eye-catcher. People with D.I.Y. skill and artistic flair will love this method. Obviously, though, once its done it's done and it's not easy to pull out the concrete out if you're not happy with it. But it is easy to cover up using one of the other flooring ideas.
In this vein, there are also concrete craftsmen in the market who will help you create or duplicate certain flooring effects just using concrete. So if the above method appeals to you but you don't feel you have the skill, you can still get someone to help you with it. Even this may be cheaper than tiling or going any of the other routes.
But it all depends on what you want and what you want to spend. Just remember that some of the best basement flooring ideas don't need to cost you a fortune!
