Best flooring for damp basement floor

Hi,

I have an older home with stone walls and the concrete floor can be a bit damp in the spring and at times. I run a dehumidifier and the walls are insulated and drywalled. And the floor was carpeted but was a little musty so I removed it. I would ideally like to install linoleum and put an area rug on top of that. Would this be a good idea? Should i put anything between the floor and the linoleum? I was thinking of a sub floor but do not want to lose any height as I am 6'4" and I am almost hitting the main wood beams down there as it is.

Thanks for your ideas

 

Linoleum would be the worst thing you could put down because it does not breath. If the carpet did not work Id say your options are very limited to the built up floor.

 

I have to agree here. If you have existing moisture problems, sheet vinyl is not a good choice for the reason already pointed out. I'm not even all that sure a built up floor will solve it alone. Getting the moisture under control would seem to me to be a better way to spend your money and efforts at this point, then worry about what to cover the floor with. That should only be a consideration after the moisture is addressed.

 

Thanks guys,

The problem is that this house was built in 1880 and the nature of the stone walls and floor is that there will be dampness at times. I am thinking that ceramic tile with a small area rug would be better for this... the previous owner had carpetting and I think it was a bit musty more from the small dogs they had...

 

I agree that ceramic tile will probably be a better choice. You will still have to address potential moisture problems, but that can be done with a membrane, such as Ditra.