Engineered wood floors are very easy to install especially if they are a glueless installation. Most engineered wood will work well in a basement. We prefer them to ceramic tile. The glueless variety are especially easy to install as shown below.

Take a look at the this short video of a glueless installation of an engineered wood floor if you are thinking of doing this yourself.

Many people think of basements as cold and dingy places that are not comfortable. That doesn't have to be. The flooring that you choose can make a big difference. In our basement renovation in Washington DC, we had finished all of the other work to convert our semi-finished space into a basement kitchen, nice bedroom and medial room.

Flooring should be the one of the last things you do. You don't want trades people messing up your floor, no matter what you choose. So, get the recessed lighting done, hang the doors, install any telephone and cable connections. Then paint it before turning your attention to the flooring.

We had explored a number of different possibilities.

a) ceramic tile we used in the hallway,

b) carpeting was another

c) wooden floor,

d) vinyl flooring (sheet or tile)

With the exception of the wooden floors, we didn't like any of the others. None seemed to give us the “warmth” that we wanted to impart.

We really wanted wood, but the costs of the materials and installation – even the engineered kind was really more than we wanted to spend.

What we selected
Then one day we ran across engineered wood floor at Costco. It really looked very much like the expensive hardwood floors that we had refinished on our main floor. It came on a natural oak finish, but maple, bamboo and other darker stains were available. The installation instructions did not require glue either, which was a major factor in deciding to install it ourselves



We bought enough for both rooms which were 24 feet x 16 feet and 13 feet x 16 feet, respectively, (including the closets, of course). Then we had to purchase installation kits that were also for sale. The installation kits also included the padding and other materials. Quarter round molding had to be purchased from the Home Depot. You can also find it at Lowes. It comes in MDF which was fine for our purposes

Tips on installing the floor
You'll need a table saw to cut wood and an assistant to do the job. It took about 18 hours to complete both of our rooms including installing two thresholds,

1. Allow the floor to float since wood expands and contracts with temperature. You do this by not attaching the floor pieces next to the wall. Leave about 1/8-1/4 inches and you will be fine. Check the instructions to make sure for your particular installation. The quarter round molding that you will install later, will cover the space up,
2. We first laid out the slightly spongy plastic underlayment around the entire room. This meant a bit of cutting, as well as taping, but was not too difficult at all,
3. Starting on the left side of the room we started laying the floor by interlocking the four-foot long pieces side-to-side to form the first row. After three pieces were interlocked a full piece would not fit. Using a chop saw with a fine saw blade for composite we cut the piece so that the cut end would be closest to the wall (and therefore covered up by the half round molding),
4. We started the next row of pieces by cutting a piece in half and laying the floor from right to left. The length of the piece was chose so that the cut we made in the last piece of the first row would be at least a foot left or right of the new cut. We again finished the second row on the left side of the room with a less-than-whole piece (again ensuring that the cut would be next to the wall and hidden by the molding,
5. We went back and forth over and over again until we reached the door. At that point we faced our biggest challenge. The width of the board was greater than the space it needed to fill. Unlike the other cuts that had shortened each board, this cut needed to make the board thinner,
6. Also, we had to make sure that this final board would fit neatly under the door’s threshold for a clean look and leave nothing protruding over which people could trip. Our first attempt was less than satisfying, but with a greater level of care, the second attempt fit just right, and
7. The final step was to put down the molding – a relatively easy process since it is merely glued to the wall (not to the floor). As we mentioned earlier, this allows the floor to float a bit and prevents cracking. The final result was just what we wanted – a warm look and feel.

The additional benefit is that thanks to the slightly spongy underlayment, the floor feels just a bit giving, which makes for a more pleasing sensation and not a hint of any creaking. This is certainly a flooring solution that we would consider recommending to others and using again in the future.