You could also consider an engineered wood floor. That would even let you stain and finish on site.

nunroz...What is under the carpet?
Patricia...How much floor prep did you have to do?

Under the carpet in one room is old vinyl tile. Other room is concrete.

nunroz-First 2 steps are a "moisture test" to determine how much moisture wicks up through your slab. And to investigate if your old tiles are asbestos tiles put down with asbestos mastic (adhesive).

People often resort to carpet because it allows the slab to "breath". It is also cheaper to lay carpet over asbestos tiles/asbestos mastic than it is to have it properly and safely removed.

Lots of good info here: http://www.thefloorpro.com/community/

Oh this one is for me! Cork floating flooring in a basement is one of the best thermal investments you can make. It is technically a "hard" surface floor that wears like a hardwood, feels/sounds like carpet and acts like solid styrofoam insulation.

I have clients in N. Canada who used 6mm cork underlay ($0.63/sf) + cork flooring ($2.29/sf) in their basement. They now have to turn down the thermostat to watch TV in the space. The added bonus of acoustic insulation was something they discovered one afternoon. They found 12 teenagers in their basement...turns out the teens had been there for several hours but there was very little noise that escaped into the upper floor of the home. Their basement (it used to sit around 50 F in winter) is now the warmest spot in the house and THE hockey hang-out for their neighbours.

My most beautiful/expensive floor = $3.99/sf. If you are in Canada, visit www.corkfloorsales.com. If you are in the USA www.icorkfloor.com

Not bad for a 1200sf space with ONE forced air vent! If you want comfort and thermal insulation = cork. If you want to spend money on flooring and still have a cold basement that requires wall to wall carpets/rugs = laminate, marmoleum, etc.

Cancork!! I wish I knew this info when my son used to practice his soccer skills down there!!!! ahaha!

Sigh. I know. I can't be everywhere ;-)
Another good point about cork floating floors: they can be installed over old flooring.