My condo has a concrete slab. We put down engineered wood flooring. There has been some flooding in neighboring condos, which has damaged the flooring. Does anyone have a suggestion for flooring that would resist the water damage? Would ceramic tile work ? There are cracks in the slab that we have repaired. the building was built in 1950.
Concrete – What kinds of flooring resist water damage
concreteflooring
Related Solutions
Are the walls insulated? If not, do that first. Most of the heat escapes there...especially the part nearest and above the ground level.
With a fully insulated wall, you might not even need to insulate the slab. in MN we insulated our walls and then left the concrete floor as-is (stained it). Only on the coldest winter days did we need to turn on the fireplace and when we did, the slab was fine comfort-wise.
Otherwise, the most typical way to insulate the slab will be with foam board. Typically EPS or XPS with a floated plywood subfloor on top.
But if you have no intention of ever finishing the basement, maybe insulating the first floor underside might make more sense.
UPDATE
The above is valid for a house with a basement. I misread your question initially. It appears you have a floating concrete slab as your foundation. To insulate that you need insulation...either under it (preferred) or on top of it. Obviously adding insulation underneath is not practical after the fact.
The cheapest solution is likely just a new floor covering...carpet with a think pad...maybe cork, etc.
More complicated, but doable, would be to lay down EPS or XPS and then a floor on top of that. The trick there is that this will change the height of your floor...likely causing issues with doors, thresholds, cabinets, etc.
Tile floors can be installed with a radiant floor heating system such as this one
It is imbedded in the floor below the tiles and is controllable with a wall mounted thermostat. Unless there is significant structural damage to the floor, there is no risk based on dampness. These are routinely used in bathrooms, kitchens and laundry rooms.
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Best Answer
You may want to look into floating tile floors. These are tiles with a rubber or foam backing and snap together like puzzle pieces, instead of being secured to the subfloor with grout. You still need to grout the tiles, but these are made for DIY installation, instead of professional installers. It's more expensive to buy and have other issues, but if you have another crack in the concrete, it won't destroy the tile. Also, if you do find out about a crack you need to fix or have to clean up after a flood, these will be easier to remove and should even be able to be reinstalled.
For more info:
https://www.bobvila.com/articles/floating-tile-floor/