speckled floor paint

You've missed what many think are the best/cheapest/easiest/most servicable solution: vinyl planks! They are waterproof, affordable, warmer than tile and concrete and softer too. There have been several posts about vinyl plank flooring here in the past and they always get a lot of attention.

Griffin is right. The new planks are easy to install, have a 25 year warranty and can fool most of your friends into thinking they are real hardwood - they look hugely better than laminate, too. A similar product comes in one sheet and looks as good. I had planned to install the product in my below-grade condo, but I sold it. I wish I had it in my at-grade apartment now!

Agreed Griffin - We plan on doing our whole basement in vinyl planks. Some of them look really nice and are very affordable.

I just redid my living room in vinyl planks. EVERYONE thinks they're laminate flooring or even real wood. It cost me .89 cents a foot. I can't believe how good it looks, or how happy I am with it!!!

We have ceramic tile and we are very happy with it. It's true that it is cold, but we just wear socks in the basement. It has withstood flooding and paint kids' messes wipe up easily.

vinyl is not much better than foam mats in terms of harmful chemicals; I'd stick with painting and an area rug

I am in Newfoundland, and basements here are very cold! If you want to walk on your basement floor, even with socks, it needs to be insulated, which means you need a subfloor. Since my subfloor will be plywood, I figure, why not go for wood anyways? It's all going to have to be ripped up if a leak happens...

However, if I could get Marmoleum around here I would definitely go for it!

We have Vinyl planks in our laundry room and they look great. I love them. And at $1/sq ft, the price can't be beat.

the mastic used to adhere tiles is an organic compound and mold loves it! do not use this below grade!!!! concrete is like a sponge pulling moisture from the ground and to the warmer heat of the basement. this causes 2 major issues- first MOLD!!! second, when exposed to water for extended periods of time mastic can re-liquify!! do yourself a favor and avoid mastic anywhere theres potential for damp conditions. yes, that means your bathroom tiles as well- dont listen to the guy at the big box hardware store...... its not ideal for shower enclosures.

For an unfinished basement, has anyone just used those cheapie foam tiles?
I have no kids, but my basement floor is sad, uneven, has some chips/holes. Painting it will look like crap, but I was wondering about just covering it with those. My basement is just additional storage and laundry area

We used rubber gym tiles on ours. It looked HORRIBLE, but was good for wrestling and when the water heater blew up and the basement flooded during a rain storm, they were so easy to clean up (though hard to see the floods b/c the water just ran under them.

We also had flor tiles on top of them to make the room look better but the flor tiles wouldn't stick together (you aren't supposed to install on top of rubber) and honestly, I ended up not really loving the floor tiles.

I love the look of our stained concrete (super easy and cheap) - so we might just keep that at this point.

We have Marmoleum. LOVE it! We ordered from a local company and installed it ourselves to save a few pennies. One of the best choices we have made in our new home.

I have vinyl planks in my kitchen and they are great, dishwasher has flooded and other mishaps and they look new after 6 years

I work for a management company doing renos - we've found the vinyl planks get scratched or wrecked easily, but the vinyl tiles are very durable. We use Allure floating tiles in all the new units, and they look great, are quite thick, and look like stone. Easy to install as well. If extra warmth or soundproofing is needed, a layer of foam or cork underlay goes a long way.

I highly doubt that the mastic is an organic compound. With all the issues these days why a company would sell a product that might cause mold like that in a common installation is beyond me. The professional grade mastics these days are acrylic latex and dry to tacky and they simply hold the carpet squares in place and don't bond them permanently. As with everything, follow the manufacturer's instructions.

@toastercat, I've covered our basement floor in foam tiles from getrung.com (over a very old, ugly linoleum floor), cutting them to size so that they could go right up to the edges of the room. I used multiple colors in big (4x4) squares, and it brightens up the space a lot. It's warm in the winter and provides the perfect soft landing for falls. We had a couple of floods and could just wash them off and put them back down again. We get a lot of compliments on them, and what was meant to be a temporary fix has turned a lot more permanent.

@queensbee - thanks! I think I might do the same!

I had wall to wall flor tiles in my basement, and after 2 water issues (one minor, one major), I said never again. Getting those things up and out of the basement when they are soaking wet and HEAVY was such a mess and a pain. I put down a few large area rugs that are indoor/outdoor rugs. Now if there is an issue, we can roll up the rugs, carry outside, hose off and let dry. (we fixed our gutters so knock on wood will not have water in basement again!)

We were tired of wet carpet and didn't want the threat of any moisture getting under any kind of floor in the basement (even though we mitigated the water problem, you never know), so we had our concrete floor stained. It's beautiful and will never harbor moisture.

We chose a brown and amber stain, and the imperfections and striations in the concrete look like a well-worn leather. We put area rugs where we hang out and never have to worry about wet carpet again. (Rugs can get cleaned or thrown out easily).

We had it professionally done and it came to about $4.25/square foot, including all necessary prep work.

This is not our floor, but it looks a lot like this: http://dmetree.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/Floor-stained-concrete.jpg

We have asbestos tiles in the basement. Very low ceilings (would not meet code in new construction) so a subfloor was not an option, nor was removing the tile. We went with an epoxy stone coating right over the tile. Love it.

Nope. I'm sorry. I am never, EVER, fooled by vinyl plank flooring. I know your floor is plastic the second I set foot on it.

I'm not saying it's horrible or anything. Some of it looks quite nice. But I know what it is.

I use commercial carpet tiles with rubber backing. They lay flat w/o adhesive, and can be removed or replaced in 2x2' squares as needed. They are 100% nylon pile so they do not mold, and can be steam-cleaned in place if they ever get damp. Absolutely cannot be beat for insulation over concrete floor - comfortable and relatively warm to walk on, and add considerable cushion for kids or anyone standing on them.

I plan on using the ceramic tile that looks like wood planks in our basement and install the heated floor mesh underneath so that it isn't too cold underfoot. We have a dog who is 95% housetrained, and I don't want anything other than a ceramic or porcelain tile with the potential for accidents... I know this will be 2 or 3 times more expensive than vinyl planks but it is worth it in the long run for durability and peace of mind.

We had a real crap floor in our 150 YO rowhouse basement, and orange interlocking foam tiles made it much warmer and more comfy. I had a workshop down there and the foam was great to stand on (concrete will kill your feet & back). And the bright color made the space seem bigger, and you could see little things you dropped.

Engineered hardwood in a basement is a risk only in extreme moisture conditions like a flood. The issue usually is cost if you want to glue it down over concrete. There are click options as well that are floated over the concrete.

While $1 /sqft. Vinyl Plank shouldn't be able to fool anyone, a good quality vinyl plank like Evoke would seriously give you a run for your money:
http://www.ayrwood.com/portfolio/christian/

I feel this is the future of synthetic hardwood and the good stuff is only getting more and more realistic. We put tons of it in basements. Never had technical issues.

Writing is very good, Special design, perfect!

http://wpcwallpanel.com/blog/what-is-wpc-decking-board.html

I agree with Griffen and others about Luxury Vinyl Plank, but have some notes: After much experience in the contracting world, a thicker vinyl (at least 5.0mm) can make a big difference. It might not be the cheapest option, but will perform much better and hold up longer. It also feels much nicer to walk on and you don't have the "clicky" sound. Thicker planks can handle irregularities in the sub-floor/concrete better. We've used Exalt click-together 5.0mm LVT quite a bit and have success. It's thicker than most products on the market, rated for commercial use/warranty, and locks together tight.

Also, the click/floating is the best option for moisture areas so you're not dealing with adhesives reacting with water.

That's my take!