Gameroom flooring

[spiroagnew]

We've just moved into our new place, and we are now working on getting the basement gameroom completed. Projected completion is early February 2014. There will be a walk-in shoe closet down there too...that's the only way I was able to put a rush on getting the space built!

Wondering if there are any suggestions for flooring. It will be a living space with one or two couches and a television too. May go for an overall "industrial" style, but nothing is set in stone. There will be a subfloor on the concrete. All carpet with no underpad? Carpet throughout with a patch of hardwood/laminate along the wall where the pins will sit? Another type of flooring solution?

Would love to hear opinions, suggestions and any past experiences...links for products and photos welcome, too!

I'll search the forum for any mention of flooring, but I wanted to start a thread to put it all in one place. Thanks in advance!

 

[WARLOCK]

Rob,

All the best with this.

So, I ask you this one question.
For your gameroom portion only, what do YOU want to stand on to play pins?

That's it.

Scott

 

[Luckydogg420]

You could follow Eric and tile the floor with game tokens, it looks great, although it might be a bit much for a large room.

 

[spiroagnew]

So, I ask you this one question.
For your gameroom portion only, what do YOU want to stand on to play pins?

I could care less really. Functionality over anything else. Whatever is best for the pins. Laminate/hardwood has always been pooh-poohed, because they get scratched easily. Would these "sliders" that everyone talks of eliminate that? I like the idea of carpet, for comfort, but with no underpad, there may not be any comfort left.

Hopefully Drano can chime in and give a review on how his flooring choice worked out and how it has stood up against shuffling around of pins.

 

[spiroagnew]

You could follow Eric and tile the floor with game tokens, it looks great, although it might be a bit much for a large room.

Form over function...while unique, that's not the direction I'd want to go in. I'll stick with more traditional flooring methods. Plus it would clash with my beer cap coffee and end tables...300 different beer caps in the mosaics so far and I've drank every one!

 

[stiffler4444]

The living room half of my basement is Platon/OSB subfloor, underpad and carpet. The bar area is the subfloor with 3/4" oak on it. I plan to do the game room in the same oak, as it is my preference. a mix of hardwood and carpet always looks nice......

 

[spiroagnew]

a mix of hardwood and carpet always looks nice......

Setup, breakdown and nudging of games cause too much wear and tear on nice hardwood though?

 

[thewebexpert]

just use the rubber feet, we used Allure Vinyl planking, it is 100% water proof, click flooring with no glue. it was easy to install, can go right on concrete without underlay ... anyhow, we have had it since Feb, and it has been perfect, no scuffs, and it is perfect for the kids to play lego, run on, hold a pool table, whatever. They come in 6 foot sheets, I used a chop saw to cut the ends, and a table saw for the length pieces, and quite frankly, it was very easy for a geek to install.

Derek

 

[stiffler4444]

a mix of hardwood and carpet always looks nice......

Setup, breakdown and nudging of games cause too much wear and tear on nice hardwood though?

I use the metal cup feet with the carpet on the bottom. No problems. For set up and breakdown, I just move the machine to carpet, or you could use a moving blanket.

 

[Chris Bardon]

I did my whole basement with carpet/underpad straight on the concrete (so no extra subfloor) and it's great. Much better to stand on than bare concrete, games don't shift under normal play, and the floor isn't cold. Only problem is that it's a little harder to move games around than on concrete/tile, but I do that so infrequently that it's really not much of an issue. When I do have to move something, the lifter I bought works great.

 

[brad808]

and it is perfect for the kids to play lego

I cringe thinking about walking anywhere that kids are playing with Lego.

Sent from my Nexus 4

 

[mwong168]

Would these "sliders" that everyone talks of eliminate that? I like the idea of carpet, for comfort, but with no underpad, there may not be any comfort left.

Are you going after a particular look or atmosphere in your game room? I really like this type of carpet lit up with black light and mrxsiv has this in his room which looks nice.

I just recently installed the Marco EZ glide one on all my games recently and they don't scratch up the floors at all. You could also install felt pads under your existing leg levelers but for the price Marco charges $4.95/set it is not much more then regular ones if yours need to be replaced anyways. Think of it as a one time investment you can easily remove and transfer to your new game as long as you keep your original levelers.

http://www.marcospecialties.com/pinball-parts/LL25-EZG

Another alternative are these Pin Footies made by Bryan Kelly which probably work better on carpet.

http://www.pinballlife.com/index.php?p=product&id=2110

If you have blown your renovation budge you could go this route :lol:

 

[Menace]

One thing to think about with any hard surface flooring when discussing pins is the noise factor. I had a number of my games on the main floor of my house which is a 50/50 mix of hardwood and tile, and OMG the noise was pretty intense because it just refracts off everything.

That said I do love hardwood but I'm finding it gets tiring when playing pins for any length of time. (maybe it's just because I'm getting old :FP: ) Nothing that pin mats in front of the game couldn't correct I'm sure, but that doesn't do anything for the noise. As others have mentioned you can get many different things to protect a hardwood finish, so that's not an issue.

If you're doing carpet, I would highly recommend an underlay again for the comfort factor.

My $0.02.

D

 

[spiroagnew]

I'm going with a subfloor regardless. Had one in the last place, provided the give and comfort I was looking for...I hate the "slap" of feet on concrete (even when the concrete is carpeted). High ceilings in the basement, so we can spare the subfloor height. As mentioned above, I too like the look of two types of flooring juxtaposed...but I'm not sure hardwood will give the right look. Maybe I'll look into commercial vinyl tiling. Ultimately, I don't want to lay two types of flooring down, one specifically for the pins, and then have the pins quickly outgrow the specifically floored area.

I don't want this to descend into "Spiroagnew's Basement Reno Thread", but attached is a rough floor plan. Maybe flooring suggestions would help by seeing it. Undecided where to line the pins as there are lots of factors (a damned treadmill, potential play area for the kiddo, couch placement etc.). I will either line them on the wall beside the shoe closet or the longer far left wall. I'm at five pins now, with an eye to max out at eight when my wantlist is filled...but we all know how our projections are ultimately ignored...maybe I should go with the longer wall...haha.

 

[Menace]

I would take the longest wall on the left side of that pic for pins. The rest of the stuff can go wherever.

D

 

[mwong168]

I agree with you wanting to use the same flooring throughout to keep things simple. Personally I would move the shoe closet to the far right as that area is sort of small and awkward shape to turn into any sort of usable space except for storage. Then you have a more "square" area to work with on the far left side and can place your pins along the top wall since the far left wall has that notch for open shelving. 25' will also allow you up to 10 or 11 pins depending on how much gap you leave between each game. What do you plan to do with the unfinished work area? Additional storage? Perhaps you can shave a few feet from there to make the main area slightly bigger?

 

[TwilightZone]

I did my whole basement with carpet/underpad straight on the concrete (so no extra subfloor) and it's great. Much better to stand on than bare concrete, games don't shift under normal play, and the floor isn't cold. Only problem is that it's a little harder to move games around than on concrete/tile, but I do that so infrequently that it's really not much of an issue. When I do have to move something, the lifter I bought works great.

Exactly what he said. Make sure you have a nice underpad. In my last house, we installed the carpet and underpad. I selected a decent underpad and it was awesome. In my current house, we haven't replaced the carpet in the basement. Currently it is carpet directly on concrete and I notice it. I miss the underpad. A good carpet with nice underpad is really nice.

I'd suggest a tough berber carpet. We installed an industrial grade in my old house. It was inexpensive and looked great. Held up very, very well to pins. An industrial carpet is generally thinner and tougher than a household grade carpet, so I recommend a thicker underpad.

Cheers,
Duane

 

[DRANO]

I'm perfectly happy with the plastic tile and vinyl "wood" floorign I put down Rob, but I think I would go with carpet for pure comfort.
My floor is very hard wearing and it works equally well in the gameroom and adjoining laundry... but your mileage may vary. I also have the teflon gliders and they are great on any surface, including carpet.

Underpad on concrete and then carpet is perfectly acceptable, assuming you have a dry basement and even floors.
Adding thin sheets of tongue+groove plywood subflooring only adds about a 1/2" anyway...so that's your call. But, it will provide some added comfort and insulation.

 

[spiroagnew]

I agree with you wanting to use the same flooring throughout to keep things simple. Personally I would move the shoe closet to the far right as that area is sort of small and awkward shape to turn into any sort of usable space except for storage.

Problem is that the basement is a mess of support poles and stacks...the curse of the main floor open concept home. The shoe closet and work area are arranged in such a way that it will hide four of these nuisances. There are still two near the middle of the room that will need to be framed in. Originally had the shoe closet beside the work area...but that left supports out in the breeze in awkward places.

What do you plan to do with the unfinished work area? Additional storage? Perhaps you can shave a few feet from there to make the main area slightly bigger?

Again, supports are hidden in the wall for that work area. I plan for a work bench, toolbox, storage and whatnot. Enough room to set up a rotisserie, if space permits.

 

[Luckydogg420]

I've used this vinyl floor. Looks good for the price. It's fairly durable. Simple to install, just need an exacto knife and a square. It's floating so you can put it down with very little prep work.

http://www.homedepot.ca/product/traffic ... -ft/937034

The same product comes in "tile" also.