flooring tips needed

[boheime]

We had a ton of rain in our area. Our (finished walkout) basement ended up getting water in it. It is pretty bad. So, it looks like we need to replace flooring much sooner than anticipated. We had planned to do this when we moved out in 3-4 years. Dh can't take off any more work to help install flooring because he is saving it for when the baby is born - countdown 7 weeks if this baby is on the same schedule as our first two. I need to get this done ASAP (as soon as everything dries out) and still keep prices down. I was on track for getting my list of things done before the baby is here and now that has all been thrown out the window.

I need any and all tips on types of flooring, ways to get deals, etc.

[kerc]

We had a cheap laminate flooring from Ikea. We installed it ourselves and liked it rather well. it took dh about 2 hours to figure out what he was doing and he basically installed the entire room (200 square feet with a closet and few other cuts) in an evening.

[msjd123]

Another vote for laminate flooring. It's pretty, very easy to clean, and you can get it inexpensively from IKEA and flooring outlets. If you call around, you should start to get a feel for what installation would cost if DH can't do it himself.

A similar but more eco-friendly option is bamboo flooring. It's not as expensive as hardwood because bamboo grows so fast, but just as pretty!

[daekini]

Originally Posted by msjd123

A similar but more eco-friendly option is bamboo flooring. It's not as expensive as hardwood because bamboo grows so fast, but just as pretty!

I had my heart set on bamboo, but learned that it is very delicate despite the advertisements of being "stronger than hardwood." People are very unhappy to find that they can often dent the surface with a fingernail - and no, it doesn't matter whether it's carbonized, treated, natural, vertical or horizontal. If you're rough on floors or have pets, avoid it. (If anyone is interested in learning more, just google search and you'll see what I mean.)

[vanilla]

the laminate from Costco is cheap and holds up awesome. We've had some in our laundry/mud room for the last year, and it has taken all the abuse wonderfully. It's only 1.75 a sf or something. You could get someone local to install it.

[KnockedUpButtercup]

I have some inexpensive laminate that DH and I installed...it was the same process as a PP mentioned. We spent about 2 hours figuring it out, then basically a Saturday to do 3 rooms and a hall.

I also had to retile my kitchen after we moved in...the previous owners tore up the vinyl floor moving their fridge: ! I just put down sticky tile...inexpensive as well, and a complete no-brainer. You can cut it with kitchen scissors...I did my whole kitchen using a pair of scissors and a sharpie marker and some precut paper squares for making templates for when you have to trim.

Just start in the exact CENTER of the room, and precut some templates for going around the edges (I borrowed a paper cutter from a scrapbooking friend and cut a bunch of 16 x 16 squares of butcher paper). Having the precut paper squares really simplified the process of creating a template whenever I had to trim a tile for an oddly shaped area. It took me about 3 hours, and I had to go around a center island.

Good luck!

Holly

[blueridgewoman]

peel and stick vinyl tiles couldn't be any easier, and they might be a good option for the basement. I've seen them, I think, for less than $1 a square foot. We also ordered cork flooring (floating, snap together planks) for $2.49 a square foot and that was incredibly simple to put down, but that might not be good for an area which could get moist.

[momto l&a]

Is your floor likely to food again in the coming years?

If so thats something IMO you may want to keep in mind for choosing new flooring.