Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire Basement flooring question--Vinyl plank flooring

I am in the process of finishing my basement here in Colorado and we are trying to decide on flooring.

Have any of you all had experience with Vinyl plank flooring? We are looking at Coretec Plus. It looks good and is waterproof and mildew resistant. Sounds like a good option for a basement.

Any thoughts and opinions are appreciated

http://www.fcnews.net/2013/01/usfloors-launching-lvt-line-with-coretec-plus-technology/
COREtec Plus represents a revolution in luxury vinyl flooring and is your #1 alternative to laminate flooring, glue down LVT, or solid locking LVT. COREtec Plus is an entirely new category of vinyl called Engineered Luxury Vinyl flooring. The patent-pending* construction of COREtec Plus features our innovative COREtec core structure, which is an extruded core made from recycled wood and bamboo dust, limestone, and virgin PVC. Since COREtec Plus is 100% waterproof, COREtec Plus floors can be installed in wet areas and will never swell when exposed to water. Because COREtec Plus is inert and dimensionally stable, it will not expand or contract and never needs expansion strips in large rooms. Each COREtec Plus plank has an attached cork underlayment for a quieter, warmer vinyl floor that is naturally resistant to odor causing mold and mildew.
COREtec Plus features the most popular looks in hardwood, stone and slate flooring and is milled with the Drop and Lock profile for the easiest glue-free installation.
*COREtec Plus is a patent-pending product exclusive to USFloors Inc.

No experience with that particular one. The house we moved into had the upstairs done in a vinyl plank and an entry area in a plant I work at has a vinyl plank. While they look decent enough, they still look like vinyl planks.

If it were my basement, I'd either tile it or if the floor is decent enough, stain it. I saw a basement a few years ago that had been concrete sawed an 1/8 inch deep or so about 4" apart and then a stain mixture applied, gave it a wood floor appearance, and the guy that owned the house said maintenance and cleaning was a breeze.

Make sure your floor is totally flat and the adhesive you are using doesn't have an issue with moisture. The LVT will show every imperfection of the floor below it and some of the adhesives out there do not work well with even a hint of moisture from the floor below.

We used vinyl plank flooring by Allure for our entry/ laundry room. Looks OK, but most importantly, it was economical and durable.

Its a floating floor, uses no glue and installs quickly and easily with minimal tools.

I just installed some in a basement our company has been working on. It is pretty nice stuff and great for a basement. I'm not sure if the stuff I put in is exactly like the one you are looking at but this one was a friction fit tongue and groove and a rubber mallet made installing much quicker and easier. If you can rent a shear it will also speed up your install. Good luck.

Fake wood flooring looks like fake wood flooring. I am with cheezy. I have seen some real nice decorative paint jobs on floors. With tile or paint you don't have to worry so much about moisture. My 2 cents from an ex real estate appraiser.

It is the most realistic fake floor I've ever used. We did the entire bar floor and the bar itself. Most cannot tell its not real. The key is to use the primer coat first to get good adhesion. I'll post a photo. We used the rustic type.


Here's pics sorry they are blurry. Cheap phone.

I can't speak to vinyl flooring but I also put wood flooring down in a basement that would on occasion get 1 - 3 inches of standing water during bad rainstorms.

I went thru quite an effort to make sure the water was diverted before I finished the basement, then put down cheap carpeting for a few years to make sure our water diversion efforts were effective.

About 3 years ago I put down wood flooring. On top of the concrete I put down a product called Delta V, which is kind of a heavy duty bubble wrap (not really but I don't know any better way to describe it) which would channel any water that came up or in to a sump pump at one end and a floor drain at the other. Then I put plywood on top of the Delta V (also I should say the seems interlock on the Delta V) and then put down my flooring. I keep a dehumidifier down there running all the time and I've never had problems with buckling and it looks great, similar to the pictures above.

This is the stuff we are looking at....

Cartod,

Is that the CoreTec Plus stuff?

In my younger days I sold and installed flooring, Put this stuff down and if your floor has any imperfections it will look like hell. Eithe saw and stain the concreate (or acid etc and stain is really nice) or put down a laminated hardwood. Its built on a plywood board, and has a 1/8" hardwood veneer, but is much more moisture tolerant than a standard 5/8 or 3/4" hardwood.

We did our utility room & a bathroom with Home Depot's Allure version ALLURE It's easy to do but takes some planning to avoid waste. If you're careful and think ahead, you can end up with almost no waste at all. They only sell it in full cartons and I had to buy a full one to get the 1 piece I needed. I guess I'll have extra for patching later.
I can tell you from experience that when a washing machine's water level tube breaks and it overflows, water WILL get under the flooring around the edges & through a floor dryer vent.

OP,

You didn't ask and I don't know what your big picture for the space is but have you considered an epoxy floor paint? I'm in the process of cleaning a concrete floor to prep it for that kind of basement floor in the mancave. 32 sq yards worth.

if you stay away from the high gloss finishes its not as much of a problem.

I wont have a washing machine down there but I do have 2 50 gallon hot water heaters.

dob a moister test before you glue it down.

Most likely, if it's a dissolvable ground stain. All the same, it would appear to install well to utilize stains intended for concrete.

Incredible dead thread revival for a first post. And an absolutely oblique reply too. Great entry!

That is pretty odd......he's gonna fit right in....welcome LG.

Now GFY.

BOT pretty obviously, best not to add to the post. Slipped by Rick, but he has been notified.