They are cold always. We put in dricore and vinyl plank in our walkout basement to keep the floors a bit warmer and honestly to have concrete finished will probably cost more that a product like core-tech for instance. When we did ours 13 yrs ago the vinyl plank choices were not great.

I agree that the floors would be very cold and also hard. I'd use some sort of vinyl or carpet.

following

If cold is a concern, epoxy makes the floor feel noticeably warmer underfoot. Not like carpet, but warmer than bare concrete or tile. I’ve had an epoxy basement floor in the upper Midwest for six years and still like it and would do it again.

This has given me a lot to think about.

Coldness has has been a concern all along. Winters get cold. I hadn’t thought about noise. And I had not yet figured out that sealing the concrete (the route I was leaning toward) would require maintenance. And I also didn’t realize that epoxy would need to be removed if we decided to put something down in the future.

you guys are saying carpet or vinyl will be cheaper. Right? over the phone, they quoted $3 to $5/sq ft for concrete grinding with sealing. I have never purchased flooring other than area rugs.

You can get lots of vinyl for that price .

Saw some very nice peel and stick tile at Lowes yesterday.

Beverly, that is very pretty! Would that design look okay in a living room?

Let me add a new piece of info. We have had water in our basement a couple of times. We think we have the issued fixed as it has been a few years ago since that has happened, but the possibility is still in the back of our minds.

I know the process if the carpet gets wet. What happens if the vinyl flooring gets wet? Is it ruined?

"Impermeable interior floor finishes such as vinyl floor coverings should also be avoided – as should impermeable interior basement wall finishes such as oil (alkyd) paints and vinyl wall coverings. These impermeable layers inhibit inward drying and typically lead to mold growth and other moisture problems." Building Science Corp.

At the least, a poly barrier should be installed beneath any vinyl flooring in a basement.

Carpet laid directly on a concrete floor is a perfect habitat for mould growth as moisture condenses on the cold concrete under the carpet.

(I've successfully used low pile synthetic carpet in basements on new homes that included a poly barrier under the concrete pour and mechanical dehumidification to keep the rh under 50%.)

I used to live in a house that had a basement.

I never used it for much. Mostly for storage. Depending on where you live, you may want to make a tornado shelter there.

After our basement with a floating pergo floor flooded, we opted to have the flooring removed and the concrete slab polished. I wanted a floor that would not be harmed if we had another flood. On the couple occasions our washing machine has leaked, it has been a complete non-issue - we mop it up and that's that. We had the floors done about 5 years ago, and I have to disagree with those saying that a concrete floor requires a lot of maintenance - we haven't done anything to ours other than sweeping and occasional mopping. They are not stained, epoxied, or even sealed, if I'm remembering correctly. My home office is in the basement and once I put furniture in the room, it is exactly as echoey as any other room of our house - that is, not at all. Regarding the temperature - they definitely are cooler than wood or carpet. I wear slipper shoes in the house year round, so this wasn't much of a concern for me - I think whether this is a concern depends on how you live in your house.

Our house was built in 1958 and the concrete was not poured with polishing in mind, so there are a few parts where the original paint that covered them is still visible. Our concrete guys also made sure that I understood that they couldn't guarantee what the concrete would look like once it was polished - the size of the pebbles, etc. Personally, I actually like being able to see the history of the floors and do not expect them to look brand new. (I also have mostly vintage furniture and there too, don't mind a ding or a scratch here and there.)

This is what we started with when we removed the floating floor:

Here's a part with some of the paint still visible (again - I like that this is still visible, but understand that others might not!):

Here's a picture I just took, five years after getting them finished. Most sections of the floor look basically like this:

If I were doing it again, I would choose concrete again!

Mars - you are stalking me. :)

We do have a tornado shelter in our basement...a Room with thick concrete walls and ceiling as tornados are a threat in this area.

We also have a bedroom and large living area. The remainder is storage. We use our basement ALOT....when it is not torn up while working on it.