Best Flooring for Basements (The 9 Best Options)

When you are in the process of renovating your basement, one crucial consideration is the floor. Because basements are usually cold and damp, flooring options like carpet and hardwood may not be such a good idea due to health considerations, as they may rot and/or promote the growth of mold and mildew.

So what flooring should you use for your basement? Read on to discover the best flooring for basements and detailed descriptions of each (including pros and cons) so you can make an informed decision about what you ought to put in your basement.

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What Are the Top Flooring Materials for Basements?

The best choices for basement flooring are the following:

Engineered Vinyl Planks or Vinyl Tiles
Tiles (tile planks, porcelain tiles, stone tiles, or ceramic tiles)
Rubber
Polished or Stained Concrete
Sheet Vinyl
Glued Down Vinyl Planks or Vinyl Tiles
Modular Raised Interlocking Vinyl Tiles or Carpet Tiles
Carpet
Carpet Tiles

Note: Carpet or carpet tiles are not a good option if you live in a damp area or in an area with flooding.

What You Need to Consider Beforehand

Basements are usually built on a slab of concrete, are almost always below ground level, and are oftentimes uneven. They may also be prone to a higher degree of dampness and/or flooding. These factors limit your choices in terms of what type of flooring you can use for your basement.

When choosing the floor for your basement, you may be unpleasantly surprised to discover that basement flooring options are oftentimes more expensive than you thought they would be, and you weren’t prepared to spend that much in the first place. After all, it’s the basement—you don’t spend all your time in there, so why should the floor be more expensive than what is in your house?

This means that you need to be prepared ahead of time to make certain trade-offs due to your budget and other considerations. You will need to consider the warmth and the softness of the flooring, how durable the material is, and how resilient it is to water, mold, and mildew. For instance, the cheapest, most durable, and most waterproof option may be the one that is the coldest and hardest on your feet.

So you need to decide which aspects are most important to you (and take into consideration the inclement weather in your area). If you are faced with the prospect of getting hard, cold, and uncomfortable but durable flooring, take heart in the fact that you can make it more comfortable by placing area rugs on the floor, adding space heaters, improving the lighting, and more.

What Is the Intended Use of the Basement?

Another crucial consideration is your vision for your basement. What will the basement be used for? Will it be a game room? Are you planning to convert it into a spare bedroom? Do you want to make it into an at home gym?

Will it be like a den for your children to run around in? Are you going to convert it into a home theater? What kind of furniture do you plan to put in your basement? Is it going to be used simply for laundry or for some extra storage space?

Who Will Be in the Basement?

Who exactly will be using the basement? What is the age range of the people who will use it the most often? Are they likely to be more sensitive to the cold?

Best Flooring Types for Basements

Now let’s discuss each of the recommended types, including their advantages and disadvantages. Remember, if flooding in your basement is a serious (or even occasional) problem, I would suggest avoiding the last two recommendations (8 and 9) at all costs, unless you want to incur the expense of redoing your floors on a regular basis.

The best flooring for basements will always have to handle moisture well.
Christian Southards, FlooringStoresBlog

Engineered Vinyl Planks or Vinyl Tiles

Engineered vinyl planks/tiles (also known as luxury vinyl plank, EVP, or LVP) are an excellent option for many basements, particularly due to the fact that this type of flooring is waterproof. It also looks quite decent. It has the appearance of hardwood, but it is much more durable and waterproof.

If your sub-floor is fairly even, you can install this type of flooring yourself, if you are the DIY type. But because vinyl plank is floating floor material, if you try to install it on an uneven or bumpy sub-floor, the flooring may bounce or wobble a bit.

*Please note: if your sub-floor is a concrete slab, it will be necessary for you to put a vapor barrier in between your engineered vinyl plank and the sub-floor. Even though the engineered vinyl planks are waterproof, hydrostatic pressure may push water from the ground up, water which may then become trapped between the engineered vinyl plank and the concrete foundation.

This may happen a few times during the year (like when snow is melting or after a hurricane). Just trust me and add the vapor barrier. It’s a really easy solution to this problem.

Pros:

Waterproof
Feels, looks and sounds like real hardwood
Pretty affordable, especially if you can install it yourself
Warmer, thicker material that provides some insulation and will feel like actual flooring to your feet
Long lasting, durable due to thick wear layer and waterproofness

Cons:

Uneven or bumpy sub-floor will cause flooring to wobble or to bounce; may require floor prep and leveling
More expensive than other types of vinyls (but you don’t need to spend extra money on adhesive and labor costs are reduced significantly)

Here are some tips on how to clean vinyl floors.

Tiles (tile planks, porcelain tiles, stone tiles, or ceramic tiles)

Tiles are a natural choice for those who live in an area that gets flooded frequently, since they are completely waterproof. Unfortunately, tiles can be rather hard on your feet as well as cold to the touch, so they may not be the best choice if your children are going to be running around in the basement.

One type of tile that is warmer than ceramic or porcelain is stone tiling. However, using natural stone tile flooring is usually prohibitively expensive. It is definitely a gorgeous, luxurious option, though, if it suits your needs and you can afford it.

Tile planks are a great style that is currently growing in popularity; they imitate the look of wood but are waterproof because they are tile. Other options include ceramic and porcelain.

Tiles are usually a more expensive option, not just because of the flooring itself but because of the extensive floor preparation and labor costs which are involved. For instance, you will need to ensure that the sub-floor is completely even and level. If not, the tiles may crack and come out unevenly—the tiles will not line up and your will stub your toes. So the sub-floor needs to be completely even.

DO NOT install tile on top of a plywood sub-floor. It must be directly installed on top of either cement board or concrete. Installing tile on top of a wooden sub-floor will result in cracked tile due to the fact that the wood will expand and contract because of changes in the humidity and the temperature.

Even though installing tile can be labor intensive and expensive, it is rather permanent and waterproof, so you can decide if this is the right investment for your basement and its intended use.

Related Reading: How Much Do Ceramic Tile Installers Charge?

Pros:

Waterproof
Increases the value of your home (it is considered a capital home improvement)
Durable; fairly permanent

Cons:

Expensive
Is loud and reflects sound (not suitable for home theaters)
Labor intensive; may necessitate a lot of floor prep to make sure the floor is level and even
Uncomfortable to run on or sit on
Cold and hard on feet

Here are some tips on how to clean tile floors.

Rubber

Installing rubber flooring in the form of interlocking rubber gym tiles is another popular option, especially if you intend to exercise in the basement or turn it into a gym. Not only are they shock absorbent, softer, and insulating, they are also waterproof. If your basement gets flooded, you can simply pick up the pieces, allow them (and the sub-floor) to dry, and piece the tiles back together.

Rubber tiles are thicker and more forgiving to sub-floors that may not be even or level.

Soft EVA foam tiles (the ones used for babies’ play areas) are another cheaper option. They may not be as durable as rubber tiles, but they can soften and warm up an otherwise cold and hard floor.

Pros:

Waterproof
Excellent for home gyms and play areas
Softer and warmer for your feet
Simple to install and take apart in case of a flood

Cons:

Weigh a lot, so shipping costs may be expensive
Dark in color, so they may make your basement seem darker or drearier

Polished/Acid Etched or Stained Concrete

Stained concrete or polished/acid etched concrete are a gorgeous, stylish flooring type that is as waterproof as you can get. In fact, if your basement floods regularly, this may be your number one choice for flooring. Acid etched concrete also looks particularly luxurious.

Pros:

May be extremely cost effective
By far the most waterproof type of flooring
Beautiful, luxurious patterns and colors can be achieved
Sub-floor not necessary

Cons:

Hard on your feet
Coldest type of flooring (with no possibility of adding radiant heat flooring)
Can be more expensive and labor intensive than you think, since floor may need extensive prep/scouring
Loud—sound echoes (not suitable for home theaters)

Here is how you clean concrete floors.

Further Reading: The Best Way to Clean a Concrete Basement Floor

Sheet Vinyl

Sheet vinyl is among the cheapest of the flooring options (second only to carpeting). It is resilient and waterproof, and it creates an impervious surface that is practically seamless, which can help in regions which are more damp.

Unfortunately, the major drawback is that it looks cheap. Also, the sub-floor will need to be completely smooth, or else it will show through the surface of the sheet vinyl within six months. Also, it’s generally not something you can install yourself.

Pros:

Fairly affordable
Waterproof and seamless impervious surface
Warmer and slightly softer than concrete or tile

Cons:

Looks cheap
Cannot be installed by yourself
Requires extensive floor prep (smoothing)

Glued Down Vinyl Planks or Vinyl Tiles

If engineered vinyl planks are not possible due to a sub-floor that is not even or level, you can consider using vinyl planks or tiles that are glued down (as opposed to engineered vinyl planks, which are floating). They will suit uneven or wavy floors better than engineered vinyl plank.

But if your floor is uneven, the vinyl planks that you glue down will still come out a bit uneven, so you will still need to do a bit of floor smoothing first.

Pros:

More expensive types are water resilient or waterproof
Warmer and softer than concrete or tile
Can be used on slightly uneven and wavy floors

Cons:

Less expensive kinds may not be waterproof; cheap adhesive wears down in damp regions
Generally cannot be installed by you
Colder to your feet than engineered vinyl plank

Modular Raised Interlocking Vinyl Tiles or Carpet Tiles

You can use raised modular carpet or vinyl tiles which are floating and interlocking. Because the tiles are raised, air can circulate underneath, eliminating the problem of moisture accumulation. The tiles are also resistant to mold and are waterproof or water resilient and can thus withstand a flood. You can also remove them if necessary and snap them back into place.

The raised floor also leaves an air pocket that serves as insulation, so they are warmer underfoot. The fact that they are raised also hides imperfections in your sub-floor. Unfortunately, these tiles can be hard to find and don’t look particularly luxurious.

Pros:

Easy to install
Can be installed directly on concrete
Affordable
Water resilient; allows for air circulation
Warmer and softer for your feet than concrete or tile

Cons:

Can look cheap
May be hard to find

Carpet

Now we come to good old reliable carpet. It is usually the cheapest option and it is very forgiving in terms of floor unevenness (and will hide that unevenness). It can also be used with all types of sub-floors.

Carpet is soft, warm, and the best and safest option for the basement steps. Carpet can make your basement feel much warmer, more insulated, and homier. It absorbs sound (instead of reflecting it) and is thus a good option for home theaters.

But carpet is of course a no-go if your house is prone to frequent (or even occasional) floods. Even if you don’t have basement floods, if you have excessive moisture, carpet is more prone to mold, dust mites, and mildew.

And carpet gets dirty more easily and is more difficult to clean. It is also less durable than other floor types.

*Please note: Rebond carpet cushion should not be placed directly over concrete. It will become a breeding ground for bacteria. Use either a moisture barrier carpet cushion or a felt bad.

We recently did a post on the best carpet brands.

Further Reading: Best Carpet for Basements 2023 (Top 3 Options)

Pros:

Almost always the most affordable option
Softest and warmest
Flexible; hides uneven or bumpy sub-floor
Absorbs sound

Cons:

NOT WATERPROOF; should not be used in areas with floods or excessive (unless you like mold and mildew and/or replacing your carpet several times a year)
Harder to clean and is dirtied more easily
Will require more frequent replacement due to limited durability—can be more expensive in the long run

Here is the best way to clean carpet.

Carpet Tiles

Carpet tiles are slightly more resilient to water than regular carpet (so they can be used if you get only a bit of moisture), and individual tiles which get dirty or worn out can be easily replaced, as opposed to replacing the entire carpeted area.

You have more freedom in terms of color and design choice with carpet tiles.

The disadvantages are that carpet tiles generally cost more than regular carpet and cannot be used on steps. They also should not be used in areas which flood or get excessive moisture.

Pros:

Create your own patterns, styles, and colors
Individual tiles can be replaced if dirty or worn out
More resilient to mold, mildew, and dust mites than normal carpet

Cons:

Costs more than regular carpet
Adhesive wears down in damp areas
Cannot be used on the basement steps

What to Avoid

Types of flooring you should not put in the basement include the following:

Bamboo flooring
Solid hardwood flooring
Laminate flooring
Cork flooring
Carpet flooring (if your area gets floods or excessive moisture)
Engineered wood flooring (if your area gets floods or excessive moisture; engineered wood flooring can tolerate only a tiny amount of moisture)

Basement Flooring Ideas

Here are some beautiful basement floor ideas:

Check out our Basement Floor Pinterest Board for more.

Conclusion

Hopefully, this guide has been helpful in allowing you to determine the best flooring for your basement. Remember to consider your preferences, weather, and the intended use of the basement when deciding.