LESLIE: Annie in Kansas needs some help with a basement flooring project. Tell us what you’re working on.
ANNIE: We are refinishing our basement and currently it has a cement floor and we have three boys that love to tackle each other.
LESLIE: (chuckling) Mm-hmm. OK. (Tom chuckles)
ANNIE: So we saw something about the – on The Today Show about a rubber floor. And they look like cement or they look like tiles going in, so I didn’t – we have no idea what they were talking about.
TOM: (overlapping voices) Yeah.
LESLIE: Well, there are actually a lot of different rubber tile options, which are fantastic for basements, obviously, because they don’t grow mold or mildew, they’re great for damp environments, and you said that you have a concrete floor down there, which – you know, regardless of how well you dehumidify and control all the moisture outside with your foundation and perimeter, you’re still going to get some water seeping up through – even if it’s minimal, you’ll still get some moisture that comes up, just from the hydroscopic nature of concrete.
Now, your options for the rubber tiles – there are 5/8-inch ones that you see, almost in like playrooms, that are sort of rainbow color and look like puzzle pieces. There are ones that look like – even foam ones that look like wood grain. There are some that are home and sport, which are really thick and they’re used for martial arts and they have a lot more cushioning to them.
There’s a good website – let me send you to. It’s GreatMats.com. And if you go to their basement flooring section, you’ll find a ton of different rubber options that are available. And the one – I believe it’s called Home Sports and Play or something like that, which would be great for your tackling munchkins.
ANNIE: Yes. And do they also have ones that look like tile? That actually look like ceramic tiles?
LESLIE: Hmm. There’s one, I think, on their site that – I think it’s called Tile Flex. And those kind of look like ceramic tiles. I think they even have like a built-in grout line, if you will, that sort of looks like that. The Home and Sport one is kind of mildly fuzzy. Then there are some with textures. There are a lot of good choices; it’s worth checking out.
ANNIE: OK. And can we install these ourselves?
LESLIE: Oh, absolutely.
TOM: Absolutely. Mm-hmm.
ANNIE: Good. OK. Well, thank you. That answers my question.
TOM: You’re very welcome. Thanks so much for calling us at 1-888-MONEY-PIT.
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