DEFY S. McQUAID! Diversion #2: Floored

NOTE: This is the second “diversion” posted as part of Defy S. McQuaid. In a diversion, no user-submitted question is answered, but instead, a topic of interest is discussed. (By interest, I mean “interest to me at the moment”, and possibly not interesting to you. Sorry.)

The Question

What is the best material choice overall when re-flooring your basement that was flooded during the torrential and continuous rains last week?

The Answer

Gee, I just happen to have a great answer for this one. Seems that’s exactly the situation I’ve been working on for the last week or so.

Last Monday (not yesterday, the one before that), I happened to go down into my finished basement as usual in the morning to check email and the like. Sitting at my computer, I noticed that the dog had followed me down the stairs. Next, I heard slurping.

It turned out that I was sitting in the only dry spot in the basement. Everything else was soaking wet.

After sucking 100+ gallons of water out of the basement, it became apparent (via the smell) that the carpet we had had down there was done for. But what to put down to replace it?

Here are the options:

Nothing. Just leave it open concrete
PRO: Do nothing. No work.
CON: HUGE downgrade. No way.
Replace the carpet
PRO: Carpet is nice to stand on. Also, the tack strips are already there.
CON: If water happens again, it has to be replaced again. This is expensive. (I NEVER had water down there before, and they ARE saying this is a “100 year storm”, but I don’t trust them.) Also, carpet in a basement can only be musty after a while.
Install wood floor or laminate
PRO: Well, it will look nice. Expensive though.
CON: Well, if it floods again, it’s done. Even if the laminate is moisture-resistant, it can’t stand up to actual water. Also, it’s expensive. And you have to put foam under it, which will absorb water.
Install linoleum
PRO: Linoleum is safe. If it floods again, you mop it up.
CON: Good linoleum is expensive ($2+/sq. ft). Cheap linoleum is not, but you still have to have it installed, which is expensive. More expensive than carpet.
Install your own vinyl tile
PRO: Cheap!
CON: Cheap looking! Also, work. I’m tired now. Seems like a bit of a downgrade.
Install indoor/outdoor carpet (glue down)
PRO: If it gets wet, it dries without dying. Also, it’s inexpensive ($0.62/sq. ft.) and installation is cheap too if you’ve removed your carpet already (which I have). Also, you can do the stairs instead of leaving the sea-foam green old stained carpet on it. Also, you don’t have to install it yourself.
CON: …..still waiting…..nope, ain’t got one.

I assume that you, the gentle reader, can ascertain my choice.

Next week: Back to your regularly scheduled answers!

6 thoughts on “DEFY S. McQUAID! Diversion #2: Floored

  • 5/23/2006 at 12:28 pm
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    Another Pro for indoor/outdoor carpet: Using patio furniture indoors suddenly becomes a bit more viable of an option.

    Reply
  • 5/23/2006 at 1:24 pm
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    One additional point – the selection we made doesn’t resemble Astroturf in the slightest. In fact, it’s closer to berber than anything else. You wouldn’t know it was indoor/outdoor unless you were told….

    Reply
  • 5/24/2006 at 6:44 am
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    And I was told, so I Do know. There will be no trickery upon my visit to Chez McQuiad!
    But who cares about the carpet. How did the Atari and Mario Kart stand up to the hundred year storm?

    Reply
  • 5/24/2006 at 9:51 am
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    No worries! Since everything was slightly elevated, nothing other than the carpet got soaked. So, the Atari, the Video Pinball, the NES, the SNES, the N64, the PS 1, and the Atari Flashback are all good.

    Reply
  • 5/25/2006 at 7:45 am
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    whew….that was close

    Reply
  • 6/17/2006 at 1:25 pm
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    you should carpet the ceiling.

    Reply

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