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Carpet in a basement


BlsdMama
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We are in the process of DIY remodeling our basement.   It's dry, but obviously in the Midwest there is constant moisture flow through air / walls / etc.

 

We did a lot of research on how to properly finish and insulate the walls and we feel good about that.

 

HOWEVER, our options for flooring are meh.

 

Wood - incredibly bad choice for a basement.

Tile - cold.  Freezing cold.  And DH has nixed the warming system for under tile as unnecessary and expensive. 

Linoleum -  No, both cold and ugly.

 

Carpet - really the only good option for comfort, softness, and warmth.

 

So... We could install it directly on the concrete, however, it has the potential of moisture.

Then there is a false plywood floor and carpet on top.

Or dimpled underlayment and then plywood.

 

By the time we're done with all that, we'll have doubled the costs and taken a huge chunk of time.

 

So, I'm left with wondering.... Is it worth it?  Or just slap down carpet and if it gets moist, switch it out.   We run a dehumidifier at all times in the basement.

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We have carpet over padding on concrete in the basement and it's not been a problem, provided things are picked up off a teen's floor. We do use a dehumidifier in damper months, I think what helps is that we run the furnace fan 24/7 all year long so air flow is improved. We also use AC all summer which helps reduce moisture.

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I live in the Midwest.  I never would have carpeted a basement here, but ours was carpeted when we moved in.  It is just carpet on the floor, no intermediate layers.  We've lived here 20 years and amazingly, the carpet has been fine.  One part got wet due to a leaking furnace / air conditioning unit, but it wasn't a big deal to clean it.

 

If you are worried, maybe look for a carpet designed to hold up to abuse.  I know some people carpet their kitchens and bathrooms - what do they use?

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We are redoing our basement and have decided to go with those square carpet tiles.   That way, if we do get a leak all we have to replace are the individual tiles that were affected, not the whole shebang.  They aren't as plush and soft as regular carpet and have more of a commercial look to them, but the trade-off for possible future headaches is worth it for me.

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We have carpet over padding.  Our basement is very dry, but our sump failed during Sandy and we had to rip out the carpeting.  When it was time to replace, we did carpet again, because IMO, with substantial water, most types of flooring are going to be trashed anyway.  We had to cut out some drywall, get the carpet and padding removed, etc.  Fortunately it was covered by insurance since we had a sump rider.  When we redid our basement, we found a nice remnant of berber from a local place, and it was something I would have picked out even if it wasn't discounted.  If we had a regular water issue, I would not have gone that route.  For a small leak, other flooring would be better, but with significant amounts, most forms of flooring will be an issue I think. 

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So, I'm left with wondering.... Is it worth it?  Or just slap down carpet and if it gets moist, switch it out.   We run a dehumidifier at all times in the basement.

 

I wouldn't JUST put down carpet.  There is some kind of moisture barrier that you can use --- it may be a special kind of plastic.  I don't recall the details, but I'm sure if you researched it, you would find what is recommended.

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We have linoleum.  It's way warmer than the bare concrete.  It's also less slippy than tile (and probably warmer as well?)

 

We've pulled out carpet in three houses because of moisture problems.  I wouldn't put it in because we tend to get mild flooding every ten years or so.  When I say mild, I don't mean a few spots.  I mean the whole basement floods, but only with a quarter inch layer.  We can put most everything up on blocks or whatever, but not carpet.  The linoleum has survived this just fine. 

 

If you don't think you'll get flooding, then you may not have a problem.  But we have to plan for it.

 

If I wanted a rug in the basement, I'd do an area rug over linoleum.  But I'd get something cheap that wouldn't be as awful to throw out when it got ruined or that could be cleaned easily.

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