I'm in the process of finishing my basement. WRT the floor, we still
haven't decided if we're going to be using vinyl, cork, carpet, or
whatever else is available - but that's not important right now.

My concern is water. I've done the plastic/duct tape trick and have
determined that moisture coming through the floor should not be a
problem. The walls don't leak, and the sump pump and battery backup
work just fine. My concern is the water heaters. The traditional
way to tell when they need to be replaced is to observe the water on
the floor. The life expectancy of a mainstream consumer type heater
is, perhaps ten years. I have two, which means that I can expect
such a puddle an average of once every five years. This will be
incompatible with virtually any floor I put down, with the exception
of vinyl, which is pretty near the bottom of my desirability list.
Is there product that will allow me to build a dam around the water
heaters that will keep the water contained in that area, protecting
the floor? Perhaps I could build such a dam using commonly available
materials? There is a floor drain immediately adjacent to the tanks,
so the water would have a place to go.

Suggestions/comments?

Thanks,
Mike