basement floor tile dilemma

6 years ago

We are refinishing our very old house's stone basement and tiling the floor. 2 walls of the basement will be exposed fieldstone walls and the rest will be drywalled finished wall and ceiling. We have a couple of large old rough wood beams and posts we will leave exposed. We have some areas under the stairs that are already old shiplap and will leave that painted a white shade.

Any suggestions or tips for the floor? Do you have any ideas for something that will be a nice background, long lasting, clean looking and durable?

There are some logistical reasons why we cannot leave it just polished concrete. I would like to spend less than a few dollars a sqft and can get a lot of discounted stone out here, $2-3 sqft blue limestone or the more high-maintenance filled honed travertine. OR more expensive large porcelain tiles that sort of mimic a concrete finish, all pictured below. Worried that faux finish tiles will look odd next to real wood and stone. Wonder if light greys will look cold. I haven't found anything else and am open to suggestions.

Also is a pebble tile floor in the bathroom down there tacky or doable?

Thank you for any thoughts!

Featured Answer

Jennifer Hogan

6 years ago

I think you need to know what your final aesthetic and purpose for the basement will be.

My niece and her husband bought a 150 year old home with a stone walled basement and put down slate floors and added a rustic wood bar and several rustic pub tables along with wine racks all made with reclaimed wood. They added a sound system and put up string lights on the beams and have this fantastic wine tasting room.

My sister painted her cement block basement, added carpet tiles and white shelving and desk space to create an office for her husband.

The carpet tiles would look stupid in the wine room and slate would be a poor choice for an office.

Sort by:Oldest

Comments (6)

PRO
Patricia Colwell Consulting
6 years ago
I would look at vinyl plank for the floor a much nicer feel and ones like coretec have a base that helps keep the floot from feeling as cold as tile I have vinyl plank in our walk out we used dri core and then a simple vinyl plank ours are 13 yrs old so there are many more choices now. I have no idea what the pics you posted are for I would have liked to see pics of the actual space.
Hanna S thanked Patricia Colwell Consulting
Hanna S
Original Author
6 years ago
last modified: 6 years ago
Thank you Patricia,

We are putting in heated floor coils so warmth won't be an issue. I do agree vinyl is like quiet and softer on the feet, a consideration.

The pictures are of three floors I am considering. The current basement is being gutted and having the sewer lines replaced so, I have no current pics that aren't really scary looking.
Related Professionals
Birmingham Flooring Contractors · Tuscaloosa Flooring Contractors · Cookeville Flooring Contractors · Johnson City Flooring Contractors · Minneapolis Tile and Stone Contractors · Janesville Tile and Stone Contractors · Platteville Kitchen Remodelers · Ardmore Architects & Building Designers · Utica Architects & Building Designers · Scottsbluff Architects & Building Designers · Provo Architects & Building Designers · Winston-Salem Kitchen & Bathroom Designers · Tulsa General Contractors · Burlington General Contractors · Bloomington Cabinets & Cabinetry
SJ McCarthy
6 years ago
The electric heating coils will cost $$$$$. Just so you know. The cost of the finish should be in line with the cost of the renovation/house. It would be weird to spend $10/sf on the heating (which does NOT heat the room....only makes the floor feel warmer than ice) and then $2/sf on the finish.

The stone isn't the expensive part either. It is the INSTALLATION labour. A porcelain tile over concrete can be laid (an expensive Canadian city) for $12/sf = labour ONLY. A STONE TILE is going to cost $15/sf for labour (same city). The cost of the material extra and it is a FRACTION of the overall costs.

As someone who is cost conscious (I hate in-floor heating because it is SOOOOO d@mned expensive) I like cork floating flooring. Of course I'm a cork flooring EXPERT so I know how to keep a cork floor happy and healthy for decades. I also know cork will fade. And dimple. And have small scratches (which I can fix 'cause I know how). It is WARM...and SOFT and QUIET. Sooooo warm.....hhhhhhmmmmm. Warm and comfy.

A HIGH END cork floating floor = $10/sf + 2/sf labour to install. At that price, you haven't even paid for the IN-FLOOR RADIANT HEAT let alone the stone/tile and the labour to install all of that.

Again, I'm a cork flooring specialist who values the value of a practical floor. It is your home and your price point. Before you look into cork, you will need to determine if you can handle living with cork. The cork isn't the issue. It is the human beings who have expectations that are inappropriate for cork/wood flooring.

Cork is "just a thought".
Hanna S thanked SJ McCarthy
Hanna S
Original Author
6 years ago
We already have hydronic (hot water) heating in the basement and throughout the house. Adding hot water heating coils instead of radiators in the basement is the same cost to install and to run. Electric heating is very expensive but adding on to your existing hydronic system is at cost neutral.

Labor cost for install in nominal since we have a very cost efficient contractor who gives us great prices.

I love cork!!!! However, since this is a basement and long term with have moisture concerns, I am hesitant to install anything with a fiberboard or MFD backing. Thank you Sj!
julieste
6 years ago
We have a 100 year old house and gutted and redid our basement four years ago. We kept some of the rustic wood support posts exposed, but we don't have the stone walls that you will have. We installed LVP in a wood look and have been very happy with it. If you go with the vinyl plank floors, what you want is a SPC (stone core) product.
Hanna S thanked julieste