Basement Carpet Without Padding

[nobbyv]

We've got a finished basement that had some water last fall (2-3") and had to pull all of the old carpet and padding. Had a sump installed with some trench drains, and so far this spring all seems well. We're ready to put down some flooring again. We've decided on a Berber-style carpet, fairly cheap, and my wife is arguing that we should NOT install a carpet pad. I understand her reasoning: it costs about as much as the carpet itself ($0.67/sq ft vs $0.45 sq/ft), and if we DO ever have water problems again we'll just have to tear it all out all over again, while a carpet alone we may be able to steam clean.

However, while we haven't used this space too much before (mostly for working out/storage), we've got a son on the way in September and we like the idea of this becoming the playroom. I know carpet alone won't be as forgiving as with a pad, but will it be unbearable? Any major compromises to carpet life? We only plan on being in the house another 4-5 years, max.

I did quite a bit of searching, and all of the Indoor Air Quality engineers say go without it because it just traps moisture, but they're focused on mold/mildew prevention, not comfort. I'm really undecided here. Any thoughts?

[99blackmagic]

our basement has glued down berber and it is only a slight buffer against heat and moisture.

That said, in the places where the kids have play areas set up we have let them put rugs and carpets down as needed and it is a good compromise to doing padded wall-to-wall. If i were to pay for new, i would probably do a quality carpet tile that i can install and replace as needed, if needed. it's a lot more but you can be creative with it if you wanted and is versatile.

[nobbyv]

If i were to pay for new, i would probably do a quality carpet tile that i can install and replace as needed, if needed. it's a lot more but you can be creative with it if you wanted and is versatile.

I really like the idea of the carpet tile, but we need the stairs done too and that seems like a big pain for carpet tile. I also am a little OCD, so I wouldn't put carpet tile on the floor and then pay to have someone put regular carpet on just the stairs; it would all have to match.

[Papa Dras]

We moved into our house and they had the basement with a really high end carpet and no pad. It was terrible and it was a carpet that should have lasted 20 years and in 4 years it looked like crap because they ran it without a pad. We pulled it, put in a top quality pad and carpet and could not be happier. It is plush and the best area to hang out in.

I would work to mitigate any moisture the best that you can and then go with a pad. I would never install any carpet without one.

[GreenandChrome]

what about finding some super cheap carpet and using that as a pad, and layering the nice stuff on top? would that be an alternative?

Or maybe tile the floor, and get some huge area rugs.

carpet right on top of concrete sucks. grew up in a home that had that. the tile replacement wasn't any better.

[barry2952]

Or maybe tile the floor, and get some huge area rugs.

That's what we did in our lower level. Ceramic tile and area rugs. The ceramic easily handles flooding, as I've let my hot tub overflow a few times. If a rug gets dirty or wet you simply roll it up and have it cleaned.

[NYCgolf]

I did my basement this summer and put in a tv / play room for my baby. I putdown xps foam boards then a plywood subfloor then padding then carpet. It was more money and a pain to put down the subfloor but 100% worth it if your going to be using it with a baby.

My daughter crawls around, falls down, sits on it plays on it and it makes it 100 worth it. Concrete with with carpet and no padding will be really harsh especially for a baby.

But on the other hand if you plan on flipping it in a few years i dunno if its worth it.

[vwluger22]

Why not throw these down just incase you get a minor flooding it wont trash the carpet or padding since you already have the draining in place. As other have said do the padding just having a carpet isnt very forgiving.