Water tolerant flooring

House Repair Talk

Help Support House Repair Talk:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

hairball

Member
Joined
Dec 27, 2011
Messages
8
Reaction score
0
Hi, all

This is my maiden post on a question that I've been pondering for a while. I own a duplex in Atlanta, Ga and I live in the lower apartment.

The house is at the lowest part of the street and, although I've not experienced in my 2 months living there, I'm told that the lower apartment has flooded during heavy storms.

The rain runs down the driveway and comes in under the entrance door.

Therefore, my thinking is that I don't want to put an expensive wood floor down lest it be damaged by water.

I've considered other flooring that might work, but I wonder if you have any other ideas of a nice floor that would withstand a little water creeping in.

I have thought about poured, tinted concrete, but I've been quoted 4.50+ per sq/ft which is too much. It's also cold

Laminate - possibility, but can be a little unattractive. Does it withstand a little damp?

Wood - water-damageable

Tile - cold

Carpet - nasty when it gets damp. The place was full of it, but i had to pull it out as it was moldy.

If anyone has any other ideas it'd be great to hear them. Thanks in advance


Steve
 
I'd be spending my time and money on preventing the water from going in, not what to do once it does.
French Drain, regrading, curb at the driveway ect.
 
I'd be spending my time and money on preventing the water from going in, not what to do once it does.
French Drain, regrading, curb at the driveway ect.

I agree. I also plan for prevention, but if my defenses fail, I don't want to have to replace the floor.
 
We use the dense foam "puzzle" mats in our basement, which has occasional water problems due to the neighbors bad gutters. The mats are comfortable to walk on and can be pulled up and cleaned as needed. You are pretty much stuck with either plain black or pre-school brights, but at least you only need to pull up the part that gets wet. They dry quickly and can be bleached if you get mold.And they help block the cold that comes up from the concrete slab.
 
Konecto has a history of many problems and poor customer service. Most of the failures have been when used on concrete.
 
FiveashRenovations31525 said:
I would go with a vinyl they call loose lay because you don't glue it down it just lays in place so if you had a flood you could pull it up dry the area and roll it back out. It is thicker than your normal vinyl so it lays down really well. They sell it at home depot and lowes.

Flooring « Fiveash Renovations Home Improvement Knowledge

I don't think vinyl would be a good option, once the underneath of the vinyl gets wet it won't ever be the same. Also your base trim is to go on top having to take that off all the time.
 
IVC vinyls are waterproof and they are loose lay.
 
samfloor said:
IVC vinyls are waterproof and they are loose lay.

Of course the top of any vinyl is waterproof, I still wouldn't recommend it.
 
Of course the top of any vinyl is waterproof, I still wouldn't recommend it.

They are solid vinyl. It can be installed, rolled up, and when the floor is dry, rolled back out.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
I know exactly what your talking about.
I think Joe has it right unless you make the part of the house were the water gets in a complete wet bed there isn't much that can be done.
 
Last edited:
Back
Top