How about just putting down some commercial carpet? They make some nice looking options now and it's very inexpensive.

Why not just looslay vinyl sheet . You do not really tell or show us how out of whack the floor is so that might help.Take pics and post here in a commnet do not start another post .

My husband was scared to put carpet in case of a leak. Is there a way to avoid that concern?

I'll check out the vinyl sheet.

I think we'll do that, thanks!

I used indoor-outdoor carpeting in my basement.

Remove old flooring, grind, thoroughly vacuum and replace with a primer coat of moisture seal epoxy then do a double coat of epoxy- then lay down area rugs - easy clean, reduces moisture and if you ever have water problems no issue. do NOT do thick coats or it wont dry properly - coat within 24 hour window

I never use carpet in a basement unless the floor is absolutely dry all the time. So tape down alarge piece of saran wrap on a portion of the concrete then check back 24 hrs later if there is even a bit of moisture on the plastic forget carpet.

I would put a layer of dricor subfloor panels down which has channels for moisture then just some area rugs for the kids.

You are saying old tiles on the floor, but, you do not say, how old. Before you grind any of them down, make sure they are not asbestos tiles. If this area is for kids, I would buy some large area carpets, and put them down on top of the tiles. It will keep it a bit warmer too. If you have an Ollies in your area, they sell these large bound carpet area rugs, fairly cheap. Since the large ones cover a good part of the floor, but, are not glued etc, it would be easy to remove them, if there should be a water problem.

Peel and stick linoleum tile can be just the ticket. It is DIY, if something damages one you can pull it up and replace it, if there is any hint of moisture in the basement they are very practical. We used them in our first basement-a tri level home. We only lived there a few years after finishing the basement so not really sure how they held up over time. What I know is we got the highest grade there was due to an advertising snafu on the stores part. We had a large piece of carpet bound for the TV area of the space. In our latest home we went with carpet tile. Also very DIY friendly. The first home we had toddlers who rode push cars and needed a hard surface. In this home we have a pool table and 'family room' set up so carpet underfoot is most appreciated in a full basement. When we looked into best options for full basements, circa 1970s many products were counter indicated due to moisture issues, the random downspout that gets torn off and floods the basement, a sump pump that gets unplugged.....

We had a basement that was subject to occasional water and did commercial carpet tile. You could lift the ones that got wet, rinse them off with water and hang them up to dry, then lay them back down. It was perfect and lots of great choices.

We also had a basement with occassional water before we could get it addressed - great ideas so far - we used these interlocking foam flooring tiles and you can just lift them up if you need to get underneath. They are great with uneven floors (you trim with scissors) and help dampen sound - we got ours at the Rubber Flooring website

@la_la Girl those are foam? Wow that's awesome. Great for the kids too!

I'm actually really liking the rubber idea...How do you clean it? Sweep and mop? Do you have a link for that product that you chose?

They are foam - super easy to install and remove if you need to- the only downside is high heels and furniture legs create impressions but if a tile got super damaged i would just replace it (it’s nice to have a little extra on hand) — we just used a broom and damp mop to clean it - you can find it here

https://www.rubberflooringinc.com/interlocking-tile/foam/soft-wood-tile.html

eta - an aggressive vaccum brush can damage them so be careful with that

That sounds really cool- thanks!

The site that lala girl posted has carpet tiles also. Great site.

Yes, I'm having fun exploring there.

Basment floors aren't suppose to be level. They are slanted towards the drains incase of water infiltration. What ever you do decide to put down don't cover the drains.

Since they are not absorbent, foam tiles enable water to run underneath them toward the drain (don’t ask me how I know 😬)

Oh my basement floor is more than slanted toward the drain. It goes up and down. I am actually planning to cut a hole around the drain.

oh gosh @la_la Girl sounds fun