even if you try your best, you can clearly see the corners of the slabs
also over time the edges of the slabs peel up
also dirt gets in the gaps
it's NOT waterproof
Anyway I made this thread because I had to install this flooring for a job, and now I want to renovate my basement and I don't know which flooring to use now
If your basement is at all prone to water infiltration, you're going to want the cheapest carpet possible. Water is going to ruin your flooring so something cheap and easy to replace is far superior to any claim of water """proof""".
Also, if this is for a basement basement, just paint your slab. If it's a family room in the basement, I'll give you a trick - you can leave the carpet down even if it gets wet. If water does get in, spend some quality time with the shop vac and a 240v heater to get the water out as fast as possible. Most of the time you it won't leave a stain.
>Also, if this is for a basement basement, just paint your slab. If it's a family room in the basement, I'll give you a trick - you can leave the carpet down even if it gets wet. If water does get in, spend some quality time with the shop vac and a 240v heater to get the water out as fast as possible. Most of the time you it won't leave a stain.
It already has carpet. I hate the mildew smell
Do not use ANY material in a basement with the exception being tile. The best thing I have found to be a (mostly) permanent solution is epoxy floors. Not PAINT. Epoxy, it has to be two part chemical dry and it's way stronger than paint and more customizable and pretty much waterproof. You can add sand/flakes to texture it and if you top coat it you can reapply fixes/patches later on without issue. It's the cheapest sq footage next to paint, the expensive part really is the labor and tools you need to get the concrete floor clean enough because that is the most important part. Also unlike other flooring you have to demo...there is no "demo". If you get tired of it you can put whatever over it because it's great waterproof barrier to start whatever flooring job you want.
Like any other paint, yes during drying. After it cures no, its rock solid.
1 year ago
Anonymous
bullshit, many of these leech VOCs for years
1 year ago
Anonymous
I'm not concerned over your opinion. Anyone focused on "VOCs" usually can't do anything themselves except be the book learned moron who bans products that actually diy's use.
>Also, if this is for a basement basement, just paint your slab. If it's a family room in the basement, I'll give you a trick - you can leave the carpet down even if it gets wet. If water does get in, spend some quality time with the shop vac and a 240v heater to get the water out as fast as possible. Most of the time you it won't leave a stain.
It already has carpet. I hate the mildew smell
>why not tile? tile is waterproof
Water and moisture will seep through small cracks in your slab. The grouting will crack. Water will through the cracks. You want to get that moisture out quickly, not trap it underneath the tile.
Tile is cold. I have tile in my kitchen and even in summer it's annoyingly cold.
>It already has carpet. I hate the mildew smell
Get a carpet washer and wash your carpets. Make sure your carpets dry out quickly afterwards. I do this with 2x 240v heaters that I point damp spots for a few days. And ventilation.
Note that the smell might not be your carpet. It could be the baseboards or walls.
Note also that I live in Southern Québec. Your local climate and geology is probably different and should inform your decision.
In a basement just use carpet, sheet vinyl, or stain the actual cement after cleaning. The MO is usually carpet in the livable areas (side bedrooms, theatre), vinyl in the bathroom, and stain under the wet-bar and pool/poker-room man cave area for drinks being spilled. You could also just ignore the vinyl and stain that floor in the basement bathroom, but dealer's choice. Vinyl seems to help with water not creeping onto cabinets and wood base like with a shower steaming the room up, but that's more of a time thing because with any use it's going to eventually happen anyway.
I got you senpai.
Go to home depot and get the cheapest shittiest indian made tile they have. Usually it's like 40c a square foot if that
Then go and get: >Bare concrete? the cheapest thinset they sell >Shitty mastic all over floor from last job? Frick scraping, buy that flexbond polymer modified expensive stuff that's 30 dollar a bag. It will stick to EVERYTHING.
Then get cheapest grout you can get and tile the whole floor. It's a basement who cares about looks. India tiles will be 1/8th to 1/4th inch off size every other tile so you'll never get perfect grout lines anyway.
LVP is much better than hardwood/laminate. And it pretty much looks the same, especially when you have furniture or decorations (you know, a home) on top of it. You can use a steam mop unlike wood, and shit doesn't stain.
Of course, it needs to be installed correctly. God help the home owner whose contractor schedules anything that cuts into drywall, doesn't change their air filter after drywall, or (God forbid) lets animal finish carpenters cut moulding within the house.
The amounts of little bits before the first mopping that get between the planks is pretty much impossible to get out without manually doing it with spray and a dull blade.
LVP is a great product when you get the well made varieties. I guarantee you that you experienced installing the cheapest shit that fell off the pallet at Puerto Rico Depot.
In my experience you get what you pay for with flooring, regardless of what material it is. Cheap vinyl is shit, but good vinyl is really nice. I sprung for the good stuff in my bathroom since it's small square footage, and it's so much nicer in there than the rest of the place. The floor just feels good under your feet. It's all a solid sheet too so cleaning is easy. What I'm saying here is you gotta actually go feel the flooring product you're thinking of using before committing to it. And it's generally worth upgrading to a "mid tier" product if you can afford it. Also, never neglect the underlay. Moar underlay, moar better.
>"luxury" Vinyl tile >Can't wax it, made of shitty plastic, texture printed on and will wear off with heavy use >"Luxury" since it's maintenance free! >VCT >Simple patterns created from the material itself, cannot wear through >Wax protects the tile, creating a smooth, easy to finish surface >For non-commercial users, stripping-rewax realistically only needs to be done once every 20 years, LVT won't even last that long before needing to be replaced >B-B-BUT I DONT WANT TO WAX!! ITS TOO MUCH WORK!
>VAT >So based they don't even sell it anymore >Could use a wax, don't wax it anyway >Lasts 100 years before starting to explode into toxic dust >Came with your house, free of charge. :^) >Installed with asphalt mastic, never dries, always sticky- impossible to remove >Installed directly over unprepped concrete basement floor, or directly on 1/8th lauan in the kitchen >Clean? Why would I do that?
Having just installed a bunch of LVP over a few jobs, CHEAP LVP is a nightmare. Good LVP is God tier. The exception being Costco stuff (if it's the same stuff I used last year) which is amazing for the price.
I had a client buy cheap LVP and I've had to come back twice to fix bullshit that hasn't happened with any other LVP I've put down. The joints on it were garbage. Conversely the latest flooring I put down is bomb proof. I was changing carbide blades every two boxes. Client proceeds to drag a piano across the floor without any felt feet or moving pucks. Not a single mark on the finish. No cracks, no separation, nada.
That being said I would never put LVP in my own home. VoCs, what happens when there's a fire, and sustainability are just awful with LVP. Rather put down wool carpet, cork, hardwood, etc.
Go on anon
>I also fell for the "luxury" carpet meme
texture is hard to clean. simple as
even if you try your best, you can clearly see the corners of the slabs
also over time the edges of the slabs peel up
also dirt gets in the gaps
it's NOT waterproof
Anyway I made this thread because I had to install this flooring for a job, and now I want to renovate my basement and I don't know which flooring to use now
If your basement is at all prone to water infiltration, you're going to want the cheapest carpet possible. Water is going to ruin your flooring so something cheap and easy to replace is far superior to any claim of water """proof""".
Also, if this is for a basement basement, just paint your slab. If it's a family room in the basement, I'll give you a trick - you can leave the carpet down even if it gets wet. If water does get in, spend some quality time with the shop vac and a 240v heater to get the water out as fast as possible. Most of the time you it won't leave a stain.
why not tile? tile is waterproof
>Also, if this is for a basement basement, just paint your slab. If it's a family room in the basement, I'll give you a trick - you can leave the carpet down even if it gets wet. If water does get in, spend some quality time with the shop vac and a 240v heater to get the water out as fast as possible. Most of the time you it won't leave a stain.
It already has carpet. I hate the mildew smell
Do not use ANY material in a basement with the exception being tile. The best thing I have found to be a (mostly) permanent solution is epoxy floors. Not PAINT. Epoxy, it has to be two part chemical dry and it's way stronger than paint and more customizable and pretty much waterproof. You can add sand/flakes to texture it and if you top coat it you can reapply fixes/patches later on without issue. It's the cheapest sq footage next to paint, the expensive part really is the labor and tools you need to get the concrete floor clean enough because that is the most important part. Also unlike other flooring you have to demo...there is no "demo". If you get tired of it you can put whatever over it because it's great waterproof barrier to start whatever flooring job you want.
doesnt it leech a frickton of VOCs?
Like any other paint, yes during drying. After it cures no, its rock solid.
bullshit, many of these leech VOCs for years
I'm not concerned over your opinion. Anyone focused on "VOCs" usually can't do anything themselves except be the book learned moron who bans products that actually diy's use.
sheet vinyl, 100% waterproof, also significantly cheaper per sqft than just about anything else
So it traps moisture underneath it.
>why not tile? tile is waterproof
Water and moisture will seep through small cracks in your slab. The grouting will crack. Water will through the cracks. You want to get that moisture out quickly, not trap it underneath the tile.
Tile is cold. I have tile in my kitchen and even in summer it's annoyingly cold.
>It already has carpet. I hate the mildew smell
Get a carpet washer and wash your carpets. Make sure your carpets dry out quickly afterwards. I do this with 2x 240v heaters that I point damp spots for a few days. And ventilation.
Note that the smell might not be your carpet. It could be the baseboards or walls.
Note also that I live in Southern Québec. Your local climate and geology is probably different and should inform your decision.
In a basement just use carpet, sheet vinyl, or stain the actual cement after cleaning. The MO is usually carpet in the livable areas (side bedrooms, theatre), vinyl in the bathroom, and stain under the wet-bar and pool/poker-room man cave area for drinks being spilled. You could also just ignore the vinyl and stain that floor in the basement bathroom, but dealer's choice. Vinyl seems to help with water not creeping onto cabinets and wood base like with a shower steaming the room up, but that's more of a time thing because with any use it's going to eventually happen anyway.
I got you senpai.
Go to home depot and get the cheapest shittiest indian made tile they have. Usually it's like 40c a square foot if that
Then go and get:
>Bare concrete? the cheapest thinset they sell
>Shitty mastic all over floor from last job? Frick scraping, buy that flexbond polymer modified expensive stuff that's 30 dollar a bag. It will stick to EVERYTHING.
Then get cheapest grout you can get and tile the whole floor. It's a basement who cares about looks. India tiles will be 1/8th to 1/4th inch off size every other tile so you'll never get perfect grout lines anyway.
LVP is much better than hardwood/laminate. And it pretty much looks the same, especially when you have furniture or decorations (you know, a home) on top of it. You can use a steam mop unlike wood, and shit doesn't stain.
Of course, it needs to be installed correctly. God help the home owner whose contractor schedules anything that cuts into drywall, doesn't change their air filter after drywall, or (God forbid) lets animal finish carpenters cut moulding within the house.
The amounts of little bits before the first mopping that get between the planks is pretty much impossible to get out without manually doing it with spray and a dull blade.
LVP is a great product when you get the well made varieties. I guarantee you that you experienced installing the cheapest shit that fell off the pallet at Puerto Rico Depot.
In my experience you get what you pay for with flooring, regardless of what material it is. Cheap vinyl is shit, but good vinyl is really nice. I sprung for the good stuff in my bathroom since it's small square footage, and it's so much nicer in there than the rest of the place. The floor just feels good under your feet. It's all a solid sheet too so cleaning is easy. What I'm saying here is you gotta actually go feel the flooring product you're thinking of using before committing to it. And it's generally worth upgrading to a "mid tier" product if you can afford it. Also, never neglect the underlay. Moar underlay, moar better.
Etch and stain the concrete.
Epoxy coating may be another option worth looking at.
>"luxury" Vinyl tile
>Can't wax it, made of shitty plastic, texture printed on and will wear off with heavy use
>"Luxury" since it's maintenance free!
>VCT
>Simple patterns created from the material itself, cannot wear through
>Wax protects the tile, creating a smooth, easy to finish surface
>For non-commercial users, stripping-rewax realistically only needs to be done once every 20 years, LVT won't even last that long before needing to be replaced
>B-B-BUT I DONT WANT TO WAX!! ITS TOO MUCH WORK!
>VAT
>So based they don't even sell it anymore
>Could use a wax, don't wax it anyway
>Lasts 100 years before starting to explode into toxic dust
>Came with your house, free of charge. :^)
>Installed with asphalt mastic, never dries, always sticky- impossible to remove
>Installed directly over unprepped concrete basement floor, or directly on 1/8th lauan in the kitchen
>Clean? Why would I do that?
hahahahahahahahahahaha
Imagine spending less than $20 a Sq ft on flooring
that's what you get for being a cheap frick
Having just installed a bunch of LVP over a few jobs, CHEAP LVP is a nightmare. Good LVP is God tier. The exception being Costco stuff (if it's the same stuff I used last year) which is amazing for the price.
I had a client buy cheap LVP and I've had to come back twice to fix bullshit that hasn't happened with any other LVP I've put down. The joints on it were garbage. Conversely the latest flooring I put down is bomb proof. I was changing carbide blades every two boxes. Client proceeds to drag a piano across the floor without any felt feet or moving pucks. Not a single mark on the finish. No cracks, no separation, nada.
That being said I would never put LVP in my own home. VoCs, what happens when there's a fire, and sustainability are just awful with LVP. Rather put down wool carpet, cork, hardwood, etc.
What kind of flooring would you put in a detached ADU?