I agree with Flo, staining the concrete sounds like the way to go. Rugs or carpet squares can go in areas where you want some softness.

I think it depends on where you live. If it's an area where you have cold winters, then I would forego stained concrete and look at vinyl plank with a thick area rug.

First time posting on Houzz. I am so happy that you all responded to me. Thank you for your thoughts. My asthma is mild and therefore well controlled with no hospitalizations. I have thought thought of painting the cement floor (same as our garage) but the thought it not inviting. We live in Northern NJ so winters are cold. We are strongly considering Flooret Modin Rigid planks, since they are a good price, have an amazing wear layer of 40 ml, waterproof and are "healthy" as far as VOCs, phthalates and formaldehyde. Considering Arbor for our large below ground basement with 4 high small windows, 3/4 with LED lighting, 1 section with pot lighting a drop ceiling and a separate small utility room. We live in a 49 year old center hall colonial. My husband is wanting us to pick a paint color for the walls so that this project can be moved along. hoping if i order a sample plank it will help me pick a wall color.....We do have a medium oak pool table with green felt for now...and are fairly traditional but ecclectic in taste. Want the basement to be timeless so that if we sell in 5+ years it will not detract from our home.

Just trying to give you info since I am not super confident in decorating and not decisive...hoping for guidance. thank you all :)

Any type flooring on concrete will be negatively impacted by moisture. I would not recommend any wood or vinyl flooring. Get estimates for both staining and / or painting the concrete. Pick one. Then add rugs with nice padding. Paint walls nice light neutral color. With your wood on pool table setting a warm tone and NJ winter a warmer paint color would be nice. There is a concrete stain that is like patina copper. Put SW Alabaster on the walls with that stain concrete look and enjoy the heck out of it.

The concrete floor has residual carpet glue on it- so it would not be ready for painting. How can the glue be removed?

Flo Thank you so much for your input! I looked at concrete stained floor with a patina copper on line and they are so pretty. I never realized that you could make concrete pretty....though the floors will still be hard and cold. I know area rugs. I wonder if after strong glue removing chemicals were used whether any residual chemical would interfere with the staining process. have you ever had someone do this? thank you so much for your help. Still am missing the idea of a quality moistureproof warm and nice to walk on flooret modin floor though... The Alabaster would work, we had old cream painted paneling before...now sheet-rock though I'm a bit tired of cream color i do like warm and don't want the basement to feel dark. Thanks again!!!!

The pros have products and sanders that remove residual glue. Another suggestion is for carpet tiles. Go to Flor.com and take a look at their products. I have put these in several homes with kids and pets and people love them. They are 18-20” squares. In fact, I am considering them myself for a casita we have and there is residual glue on that floor too. Big mess. But the Flor tiles have a nice backing with tabs that peel off and I figure it is already sticky so this is our best solution. You can get samples so you can see in your space then pick paint color accordingly.

Instead of paint, I wonder if epoxy would be suitable? There would be fumes during application, but after it is all cured I don't know (for your VOC etc concerns). You would have to get the floor clean though, or the coating won't adhere

I looked at the floor more closely and spoke to my hubby and there have been 2 glued down rugs over the years, and maybe even gray paint underneath. oh what a mess...not sure if we can clean it up, just put down another wall to wall rug, try carpet tiles? yikes

my hubby's initial response to new ideas is usually negative but then he did like the stained idea if it was done right, now mentioning carpet tiles he fears that they will look tacky...I will check out the site. thank you ladies!!!

I checked out Flor.com and it's a great site, but pricey. We have about 1100 square ft, plus we have to do something with the stairs(remove old dingly rug). hoping to not spend more than $5,500. ....

checking the floor closer- there are 2 layers of glue and maybe it had been originally painted- grey is shining through-raee in Ohio it just seems like a lot of work to clean the floor and then not knowing if an apoxy or stain would adhere well and look good

The Flor tiles are not tacky at all. But they might be too pricey for you. What is dimension of space you want to cover? The tiles are 19.7” x 19.7” square. They range in price from $18 per sq up to around $32. The one we are considering is $20 per tile. Get some samples to check quality and colors.

The price is per tile. So keep that on mind. That is not per sq ft.

We puy dri core down and then vinyl plankthat does not have a backing but just adheres to each other as you lay it . We have had it for 12 yrs and we love it with big dogs , grandkids in anod out of the pool and the dri core creates a buffer between the vinyl and the concrete that makes the floor feel warmer too.

Thank you for answering. Flor tiles are an interesting idea, not tacky but too $. I checked out dricore and the vinyl plank we wanted by Floret Mondin Rigid planks from Cali. has it's own backing. They are such a great company and sell direct to the consumer.

Yea, the Flor tiles are really nice, but might not be worth the investment for a basement. I get that. I have the same dilemma in our Casita and it is challenging with that darn glue! right now, I have just put down a rug I had but I really want more of the floor covered. It is my husband's office, so I need something durable and that can stand coming in and out since it has an outside entry. What's really nice about him having his office in the Casita, is because it is separate, when he "leaves work" and comes into the main house, he is really away. Whereas in our other homes his office has been on the second floor and he tended to be up there too much! haha! We all have our challenges!

LOL, I have a friend who was worried about her husband being under her feet when he retired and he instead found a smaller office in a building next to their house to work. He's a great guy but you know how it is :), So she's happy too! as far as your Casita goes and the Flor tiles- are they washable or just easily vacuum-able for the his traipsing in and out of his office? I did notice the picture on line of a dog lying on a Flor rug in a mudroom with tile floor (like mine) and wondered about keeping them clean. Couldn't you put Flooret Modin on his floor? It has an attached underlayment and has the best wear layer in the business. Then have an area rug over it. I should work for sales for Flooret! Once I find something I like I do tend to promote it. lol.

Oh yes, the Flor carpet tiles are awesome. All my clients with kids and dogs love them. The use them in family rooms high traffic hallways, kids rooms, entertainment areas etc. get some samples and test them out. I want them in there because they look great, are super durable, and easy to install. I will look at your fav too. Never know.

Think about total cost too. With the vinyl you will pay $4 sq ft + installation. Then buy rug(s) for warmth. So figure $9/ sq. ft. Total. With Flor tiles about $7 sq ft and easy install. Nothing more needed. So it can be more cost effective possibly.

If you have a ReStore in your area, check their inventory. Chances aren't great but if they have what you need, you might get a great bargain.

I bought carpet tiles for my parents basement from ReStore for just under than $1 / sq ft. The selection was limited as I needed 700 sq ft but these are a dark blue with lighter blue pattern. They were unsure about the idea but very happy with the end result. The surface is very solid, non slip flooring, so much safer for older people than slick vinyl. I bought rubber tiles for my basement at $4 each, sold online for $28 each. Install was more work than vinyl tile or carpet tile but I make too much mess for carpet

Wow Lynda, you did great at the Restore! I did browse through one last year out of curiosity. I saw a beautiful antique dresser that was already on hold. I'm sure the antique dealers keep a close eye on those places. You never know when you'll hit it right. Thanks for the idea.

Flo, we have someone who would install the LVP for a dollar a board so that's amazing versus our doing it ourselves or paying $3 or so a square foot in NJ for the install as per one of the stores we went into said. We did lay down laminate flooring by ourselves in our family room about 15 years ago and did well It is an easy install- but our basement is much bigger than our family room and we are 15 years older. As the years go on I'm not sure if our bodies will pay a price with all that kneeling and bending over etc! I am waiting for the Flooret samples, but will keep my eye on Flor.com maybe for another room in the future! Once we decide I'll need help with paint colors unless SW Alabaster will work with all. Flooret Arbor, Brenwick or Kingswood

Sounds great. Hoping everything works out great. I am checking out Flooret for the Casita. Thanks!

You can't beat the install price that your friend is offering. Since you have the sump pump and humidity levels under control, then you shouldn't have any problems. I like the idea of a previous poster who mentioned dri-core. This would keep your floor warmer in the winter and eliminate the need to scrap all of the glue residue for your LVP install.

Thank you guys! Florida key me know what you decide for your Casita! the LVP does have it's own backing attached but I will definitely check Ann about whether it's enough. All my best! I really appreciate your help!

so funny how I put in Flo and it changed it to Florida!

This word change is crazy!!

I know I am late to the party, but just wanted to say that we had an epoxy painted basement floor in our last house and I personally wouldn’t do it again. I did it to save some money when we finished it and thought that with the long midwest winters the kids could roller skate and skateboard down there. They had zero interest, it was cold and hard. I ended up adding big rugs and that was better, but the cement floor still kept the rooms much cooler than they would have been otherwise. Our basement now (different house) has carpeting and it is much more pleasant. If we ever pull the carpeting out I would probably do the vinyl planks, but could be talked into more carpet. I like hardwood best but won’t take the chance with that in the basement.

Hey Debi,

Keep in mind a stained or epoxy floor will be cold on your feet. The most important factor at play here is actually not the tile itself but the preparation of the floor. Shaw’s install guide for many of their LVP requires a vapor barrier on slab installs, something that not many installers follow. A cork backed LVP tile like Shaw/US Floors Cortec is absolutely able to be installed on a slab. Refer to the manufacture’s install guide whatever tile you choose and they will typically give you explicit information on how to install them on concrete slab floors. These guides are typically written with damp slabs in mind.

thank you for your posts! i appreciate so learning of your experiences and knowledge. no cold basement floors for me or I'll never go down there. we have decided on Floret Modin rigid vinyl planks, Brenwick style. it has a special foam backing which they gave recently upgrading to from cork.
next decision is wall paint color. and finding a good water powered back up sump pump. maybe I'll try to post a picture in the morning :)

good morning to all! ok today is the day to choose the paint color so I need your help! hubby wants to start painting today so I cant delay the choice. . I'll add some pictures of our basement (a mess), and our floor sample.
the pool table is staying. not attached to the couch. here goes.