Moisture read before specifying Waterproof core options Below-grade experience Vinyl plank $5 – $9 / sq ft

Basement flooring in Toronto

A basement floor is a moisture problem before it is a flooring problem. Ontario Flooring Contractors reads the slab first and then tells you what will survive down there. Most basements end up in waterproof-core vinyl plank at $5 to $9 per square foot installed; tile ($7 to $20) and a coated slab ($7 to $14) are the other two floors that survive below grade.

Calcium chloride reading before any recommendation

Waterproof-core plank, tile or a coated slab

Levelling for the dips older Toronto slabs always have

We will tell you when laminate is the wrong answer

Price your basement floor

Tell us the square footage and whether the basement has ever taken water.

What can we help with?

Service

So the right crew reviews your project.

No obligation. Any workmanship warranty is set out in your written quote, job by job.

3 lbs Moisture limit per 1,000 sq ft / 24 h

pH 10 Above this, alkalinity attacks adhesive

$2-$4 Levelling compound, per sq ft

$5-$9 Waterproof vinyl plank installed

Start with the slab

Basement flooring starts with a slab moisture reading

Every basement slab in this city gives off some moisture, because it sits on ground that is wet for part of the year with no vapour barrier underneath it in older houses. The working limit is 3 lbs per 1,000 square feet over 24 hours by calcium chloride test. Below that, most floors are viable. Above it, a glue-down product will release, laminate will swell at the joints, and an epoxy coating will blister. The honest response to a high reading is a barrier, a different adhesive system or a different floor entirely, and all three cost more than the quote you were hoping for. Finding that out before installation is considerably cheaper than finding out after.

Three basement flooring options that survive below grade

Waterproof-core vinyl plank

$5 to $9 per square foot installed. The core does not swell if water reaches it, which is what makes it the default basement floor.

Tile

$7 to $20 per square foot installed. Completely unaffected by moisture from above, though it needs a flat, decoupled substrate and is cold underfoot without heat.

A coated slab

$7 to $14 per square foot for epoxy. No floor covering at all, so nothing to swell, lift or trap moisture. Popular for workshops, gyms and storage.

Our Process

How we install basement flooring, step by step

1

History and inspection

Has it ever taken water, where from, and is there efflorescence or staining on the slab and walls.

2

Moisture and alkalinity test

Calcium chloride reading plus a surface pH check, since above 10 the alkalinity attacks adhesives.

3

Flatness survey

Older Toronto slabs are rarely flat. Straightedge across the floor and mark the dips.

4

Specify, prepare and install

Floor chosen against the readings, slab levelled and primed, then laid.

Worth knowing

Headroom limits every basement flooring solution

Every solution to a damp or uneven basement slab costs height, and a Toronto basement rarely has any to give. A dimpled subfloor panel creates an air gap that makes the room noticeably warmer underfoot, but it takes roughly three quarters of an inch before the finish floor even starts. Levelling compound adds its own depth at the low points. With a seven foot ceiling and a stair at the bottom that already meets code by a small margin, those fractions decide what is possible, so we measure the ceiling and the bottom riser on the same visit as the slab.

What we will not install in a Toronto basement

Lay laminate below grade

The core is wood fibre. One water event and the joints swell permanently. We will recommend waterproof-core plank instead, for a few dollars more per square foot.

Glue down over a failed moisture test

Above 3 lbs the adhesive releases. Either the slab gets a barrier or the floor changes.

Nail solid hardwood to a slab

It cannot be done directly, and building a sleeper system to allow it eats the headroom a Toronto basement does not have.

Coat a slab that is actively wet

An epoxy over a slab pushing moisture blisters. The water source gets addressed first, and that is not flooring work.

Basement flooring clients on the finished job

Reviews collected directly from clients.

We chose Ontario Flooring for luxury vinyl plank installation in our basement. They prepared the subfloor properly, explained the process clearly, and delivered an even, durable finish.

We had several damaged floorboards that needed repair. The team matched the new boards closely with the existing flooring and completed the work with excellent attention to detail.

Basement flooring questions

My basement flooded two years ago but has been dry since. Does that change things?

It changes what we test, not whether we can proceed. A slab that has taken water can be perfectly viable once dry, but the reading has to confirm it, and we look for efflorescence and staining that indicate water is still finding a way in seasonally.

Do I need a subfloor system under the flooring?

It depends on the reading and on comfort. A dimpled subfloor panel creates an air gap and warms the floor noticeably, which is welcome in a Toronto basement, but it costs height and a basement with 7 foot ceilings may not have any to give.

Is a heated floor worth it down there?

It is the single biggest comfort improvement in a basement, more so than upstairs, because the slab stays cold year round. At $22 to $40 per square foot installed it is a real cost, so it is usually specified for the rooms people actually sit in rather than the whole level.

Can you install over the existing painted concrete?

Sometimes, if the paint is well bonded and the slab passes its moisture test. Failing paint has to come off, because anything laid over it inherits its bond. That grinding is quoted separately once we see the condition.