Ceramic tile in lower level family room help needed

I am planning ceramic tile in family room ,home theater, man cave . It is basement or lower level. We have Berber carpet there now. Visiting dogs sometimes piss on it and once in a blue moon water comes in from storms. I want to do it myself. Wife says too cold in winter? Anyone here can help me? Anyone with tile floor in basement in northern climates? Can you tell me how cold the tile gets? Thanks for any and all help. Peace. D

 

Maybe look into putting a heating element under the tile.

 

I love ceramic tiles. it might get cold a bit but so much easier to clean.

 

No tile, but some cement area in my basement man cave, gets pretty cold in winter. It's smooth so got a layer of paint or something on it. If when the rooms are warm, the floors are cold. Usually just were slippers or flip flops.

 

Let me save you thousands bud. Go with vinyl locking plank floor. Some look like tile and others look like wood floor planks. Flooding/dogs piss will not ruin the material. Does not get as ‘cold’ as traditional ceramic or porcelain tile. Hoping for check in mail.

 

This. I installed it in my house and comes with a lifetime warranty if you get a good brand

 

I tiled my kitchen and dining room myself with the help of my wife. Not a bad job we had cabinets and everything removed. I recommend using Ditra as an underlayment.

 

Definitely look into some of the floating click lock (pergo for example) flooring also.
Installation is leaps and bounds easier that tile. Prices are fair too. Tile prices can be just about any amount imaginable.

A lot of the laminate (floating floor, click lock, pergo) requires only the flooring planks, a basic underlayment, and quarter round.

And if you are really into your theater sound system the laminate isn't as reflective as tile. Just throw a rug down at about the middle area of where you are seated and the left and right channels are and you will not have to deal with those reflective sounds.

Though, if you prefer tile over laminate, I understand. Tile can be really nice and look amazing. It also is one of those things that some people can do a great job on their first time, but for most others its an overwhelming task.

I install both on a regular basis and like both, but I'm more a fan of the styles that laminate offers over tile. And the ease of installation actually makes it a job I kinda enjoy.

Oh, and the stained concrete suggestion is a really good one. I've been pretty happy with the end results. Enough so that I did my living room/kitchen with stain in my old house. Pretty fun actually. You can be as creative as you want and not have to lift a single box of flooring. I still like laminate over all tbough.

 

Thanks for all the help. Might use the tile I already bought to redo kitchen and bathroom. Laminate ,vinyl locking will probly be what I look into next. That stained concrete looks amazing. Peace. D

 

That stained concrete looks amazing. I bet its pretty cheap to do as well, not a lot of labor.

As somebody else said though, hard surfaces can wreak havoc on your home theatre sound. Kind of depends on how picky you are, but if its a dedicated room that's closed off by itself, I'd still keep the carpet IMO.