Basement Floors and Flooding Issues

Q: We have installed carpet in our basement and had flood so we remove the carpet and needs to install the new flooring, but not carpet and ceramic tile. what is the best flooring for the basement with flooding problem? Please advise.
Thank You,
Raksha
A: If you’re encountering flooding issues do NOT install any new flooring of any kind. What ever is causing your flooding should be addressed before installing any new flooring. Until then I would honestly leave the concrete bare to help identify issues in the subfloor.
I had similar issues in my own home and have taken many measures to prevent flooding in my basement. Unfortunately money doesn’t grow on trees, (but what interesting flooring that would make!) so my basement is still bare concrete while we have tested to see which issues have been resolved and what issues we may have missed.
Until you finish ensuring flooding will not occur, which I would suggest going through the season where you experience flooding with the concrete bare. Identify what is causing the flooding and work to resolve these issues. Once they are resolved, leave the concrete bare for at least a full year and see if any flooding or excessive moisture occurs. If so, which is what happened in my case ruining some nice new rooms I had built because I had not waited long enough (assumptions can cause a world of headaches), continue working to resolve your flooding issues. If you experience no moisture issues then you can work to find a new floor. Until you have resolved your flooding issues, do NOT install a new floor (unless of course you want to put in a new floor every time it floods).
Good luck to you as I know this process can be a pain.