ᐅ Which type of flooring is best for a basement music room with underfloor heating?

Hello dear forum,

We are planning to create a 30sqm (323sqft) hobby room in the basement of our new build. The floor slab is insulated with 14cm (5.5 inches) thick XPS insulation, and the walls also have external insulation. We have planned underfloor heating, but now the question arises about the suitable floor covering. The architect suggested tiles for efficiency reasons, but since the room will be used as a music room and home theater, tiles are not really an option for me.

I am trying to find out which type of flooring offers a good compromise between acceptable thermal conductivity and good acoustic properties.

My preference would definitely be parquet flooring, optimized somewhat for efficiency—meaning as thin as possible, glued down, with no impact sound insulation. Or would PVC, laminate, or something similar be more suitable?

My problem is that I have no idea and cannot calculate how much of a difference in heating costs there will be at the end of the year, for example, between tiles and parquet. Could someone possibly help me with this or explain how to approach such a calculation?

Thank you very much in advance for your support!

dergert schrieb:

My problem is that I unfortunately have no idea, nor can I calculate how much of a difference there will be in heating costs at the end of the year between, for example, tiles and parquet flooring.

You really can’t calculate that with any accuracy. And it won’t make a noticeable difference to your wallet either. Whether you end up with €426 or €429 in heating costs at the end of the year doesn’t matter.

So just choose whatever you personally prefer. I always think wood is a good choice.

I wouldn’t base the decision solely on heating costs either. It’s more about the construction costs. In that regard, laminate flooring is definitely much cheaper than hardwood flooring.

When it comes to a home theater, I would even consider putting carpet in the room!

Of the options you mentioned, definitely wood. At the same time, I would also consider a nice carpet.
For the living area, I would generally prefer the cheapest option from a purely cost-based perspective, but in the music room, any cost difference should be considered less important.

If you want a music room or home theater, I would focus primarily on the acoustics, since heating costs are hardly affected anymore. Fulfill your home theater dream.

nordanney schrieb:

You really can’t calculate that precisely. And it won’t make a noticeable difference to your budget. Whether you end up with heating costs of €426 or €429, it doesn’t matter.

So just choose whatever you personally like best. I always like wood.

Oh, if it were only that small, it would really be negligible. However, the architect mentioned a cost difference of several hundred euros.