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Best flooring choice for Basement prone to flooding?

chrystyne731
17 years ago

After yesterdays powerful storm & much water pumped out of our basement, we decided berber carpet might not be the best choice for flooring in a basement that gets water at least once every few years. We have vinyl tiles in part of the basement, even that is scaring me that we may have mold living under the tiles. We've scrubbed them down with Clorox hoping that will kill some of the mold spores.

What type of flooring would you recommend for a finished basement that does get occasional flooding? We're in Pennsylvania.

Thanks!

Comments (8)

  • graycern
    17 years ago

    Vinyl flooring probably isn't a great choice because water could lift them. I would think something like ceramic tile would be more appropriate. It would be cold, but you could have area rugs and carpet remnants over top. I would be really worried about mold and mildew inside the walls of a basement that has flooded even once.

  • huskymaniacny
    17 years ago

    Are you in the northern tier of PA? I am in the southern tier of NY and got water in from this storm as well. It didn't seem like THAT much rain but in the water came.

    See my other thread to see an idea I had for a raised floor.

  • chrystyne731
    Original Author
    17 years ago

    Huskymaniacny,

    We're in SE PA, right outside of Philadelphia. I think the rain just came down so fast, there was no place for the water to go. I'll have to check out your thread because I'm up for any idea that would keep my basement dry at this point.

    Grayce, you're right. Mold is definitely a big concern, especially when I have bad asthma........

  • wookn
    17 years ago

    I live in MD and have had moisture issues in my basement. I am getting ready to finish the basement soon and have decided on using an acid etch concrete stain. Relatively easy to use, great looking, and won't harbor any moisture issues.

    Take care, JS

  • jejvtr
    17 years ago

    something disposable -
    put a carpet - just tack in a few areas - throw away if you flood
    cheap vinyl with area rugs that you don't mind tossing if you flood

  • bronwynsmom
    17 years ago

    We live in Virginia, and our basement used to get a significant amount of water in heavy rains. If I were you, before I spent a dime on flooring or anything else down there, I would find out definitively where the water is coming from, and how it is getting in, and then fix it. The prospect is scary, and can be expensive, but the potential for mold and mildew that you can't see, and for structural damage to your foundation from water piling up against the wall, or standing in the wall, even when it doesn't flood, is scarier. We took off some cheesy masonite paneling and discovered that the insulation and the wallboard underneath was black with mold up to our shoulders.
    We learned from two engineering reports that our saturated soil was actually putting so much pressure on the block foundation wall that it was beginning to bow inward. Our contractor dug down to the footings on two sides, jacked the wall back into position, added steel supports to the inside of the foundation wall, put in a new drainage system, including underground extensions of our gutters into the drainage pipes, waterproofed the walls on the outside, added a layer of this plastic stuff that carries water directly into the footing drain, and backfilled with soil that drains well. It was drastic, and expensive, and it worked like a charm, and now we are the only people in our neighborhood who have a dry, dry basement. It was worth it. I bet you can solve your problem more easily than that, but I urge you to at least find out.
    With all best wishes...

  • chrystyne731
    Original Author
    17 years ago

    Yikes! Thanks for your post bronwynsmom. We had a quote today on new gutters and downspouts. I think they're playing a part in the water problems....Crossing our fingers.

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