Dry Basement Floor - Laminate, Vinyl, Or Other?

cpyne

Hi,

I'm finishing a basement for a friend and I'm looking for some advice on flooring. As basements go, this one seems very dry, but we all know some moisture is present in concrete even if nothing is visible. My friend assures me he's never seen any sign of water. The two options he was looking at was either Tundra laminate flooring from Ikea or vinyl TrafficMaster Allure which they sell at Hope Depot. (For anyone not familiar with the TrafficMaster product, it looks like wood, but is actually vinyl tiles with a sticky overlap tab.)

My suggestion to him initially was to go with the TrafficMaster product, but I just read a few posts on another site talking about problems with mold underneath and seams peeling when installed over concrete. (Google "trafficmaster allure bad experience")


A few questions....

Has anyone here used TrafficMaster Allure in a basement? Have you had issues with mold or peeling?

What do you think about using the Ikea Tundra flooring in this situation?

....or if you think both of these are bad ideas, please let me know what you think the best solution would be.

Thanks!
Charlie


PS - We live in the Northeast, (MA), so something with a warm feel would be best

Floordude

What were the results of the 3 calcium chloride tests you perfomed and were they set according to ATSM & ANSI???

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cpyne

I haven't done any calcium chloride tests. When I say "dry", I'm only qualifying that by saying the place doesn't ever flood or visibly look wet.

Floorwizard

Google (insert floor here) bad experience and you will find tons on all products.
Careful what you read.

If you duct tape a square foot of 6 mil poly on all 4 sides on the concrete you will see in 24 hours if there is any moisture coming up.
If after 2 days (let's say) and it looks good, then you will be safe with any laminate installed over the 6 mil poly.

If you want to be the most professional, then follow the advice of Floordude and pick up a few cloride kits at Home Depot.


Good luck

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"in 20 years you will regret more what you did not do than what you did"

Floordude

Looks dry has caused many millions of dollars in failed floors. It ain't the liquid that kills the floor, no dummy is going to install flooring in a puddle of water. It is the moisture vapor emissions that get you!!! Vapors cannot be seen.

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cpyne

I couldn't agree more. You never know how they really installed the stuff.

It looks like a common theme in the bad experiences with the TrafficMaster/Allure product, is not keeping the room warm enough. The instructions say the room needs to be something like 65-85F or the glue won't setup properly. Also you need to be sure to roll it after. I see similar complaints about Konecto. All were over concrete.

So like I said, this is in New England, and this basement slab is definitely colder than 65F... I doubt I could even heat it up that much. I'm thinking its probably a good idea to stay away from this product in this situation and go with a wood laminate. Do you guys agree? Or has someone here used this product in a cold climate over concrete without problems?

Thanks again
Charlie

cpyne

PS - Thanks for the useful & helpful advice! I'll be sure to do a moisture test before deciding on any product.