Cushiony flooring for a basement which may have seepage?

[Renrel]

Hey there, we are just in the process of making an offer, so this is definately jumping the gun, but I can't help dreaming abit about the options for the home if we get it.

There is a family room in the basement of this home. It is a nice sized room, with a fireplace small wet bar, pine paneling and tile floor. I would like to use this room as a playroom for several years. My first choice for a playroom floor would be carpeting with a very thick padding under it, plus if possible a small part of the room uncarpeted for things like playdough, painting and such, but we can do that in other rooms if necessary, and DS is in full time preschool, so he gets to be messy elsewhere as well. My concern however is that this home has three sump pumps which I think means there has been some flooding in the past, which may be why the family room is tile. Any suggestions on the best way to provide a cushiony flooring for a preschool and hopefully at some point toddler playspace given the possiblity of water sepage. I would like DS to be able to run around, tumble and maybe even have a jumping toy or door way swing inside but I don't think that will be safe on this hard tile which is probably over cement. Right now we are in an apartment with a wooden floor and we have those alphabet pad over it. They work well, but dirt and crumbs and such always work their way down under and I hate pulling them up to vacume underneath. I also am not sure that over hard tile and cement they provide enough cushioning.

[MrsBeckyLP]

The first thing that came to my mind was cork flooring. Check it out. I've walked on it and it is rather cushiony.

Make sure you ask about the flooding. The legally have to disclose it and it should be in their real estate condition report. Don't be afraid to tell them you noticed there are three sump pumps and tile in the basement family room, and it sends up a red flag.

[MrsDroege]

There are also plasticy-cushiony puzzle like tiles (2'x2') (similar to this: http://www.allmats.com/site/439205/page/287215) at places like target and costco. You could get a few packs of these and just lay over the tile... they arent too expensive... I put it down in our entire laundry room 8x10 for under $50.

[boilermaker]

I agree with the tiles the pp posted.

However, I can also tell you that our basement has 3 sump pumps and has never flooded. We just need that many to move the water out from under the foundation and keep it from flooding. So don't necessarily make that assumption that your basement will flood. Having more pumps may actually mean the owners built it correctly and took into account the water they have to move. We would also never put "real" flooring in our basement as the layout just doesn't justify the cost. Just something to think about...

[KiKi'sMommy]

You could do a combination of the carpet squares and the foamy tiles. We use the foam tiles in our playroom, which has tile floors and it wasn't super soft, but at least a little better than the concrete/tile. You could also do two layers of those foam tiles if you are concerned.

[Renrel]

Thanks for the suggestions.

boilermaker - Thanks for the info. I really know nothing about this stuff. Apparently when asked the owners or realter stated there was flooding once 10 years ago and that was the reason for putting in the sump pumps. I don't know how much faith to put into the statement. There is a big easement though the yard for a town drainage pipe and I don't know what that says in terms of moisture in the land, flooding issues ect. I don't necessarily want to put any big bucks flooring down in the basement but I would like something that makes the room feel warm, cosy and safe or a bit of rough and tumble play given that I have a son who is very active. Inexpensive burber or something like that, but I worry about having to tear it up every few years due to moister causing mold issues. There was no sign of any moisture when we viewed the house and I did not notice any waterstains but who knows when the paneling was put up. The room did have a lived in look to it though and there was no wet smell about.

MrsDroege - thanks for the link. I would like to avoid the mat thing though if I can. I hate how dirt still gets down underneith them. But that maybe what we end up with. Maybe with a big rug over it this time.

futuremrslp - I know nothing about cork but it gives me another thing to research and google for idea, thanks.

[southerner]

futuremrslp - I know nothing about cork but it gives me another thing to research and google for idea, thanks.
If it does flood down there, you don't want to put cork down. FWIW, I would classify cork as "big bucks flooring."

[mamax2]

Yeah, cork is cool, but definitely $$$. I think you should have a good home inspector investigate the situation and possibly run a check to see if there are any insurance claims filed against the property for flood damage. If everything looks clear, you shouldn't have a problem w/traditional carpet, if that's what you choose.

[boilermaker]

Another thing, if *** do have a "wet" property, *** might want to consider adding water flooding coverage to your **** insurance. ** doesn't cover a major flood (like if a river flooded and covered your ****) but ** does cover any damage from an overflowing sump pump. We have a $10k rider on our insurance for this. I think ** added about $50 to our total annual insurance cost. Also, *** should make sure that at least one of the pumps has a battery back-up on **. That way if *** lose power, ***'re not down there with buckets trying to keep your basement dry.

If the pumps *** doing their jobs right, *** should be fine with carpet if that ** what *** want to do.