Who has a tile floor in their game room?

OldTymeToys

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We had a small plumbing problem in our downstairs basement/game room a week ago. Nothing too major- no damage to anything but the carpet. Luckily, the previous owners didn't cap the drain under the carpet and most of the water found its way down the drain.

So, as wifey and I were looking into our best flooring options, we started to think down the road and all the "what if's" that could happen down there. We both think tile is the best solution. The finished "game room" area is only 11' x 12' with a laundry room (half again bigger- stupid builders!) off of it separated by a door. The laundry room floor is cement, for good reason.

We could spend approx. $400 on new carpet or around $1200 on tile. Surprisingly, the cost isn't an issue with wifey. Her only concern was how loud the room would be when my games are on, or the kids are down there watching TV, etc.

So, who's got tile floor in their game room? Do you like it? Do you hate it? Give me the skinny...
 
We're planning on doing tile-ish laminate flooring in our game-room. We're still a couple months away from that though -- we have yet to get the walls up!

I'll be interested in hearing from others who do have non-carpet.

Chad
 
I went with the trafficmaster brand from Home Depot and have been happy so far, and I have had a little water come into the basement since I put it down. They have a ton of styles to choose from.

http://www.homedepot.com/Flooring-V...splay?langId=-1&storeId=10051&catalogId=10053

Easy, no glue installation
100% waterproof
Use almost anywhere in your home or business
Floating floor installs over most existing surfaces
No underlayment, expansion joints or heavy tools required
Luxurious embossing and natural look of wood plank flooring
Quiet underfoot
Commercial grade wear layer
Lifetime residential, 10 year commercial warranty

5841249138_d46fbb97d2_z.jpg
 
I went with the trafficmaster brand from Home Depot and have been happy so far, and I have had a little water come into the basement since I put it down. They have a ton of styles to choose from.

That looks great! The only issue with that for my space is that I want to leave the drain accessible...
 
If I had a basement here in NC, I would skip the carpeting/tile floor altogether and go with stained concrete.

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I always liked the black & white checkered tile floors. However, my gameroom is half of my living room so it's carpeted which renders my opinion null & void.
 
Are you thinking ceramic tile, or vinyl tile?

Actually, porcelain tile since it's more durable than ceramic and a lot less expensive than natural stone. This is the one we like from Lowe's:

730575988723xl.jpg


I can take a pic of my drain to show you what it looks like, I just cut a hole and added a chrome drain cover so you can still get to it.

Don't go out of your way, but I would like to see how it turned out.
 
I'm actually considering these options right now as we speak.

My gameroom is on the basement level, and in the southwest corner of my gameroom, there has been moisture in the past - I'm pretty sure it's been because my gutters on that corner of the house were blocked and water was running down the side of the house during spring thaw. Regardless, I'm a bit cautious about what I put down because I don't want the floor ruined. I do not have a drain in this room of the basement - there is one next door in the workshop / furnace room, though.

I considered black and white checked vinyl tile. But then I stumbled across someone who was looking to barter epoxy floors for some equipment that I have. So we've been talking. He's sort of turning me on to an epoxy floor coating with a medium broadcast of UV reflective chips. It would look like a normal floor color under typical lighting conditions, but dim down the lights and turn on the black lights and.....well you get the idea :)
 
We looked at a tile or floating floor option, but I was to worked about scratching the floor every time we moved a cab, so we played it safe with carpet.
 
Actually, porcelain tile since it's more durable than ceramic and a lot less expensive than natural stone. This is the one we like from Lowe's:

730575988723xl.jpg

We did something similar in our former house (basement TV room) and it definitely was noisier than carpet. This was exacerbated by the fact our furnace/hot water closet was adjacent to it, so when the furnace kicked on, you had to turn up the TV a few notches.

It also made for a refreshingly cool floor in the Summer and a downright chilly floor in the Winter.

But, it's definitely more moisture-resistant than carpet...
 
I have 12x12 tile and love it. Games slide nicely with those nylon furntiture sliders under the levelers. Easy to sweep and mop, etc.

EDIT: It is noisy with pins going because there is not carpet to soften the echoes/vibrations. I plan to add some rugs to help down the road.
 
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I've got stained concrete floors in my bar and entry way downstairs. As long as your concrete isn't burnished overly smooth, and the muratic acid can do it's job, you'll be alright. Most of the WOW! factor comes from your choice of sealer. High gloss gets you the look you see in that picture. Be forewarned that if you used a water based sealer ( I did) you WILL have it peeling up in spots as it doesn't adhere to the stained concrete as well as an oil-based one would. It also stays slightly milky. Great in Fritz's line of work, not great if you want your new stained concrete floor to pop.
 
I went with the trafficmaster brand from Home Depot and have been happy so far, and I have had a little water come into the basement since I put it down. They have a ton of styles to choose from.

http://www.homedepot.com/Flooring-V...splay?langId=-1&storeId=10051&catalogId=10053

Easy, no glue installation
100% waterproof
Use almost anywhere in your home or business
Floating floor installs over most existing surfaces
No underlayment, expansion joints or heavy tools required
Luxurious embossing and natural look of wood plank flooring
Quiet underfoot
Commercial grade wear layer
Lifetime residential, 10 year commercial warranty

5841249138_d46fbb97d2_z.jpg

man that looks awesome. easy to install huh?
 
I went with the trafficmaster brand from Home Depot and have been happy so far, and I have had a little water come into the basement since I put it down. They have a ton of styles to choose from.

http://www.homedepot.com/Flooring-V...splay?langId=-1&storeId=10051&catalogId=10053

Easy, no glue installation
100% waterproof
Use almost anywhere in your home or business
Floating floor installs over most existing surfaces
No underlayment, expansion joints or heavy tools required
Luxurious embossing and natural look of wood plank flooring
Quiet underfoot
Commercial grade wear layer
Lifetime residential, 10 year commercial warranty

5841249138_d46fbb97d2_z.jpg

Is that peel and stick vinyl planks? I would think water/leaks would weaken the adhesive. Looks good though, especially since actual hardwood wouldn't be anywhere near practical for that application.
 
My grandfather is an art collector and his basment was just renovated into his "gallery". Anyway, he did the polished and stained concrete. It looks really nice but they have to come out and check that your existing concrete is still strong enough and whatever to take the treatment. Imo using some extra fancy looking high end tile just wouldnt look right in anarcade ya know?
 
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