Carpets or wood floors, which are the best?

Wood, ceramic tile, concrete... just not carpet. I'm stuck with it now living in an apartment.
 

OldOld said:
I am sure you are very handy. :rolleyes:
And free labor, why not.
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What you are looking at is a quick pic of the transition from the hall way to one bedroom. Length perfect so that moulding & trim cover the cut off sections of the hard wood. Keeping the correct off set of the joints took a little time to get right so that I didn't waste any pieces. Every room wall to wall & every opening that needed the transition are done with the same attention to detail.
 

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Porcelain tile is the most durable and very low maintenance, but cold and hard. I have it in my office where my office chair would destroy carpet or wood. Carpeting is the most comfortable on the feet and absorbs sound. We had hardwood for years. Never again. It took a LOT of maintenance. Rugs, especially throw rugs are serious trip hazards of the elderly. Just my $ .02.
 
There's really no right answer since it's a matter of personal taste and preference. People who like carpet shouldn't get hardwood floors and vice versa, but research shows that homes with hardwood floors have a higher resale value than homes with carpet. So if that's a factor in making a decision, it's probably good to go with hardwood floors. Since I'm not planning to sell, it's not a consideration with me.
 
When you get to be really a "senior" (and not just someone who is 55) I think carpeting is very much the better choice. Many of my neighbors have broken bones from falls on hardwood floors. I have carpeting throughout most of my condo, with the exception of the kitchen and bathrooms, and I feel a lot safer. I've fallen a few times, and just got up and walked away.

Hardwood is more attractive and more fashionable, but other things are more important.
 
I have owned 10 homes and I always factor in the price of removing all the carpet before I move in when deciding what to offer. I hate if they just installed new carpet. When I was married we did it ourselves. Now alone I have to hire it done. Itā€™s always been a plus in selling that our home didnā€™t have carpet. Very few people want it.

The condo I have now is engineered hardwood. I have had hardwood floors, laminate flooring and vinyl laminate in the kitchens and bathroom. Iā€™m not a fan of tile but have left it if a home had it in the kitchen or bathroom because itā€™s such a mess to rip out.
 
I am a non-carpet fan because I have always had multiple dogs (big ones) and cats. I have rescued and taken in dogs & cats my entire life.

Not having carpet is a lot less smelly and a lot easier to clean.

However, I still have carpet in the two guest bedrooms. At 78 all of my trauma injuries have caught up to me In nightmarish ways. It takes everything in me to push the vacuum across the carpet in those two bedrooms.

My word to the wise who have mobility difficulties, ditch the carpet if it is financially possible and buy yourself a nice pair of warm & grippy slip-on slippers. I wear Skechers slip ons becasue they have a sole and I can quickly go outside with dogs if I have to.
 
Sunny said:
When you get to be really a "senior" (and not just someone who is 55) I think carpeting is very much the better choice. Many of my neighbors have broken bones from falls on hardwood floors. I have carpeting throughout most of my condo, with the exception of the kitchen and bathrooms, and I feel a lot safer. I've fallen a few times, and just got up and walked away.

Hardwood is more attractive and more fashionable, but other things are more important.
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I agree with all you've said, Sunny.

In our last house we had beautiful poplar floors. Every week I would Swiffer, then damp mop, then wax those floors.

My son and I both got plantar fasciitis from walking on them, plus they were cold and noisy.

So in this house we have tile in the kitchen and baths, but all the rest is a good quality Berber carpet with a think pad underneath. I just pull out the vacuum and the whole thing is swept in 20 minutes. Our feet recovered, we can go sock footed again, it's quiet and warm.

It doesn't look as great as that glowing hardwood, but I would never go back to all the work of hardwood plus the inevitable area rugs again.
 
Della said:
I agree with all you've said, Sunny.

In our last house we had beautiful poplar floors. Every week I would Swiffer, then damp mop, then wax those floors.

My son and I both got plantar fasciitis from walking on them, plus they were cold and noisy.

So in this house we have tile in the kitchen and baths, but all the rest is a good quality Berber carpet with a think pad underneath. I just pull out the vacuum and the whole thing is swept in 20 minutes. Our feet recovered, we can go sock footed again, it's quiet and warm.

It doesn't look as great as that glowing hardwood, but I would never go back to all the work of hardwood plus the inevitable area rugs again.
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Itā€™s interesting Della because I find carpet to be a lot more work. I do wear socks in the house because of the hard surfaces. I donā€™t have any area rugs and havenā€™t had any in years. When we had real hardwood, we did refinish them and then put a ton of coats on to seal them. I never had to wax them after we did that.

When we have Pergo, that is either laminate or vinyl all we need to do is sweep and then mop. Even before I had dogs, I had kids and preferred hard surfaces. If something is spilled or a Dog has an accident itā€™s no big deal if you donā€™t have carpet.
 
Teacher Terry said:
I have owned 10 homes and I always factor in the price of removing all the carpet before I move in when deciding what to offer. I hate if they just installed new carpet. When I was married we did it ourselves. Now alone I have to hire it done. Itā€™s always been a plus in selling that our home didnā€™t have carpet. Very few people want it.

The condo I have now is engineered hardwood. I have had hardwood floors, laminate flooring and vinyl laminate in the kitchens and bathroom. Iā€™m not a fan of tile but have left it if a home had it in the kitchen or bathroom because itā€™s such a mess to rip out.
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;) Yes, and whoever buys this house better factor well because they're in for a big surprise. This is industrial grade carpet such as used in banks and hotels, made to withstand years of use and to resist stains - but more importantly, it's a glue down because we wanted to be sure there were NO puckers or shifting with time. So it's going to be hard to get up.
 
When we built, put cork in the kitchen area. It was a small space. It lasted about 12 years. This is an open space so when we removed it and the majority of carpet, we put down LVP. I wouldnā€™t do that again. It can scratch. It looks good. The irritating part was when discussing this with sales people, I said I donā€™t care what it costs, I just want something that stands up well and doesnā€™t scratch. Itā€™s not that weā€™re rich, itā€˜s that itā€™s a small space so Iā€˜d rather pay a little more up front and not deal with the horror of a reno.
 
PeppermintPatty said:
We put down our own 3/4 inch maple hardwood with porcelain tiles in the bathroom, kitchen and sunroom.
We have large area rugs to warm up certain areas . Before it was stained birch throughout kitchen and all. I love solid maple more than engineered fake hardwood.
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This is so pretty Patty, you and Terry make me want to rip up my carpet and put it out with the trash, but as I look at it I keep getting distracted over whatever that is in front of the recliner. Is it a gray cat in a cat bed on top of a dog bed?
 
Della said:
This is so pretty Patty, you and Terry make me want to rip up my carpet and put it out with the trash, but as I look at it I keep getting distracted over whatever that is in front of the recliner. Is it a gray cat in a cat bed on top of a dog bed?
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Thank you Della. It was a lot of work to do.
That grey thing in front of the chair is a fleece blanket on top of a small doggie bed thatā€™s on top of a big doggie bed. We have 2 dog beds like that- a bed on a bed. Our dogs are quite spoiled šŸ¤­šŸ˜¬
 

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