New VCT Floor for basement

We are in the process of installing a new VCT floor in our basement. It has been quite an endeavor. The basement is 800 square feet so it has been a long process. The hardest part was taking up the old floor and dealing with "not the best concrete".




We are making progress though and it really brightens up the room. We went with a basic tanish tile to keep it neutral. I really wanted to go with an orange floor to do a groovey 60's theme but we thought that could be a detriment when we went to resell. Plus 800 sqaure feet of orange might have been a tad over the top.

We have had some issues with the tile edges coming up. That has been frustrating. Typically if we use the heat gun and warm the tile up and then apply pressure the edge stays down. We aren't sure if this is due to the floor, our methods or the fact that the floor is ice cold due to it being so cold out. Whatever the issue it does make the job slower and more frustrating.




I love how others do a pattern on their floor. We decided to keep it very simple and will let some rugs or furnishings add the wow factor.

As you can see in the shot below we are very close to being done with the main area. Now we have to do trim work and put the cove molding up. We are going to have a professional come in and seal and polish the floor. By doing it ourselves we saved about $1200 on installation. We also got the tile on sale for around $400 for 800 square feet. So we did pretty good. It has taken us awhile but will be worth it in the end.





We also would like to cover the cinder block around the basement fireplace. I am thinking a nice mosaic. Not sure of the colors. I think stone might be nice as well.



I can't wait for the "work" part to be done so we can decorate and enjoy. I look forward to sharing the final results!

Rebecca