Luxury vinyl flooring warped in wet basement

[Healthie]

I installed luxury vinyl flooring in my basement ($2700) and my basement has a foundation leak, which has caused the planks to lift. In addition I did not use self-levelling cement, just regular stuff and did the best I could to level it. I will have to remove all the flooring and pour set-leveller once the foundation is fixed this summer.

Should I try and reuse the vinyl planks? This will require cleaning the old glue (which didn’t set ) and dust and other crap off them. Is there a better solution for basements? It sucks im out so much money.

[Frankies Girl]

Do you have homeowner's insurance? I'd likely see what the costs are for turning in a claim since the floor was ruined by a foundation leak that also should be covered by insurance and may cover the costs of repairing the leak and mitigating all the damages (demoing/installation/materials).

I'm out of touch with what would be a good idea for decent flooring in a basement. Every one I've seen that was finished out as living areas had either the really low pile wall to wall carpeting or easy to replace carpet tiles.

So sorry you're dealing with this kind of mess. :(

[Sibley]

My approach to basements is assume it'll get wet at some point and operate accordingly. Especially if you know it does get wet. So don't use flooring that is going to be ruined by water. I didn't know vinyl was susceptible, but guess I was wrong.

As for the leak - standard approach is to make sure your gutters are clean and functional, downspouts are draining far enough away from the house, and grading is appropriate so that water flows away from the house. If you have a sump pump, make sure it's operating properly. If that doesn't fix things, then it starts getting very expensive.

[kanga1622]

We had vinyl planks in our basement that we ripped up FAST when we found a water leak. We had to add some drainage routing to our existing drainage system so we think we have a permanent fix. For the last two years we've used indoor/outdoor rugs for the living spaces in the basement. They are meant to be outside through rain so will dry out if we ever get water again. We found sizes that were close enough that it it leaves about an inch or so around the perimeter but otherwise functions like wall to wall carpeting.

The only issue we can't figure out is what to do in the bathroom. Plain concrete isn't enough but I'm thinking the fumes from a coated flooring like people use in a garage would be too much for me.

[YttriumNitrate]

My old house had issues with a leaky foundation that messed up the basement rugs. While fixing the drainage issues helped, replacing the rug with tile lessens the damage when it eventually leaks again. Putting in tile yourself is kind of fun (and crazy cheap too).

https://www.menards.com/main/flooring-rugs/tile-stone/ceramic-tile/mono-serra-marmo-12-x-12-ceramic-floor-and-wall-tile/se-121205/p-1559197982684-c-6547.htm

[Papa bear]

These were glue down lvt?  I have glue down LVT that got wet in a basement - storm water backed up into the basement floor drain. I got everything dry with a shop vac, dehumidifier, and fans and will be re-gluing some sections in a few days. Everything laid back down fine for the past month or so and the tenants have had no complaints with smells. Should be good to go.


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[Just Joe]

Our house has a ceramic tile floor in the basement in case of a leak.

[malacca]

Are you sure they are LVT?

To test some before buying I put some in a tub of water for 2 weeks. They were fine. They are basically plastic.

Some LVT these days have a different backing - more like Laminate.

[Papa bear]

These were glue down lvt?  I have glue down LVT that got wet in a basement - storm water backed up into the basement floor drain. I got everything dry with a shop vac, dehumidifier, and fans and will be re-gluing some sections in a few days. Everything laid back down fine for the past month or so and the tenants have had no complaints with smells. Should be good to go.


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No need to glue. Everything is down, flat looks great, no movement. 

This was just the vinyl top.  I do not have an underlayment or a built in underlayment with these.


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