The Best Flooring For Basements – Is Luxury Vinyl Worth It?

The Best Flooring For Basements – Is Luxury Vinyl Worth It?

Ted Cook talks about how to shop for the best basement flooring for your home. Do you want the drab concrete basement floor to match your hardwood floors in the whole house? Will you mainly be using it for storage? Will it be a play area for your kids and their friends?

How Engineered Hardwood is Manufactured: https://www.reallycheapfloors.com/blog/solid-vs-engineered-hardwood/

Our best flooring for basements blog: https://www.reallycheapfloors.com/blog/the-best-flooring-for-basements/

Everyone says that choosing a basement floor is “personal” and only you can decide. That’s true but basements all come with one thing in common. And that is moisture. Depending on where you live, your moisture levels in your home may yo-yo around like how I try to diet every time I accidentally look into a mirror.

We are looking into 3 types of flooring in this video.
1 is Solid hardwood. Don’t do that. We cannot recommend solid hardwood due to moisture changes and the higher risk of exposure to water.

2 is Engineered hardwood floors. Engineered hardwood is a much more water resistant hardwood that can match the upstairs hardwood if that’s your main goal for the basement.

3 is Luxury vinyl plank. This is the holy grail for basements because its waterproof. We don’t want to act like water cant seep through vinyl plank flooring. It definitely can, and you will want to be cognizant of this to watch for mold growing on your subfloor. Your vinyl floors won’t discolor, deteriorate, or warp due to a surprise flood in your basement though. That’s a really attractive feature of luxury vinyl we want to make sure you take into account.

We recommend engineered hardwood floor for basements that are intended to be used as extra living space or another living room. It’s simply one of the best basement flooring options out there. If you want to have sugared-up kids in the basement then, by all means, use engineered. However, engineered hardwood isn’t as durable as luxury vinyl. It also isn’t nearly as waterproof either.

Vinyl plank flooring has been getting better and better visuals every 6 months it seems. There are new textures to match hardwood with wood-look vinyl planks which are perfect for basement floors. Vinyl plank and engineered hardwood are great selections for a concrete basement floor.

14 Comments

  1. DJ_Houdini on October 29, 2022 at 8:34 am

    Great video! If (when) I get a leak in my concrete basement will waterproof LPV dry out eventually, or will I have to tear it up to get rid of the mold? Is glued down sheet vinyl a better choice for wet basements? I would like to cover the 2010 concrete slab with something for now to make it more liveable in the winter (we get cold feet in Michigan).

    Can I frame over LPV later? I’m stuck at home for a while with the pandemic, and would like to DIY my wide open unfinished 1200sf basement. If I only need to finish around 4 walls and a staircase it will be exponentially simpler than finishing the flooring around all the framing of 4 rooms, closets, and a bathroom!

  2. Hammad Shabbir on October 29, 2022 at 8:44 am

    Check this video to get more information about How to Install Hardwood Flooring? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y_38Au6qjiM

  3. Dennis Pope on October 29, 2022 at 8:44 am

    Can you put LVP over existing tiles? Generally very flat and decent condition overall… just want to make it look new

  4. Wayne Guy on October 29, 2022 at 8:50 am

    I’m afraid my concrete isn’t perfectly level…..I think I’m going with carpet planks

  5. click411 on October 29, 2022 at 8:56 am

    pipe busted and crawl space flooded. I pumped water our,but there is water under the vapor barrier. Will is go away into the ground ???or do i need it taken up and new barrier. Also I put big fan with airflow outward and later i was going to put kerosine stove on low heat for 10 hours. Is this good plan

  6. Adam on October 29, 2022 at 9:01 am

    What is your camera setup? Your focus and DOF are awesome in the first camera angle…I thought it was green screen at first

  7. Desi Pranksterz on October 29, 2022 at 9:09 am

    Hey this is a great video I’m currently trying to install flooring in my basement room but my basement has flooded twice so carpet is not an option and I still need to level the floor, what do you think is best option?

  8. Emad Nadi on October 29, 2022 at 9:10 am

    LVP is 20 mmm?????? that thick????

  9. Steel Phantom on October 29, 2022 at 9:14 am

    Does the concrete need to be perfect (no dips) to use the LVP flouring?

  10. Zach Barnhart on October 29, 2022 at 9:16 am

    Grrrrr. Another advertisement.

  11. erichsh58 on October 29, 2022 at 9:23 am

    Hi, I have asbestos tile in my basement over concrete. I had to remove a quite a few loose tiles and will fill those areas with self-leveling cement. Otherwise, the floor is not completely smooth, there are a few bumps and valleys up to maybe 1/4 inch over a three-foot span worst case. What can I get away with if I use LVP in the basement in terms of its tolerance to these minor surface flaws? I don’t want to remove any more tile than necessary. Also do you have a recommendation for self-leveling concrete? For example Home Depot has Henry 555 and also Henry 544 and I don’t know the difference, except the 555 is $40/bag and 544 is $30. Thank you!

  12. noufel saissi on October 29, 2022 at 9:25 am

    Is vinyl the best option ?

  13. CL S on October 29, 2022 at 9:28 am

    Hi- Do I need to use a vapor barrier for LVP flooring that sits over my concrete basement floor if the flooring already comes with a pad?

  14. amadol0co on October 29, 2022 at 9:29 am

    Can I put the barrier and new vynil on top of vynil tile prior1986 to laminate? 😊

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