# Flooring suggestions welcome



## cimbaliw (Nov 6, 2013)

I use the understair area of my basement for bulk wine storage and to house a modest guitar collection. The floor is unfinished cement. The area's entry has an exterior door with deadbolt as the guitar collection came first. There is an aluminum threshold on the prehung door that is a bit of an inconvenience to wheel the carboy dollys over. I'd like some suggestions on flooring material that will make the floor a bit safer for the glass carboys, provide minor insulation from direct cement contact and provide height to minimize the threshold issue. 

My current thought is to get some 3/4" Melamine shelving and simply lay it over the cement. I have toyed with the idea of removing the threshold. Just wondered if there are better options out there?

BC


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## rob (Nov 6, 2013)

How big is the space and how high is the theashold, also what is the purpose of the threshold?


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## Runningwolf (Nov 6, 2013)

Home Depot has some sub flooring for basements about 2x2 in size. They have something like a plastic egg crate underneath for protection from moisture. These are great but pricey. Laminate or anything else can be installed over them.


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## jpsmithny (Nov 6, 2013)

My wine area is covered in these things. They aren't rigid which I like in case I mishandle a carboy; there is a little forgiveness. 

And if I spill anything, I just have to take one up to clean it.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001EJPGG4/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20


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## jamesngalveston (Nov 7, 2013)

If the threshold is on an interior door i would remove it, to keep level with the concrete, and then get a soft underlayment and install a floating laminate floor.
u can buy laminate that is water proof, no fastening required, and it just snaps together.
btw,,, i dont see many interior doors with large thresholds.


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## rob (Nov 7, 2013)

Just be carful, I have sold floors for 15 years and laminate is not water proof, water resistant yes, if water is left on it for any length of time it will buckle


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## cimbaliw (Nov 7, 2013)

The door is an exterior prehung. The initial thought for using an exterior door was theft protection. Fortunately the wine thief has been the only villanous activity. The threshold rises about an inch off of the cement floor and is probably best removed by cutting along the lower edge of the jamb. I really don't want to remove the door to do the job. A rough set of calculations puts the bulk storage area ~50 sq ft. A coworker recommended checking into a stall mat used for horses.


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## jamesngalveston (Nov 7, 2013)

take a reciprocating saw to the threshold...I dont see a problem with a laminate floor in basically a closet, You store your guitars there, so i doubt there is much water.....if any...


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## Runningwolf (Nov 7, 2013)

cimbaliw said:


> The door is an exterior prehung. The initial thought for using an exterior door was theft protection. Fortunately the wine thief has been the only villanous activity. The threshold rises about an inch off of the cement floor and is probably best removed by cutting along the lower edge of the jamb. I really don't want to remove the door to do the job. A rough set of calculations puts the bulk storage area ~50 sq ft. A coworker recommended checking into a stall mat used for horses.



Thats not a bad idea. Comfortable to stand on and protects bottles and carboys from accidental drops. Actually I have something just like that where I work on my wine and where I wash bottles and carboys. I got them at Home Depot and lowes. They are very heavy duty rubber mats about 1/2" thick. They have saved me several times. They have 1" holes cut out of them all over making them somewhat lighter.


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## jamesngalveston (Nov 10, 2013)

http://www.restaurantsource.com/abc...-mats/floor-mats/ProdDesc-MAT-994001-134.aspx


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## jswordy (Nov 11, 2013)

Dunno how big your area is...

http://www.tractorsupply.com/en/store/rubber-horse-stall-mat-4-ft-x-6-ft?cm_vc=-10005

OR

http://www.tractorsupply.com/en/sto...t-rolled-rubber-3-8-in-thick-sold-by-the-foot


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## cimbaliw (Nov 12, 2013)

Thanks for the suggestions. I removed the threshold yesterday which was an instant game changer. No more up and over with the carboy dolly. No more need to raise the floor. I'll check it out over the next week's worth of chores and see if the answer presents itself.


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