Finished basement flooring renovation- from carpet to vinyl

[evident]

In the process of updating our finished basement. Currently the flooring is carpet, and we want to replace it with Vinyl floors. My question is what type of subflooring, if any, should I consider before installing the Vinyl on top of it? I would like something that will keep the area insulated well, obviously, and something that would feel nice and provide somewhat of a cushion when walking.

The vinyl flooring product we're looking at is called NuCore, which has a layer of cork built into the vinyl planks.
Has anyone had any experience with this product? Here's the propaganda video from the big box store that sells them
https://www.flooranddecor.com/learn-more/nucore-video.html and the few reviews that i read on blogs seem positive, but I feel that they may be paid advertisements.

 

[NetWareHead]

You need a vapor barrier between the bare concrete and finished floor. A buddy of mine lives in a basement apartment with wooden plank floors and you can see the warping and distortion.

 

[Humpy]

You have two separate goals that would need defining.

"Well insulated" could mean 2" of rigid foam under a floating subfloor or it could mean "not as cold feeling as bare concrete".

 

[evident]

You need a vapor barrier between the bare concrete and finished floor. A buddy of mine lives in a basement apartment with wooden plank floors and you can see the warping and distortion.

Some of the flooring places i went to (including lowes, floor and decor, avalon) have these displays w/ "good", "better", "best" underlayments, with the "best" having better soundproofing and a higher "R" value ( as proven by the display where you can throw a golf ball at all three and listening to the difference). These are also supposed to reduce the moisture from the concrete as well.

The sales associates say that all i have to do is lay it down and install the floating vinyl planks on top of it.

 

[Kaido]

I believe my current place has vinyl planks (had water damage recently from ice dams & had to have all of the flooring replaced). It's actually awesome...not real wood, but looks pretty good (high-resolution printing), has a texture to it (kind of an embossed wood grain), and is super easy to clean. Doesn't really get ice cold, either, which is nice if you walk around in bare feet. We actually just got an iRobot Braava mopping robot for it...it's basically a motorized swiffer, has a diaper type of thing on the front & squirts out in front of that for cleaning.

 

[evident]

I believe my current place has vinyl planks (had water damage recently from ice dams & had to have all of the flooring replaced). It's actually awesome...not real wood, but looks pretty good (high-resolution printing), has a texture to it (kind of an embossed wood grain), and is super easy to clean. Doesn't really get ice cold, either, which is nice if you walk around in bare feet. We actually just got an iRobot Braava mopping robot for it...it's basically a motorized swiffer, has a diaper type of thing on the front & squirts out in front of that for cleaning.

That's awesome. really looking forward to finishing up this basement project. Our goal is to turn it into the main living area, along w/ having a pool table/dart board and gym equipment. for the gym equipment area we're planning to put some padding above the vinyl in our workout area so any high impact training will be softer on my knees. Wife really just couldn't stand the green color and stained commercial carpet that came w/ the house.

I really don't want to screw up the flooring and want to make sure everything is done right with the vapor barrier, sound and heat insulation before installing the vinyl planks.

 

[paperfist]

LVT or Luxury Vinyl Tile has padding unlike its counterpart VCT.

 

[paperfist]

That's awesome. really looking forward to finishing up this basement project. Our goal is to turn it into the main living area, along w/ having a pool table/dart board and gym equipment. for the gym equipment area we're planning to put some padding above the vinyl in our workout area so any high impact training will be softer on my knees. Wife really just couldn't stand the green color and stained commercial carpet that came w/ the house.

I really don't want to screw up the flooring and want to make sure everything is done right with the vapor barrier, sound and heat insulation before installing the vinyl planks.

Be careful on what you use for padding under the exercise equipment. Typically rubber matting (if that's what you're using) will yellow the floor underneath.

 

[BarkingGhostar]

You need a vapor barrier between the bare concrete and finished floor. A buddy of mine lives in a basement apartment with wooden plank floors and you can see the warping and distortion.

You are assuming either the OP's basement, or all basements, are a conduit for moisture, which wouldn't be correct. I watched my entire subdivision get built and the entire slab pour is done over a very thick moisture barrier. The poured concrete walls are also treated to a waterproof spray-on membrane to insure moisture doesn't transit through the concrete. When i went to finish my basement I had moisture fears, even after conducting several tape plastic squares over concrete and wait to see if the concrete sweated--it never did. While i didn't finish the basement using a traditional flooring material (I stained the concrete and sealed it in acetate), there hasn't been any must, mildew or mold growth in the past eight years since completion.

 

[evident]

You are assuming either the OP's basement, or all basements, are a conduit for moisture, which wouldn't be correct. I watched my entire subdivision get built and the entire slab pour is done over a very thick moisture barrier. The poured concrete walls are also treated to a waterproof spray-on membrane to insure moisture doesn't transit through the concrete. When i went to finish my basement I had moisture fears, even after conducting several tape plastic squares over concrete and wait to see if the concrete sweated--it never did. While i didn't finish the basement using a traditional flooring material (I stained the concrete and sealed it in acetate), there hasn't been any must, mildew or mold growth in the past eight years since completion.

The previous owners finished the basement and i'm assuming that they tested for moisture and stuff because they have carpet down here. No indications of flooding. But to do my own due diligence, whats the best way to test for moisture of the concrete?

 

[BarkingGhostar]

Get some clear plastic and cut down to 24" square on the side. Use duct tape and tape plastic flat to the floor and leave it for 2-3 days. Come back and look to see if there is moisture trapped between the plastic and concrete. If there is, then you have an issue to address. If not, consider letting it go through the week. If still dry then you should be OK unless this isn't considered the high-moisture season for the basement*.

* High-moisture season would be one in which a lot of precipitation can be encountered, like a rainy season, etc.

BTW, I am paranoid about basement moisture because of something I experienced as a child. My family moved into this small home built in the 1920's. It was on a corner of a two inclined streets, but on the corner that was best of the four. We then went through the Blizzard of 1978 (RI) and the flash thaw a couple of weeks later caused a flood of water into the basement. Two feet of water ruined everything and since we had been there only about six months much of the ruined goods were unpacked boxes of belongings.

I waited two years in my current home before feeling confident to finish the basement. Still, i went with a flooring that I felt I could recover from quickly in the worst case scenario. I actually had a scare in January 2015 thinking that a heavy rain got water infiltration that ruined a bunch of boxes that expensive electronics came in. Turned out an aux pipe opening in the evaporator (A-coil) housing caused moisture from there to be blown out. It collected and went to the lowest point in the immediate area, which was where those boxes were.

Glad the mystery was solved and that the basement proves to be bone dry. No indications the acetate sealant has been compromosed anywhere in the 1200 square feet.