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I have a tv room that's carpet on top of a concrete slab. The carpet needs to go!

This slab itself is an 8" step up from my entryway (not counting the existing carpet), which limits how thick of a floor I can put down without creating a tripping hazard. Because it's a concrete slab, anything I put down will need to include either a moisture barrier or tolerant of what little moisture floats up through any concrete slab.

I'm considering my options, but I'm out of the loop on new flooring options from this century. Let me know your thoughts and what I'm missing:

Carpet: Tearing carpet out of the rest of my house has done wonders for my allergies. I'm not putting in new carpet.

Tile: Looks nice, I can lay it myself, no need for moisture barrier, less of a step than the existing carpet. I'm concerned it'd be chilly in winter and make the tv echo, but maybe that's not a big deal when it's just a tile floor and the walls are drywalled.

Hardwood: Most of the house is hardwood on top a normal subfloor over a basement, but my gut check is that moisture barrier + plywood + hardwood is going to create a heck of a step up into the room.

*Engineered Wood: I've never worked with this. Isn't this just poor man's hardwood with the same need for moisture barriers and a plywood subfloor?

Laminate: Isn't this just even cheaper Engineered Wood with plastic on top?

Linoleum: Unless you routinely dismember guests while watching a movie, nobody needs linoleum in their tv room.

LVT: I've never worked with this stuff before. How does it hold up to moving furniture around/dog claws/etc?

I have a tv room that's carpet on top of a concrete slab. The carpet needs to go! This slab itself is an 8" step up from my entryway (not counting the existing carpet), which limits how thick of a floor I can put down without creating a tripping hazard. Because it's a concrete slab, anything I put down will need to include either a moisture barrier or tolerant of what little moisture floats up through any concrete slab. I'm considering my options, but I'm out of the loop on new flooring options from this century. Let me know your thoughts and what I'm missing: **Carpet**: Tearing carpet out of the rest of my house has done wonders for my allergies. I'm not putting in new carpet. **Tile**: Looks nice, I can lay it myself, no need for moisture barrier, less of a step than the existing carpet. I'm concerned it'd be chilly in winter and make the tv echo, but maybe that's not a big deal when it's just a tile floor and the walls are drywalled. **Hardwood**: Most of the house is hardwood on top a normal subfloor over a basement, but my gut check is that moisture barrier + plywood + hardwood is going to create a heck of a step up into the room. **Engineered Wood*: I've never worked with this. Isn't this just poor man's hardwood with the same need for moisture barriers and a plywood subfloor? **Laminate**: Isn't this just even cheaper Engineered Wood with plastic on top? **Linoleum**: Unless you routinely dismember guests while watching a movie, nobody needs linoleum in their tv room. **LVT**: I've never worked with this stuff before. How does it hold up to moving furniture around/dog claws/etc?

(post is archived)

[–] [deleted] 2 pts

Go to every flooring store and say you are just looking until you find a big brested blonde sales woman. Then act like you don't even know what a floor is and have her explain everything to you. You probably won't remember anything but it will much less boring than a man.

[–] 0 pt

When it comes to remodeling, I want advice from old, curmudgeonly men who look like they spent 30 years hammering nails with their bare fists. Those are the ones who know what they're doing rather than some bimbo who barely knows what a hammer is.