Teach me about flooring!

8 years ago

We are really need new flooring in our house. The carpet is only 5 years old but the builder chose something cheap and it looks horrible. We also have damage due to our cats and having a toddler. The problem is, I know nothing about flooring! I'm such a newbie, I don't know where to begin.

We looked at carpet last weekend at Lowe’s just to see the price per sq ft. But I’d really rather go with something that is wood looking. We can’t afford hardwoods nor would it make sense as an investment for resale since we wouldn’t gain anything. We are probably going to sell in 2-3 years. So, now I’m thinking wood looking tile, laminate or vinyl. This would be living room, bedrooms, kitchen, hall. The flooring in our bathrooms/laundry is staying.

Can you share resources about the different types of flooring and the pros/cons? What do you have in your home?

Featured Answer

SJ McCarthy

8 years ago

If you can't afford hardwood then you can't afford tile. Tile is one of the MOST EXPENSIVE products when all the bills are paid. The tile ITSELF can be had for $2/sf (cheap and cheerful) but the INSTALLATION costs will knock your socks off ($10/sf is the going rate in my area....plus extra costs for materials such as grout, thinset, etc).

The other thing to look at is preparation costs. It is SUPER CHEAP to install carpet! Why? Because there are NO preparation costs! You simply RIP OUT (remove + disposal = $1.50/sf) the old carpet. Give the subfloor a clean if the cat damage is cat URINE (this is what will stick around no matter WHAT you install....cat urine MUST BE SANITIZED....and that takes plenty of work...work which can be done by the homeowner over several days).

Carpet costs + install is the cheapest flooring change possible.

If you are moving in 2-3 years, I would wait. As upsetting as the carpet looks today, I would leave it. When you get closer to listing your home, have your realtor walk through and make suggestions for "staging" your home. Do what s/he proposes (inside your budget of course). Then list the home. Sell the home, and move out.

If you REALLY MUST have new flooring TODAY: laminate. I would look at $3/sf laminate. It is cheap and easy to install. The average cost of install = $1.75 - $2.50/sf for installation. That means for $5/sf you can have new flooring INSTALLED. That is roughly the same as new, midgrade carpet.

Cleaning up the subfloor if there is urine = free because YOU will do the work.

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Comments (8)

Chessie
8 years ago
last modified: 8 years ago
What kind of damage did the cats cause? Just wondering as I had a cat for 7 years and she never damaged the carpet.
PRO
Renovation Flooring
8 years ago
I would suggest engineered hardwood or LVT (LVP) if you plan on selling in the next few years. Wood look tile is a bit more expensive, but it is easy to maintain and holds up against wear and tear...as well as moisture.
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PRO
S&S Hardwood Flooring and Supplies
8 years ago
Hi Amy,

It sounds like Vinyl flooring or wood tile would be the best fit. Good quality vinyl looks great as well as is very durable especially for your circumstances and if you are looking to resell, the vinyl floors should look like new in a few years. Be cautious about the color of the vinyl because some look more authentic than others. Same goes for wood tile, wood tile can be more durable but may cost you more to install especially since you need to get someone who knows what they're doing so that it's installed correctly or else it will look awful. Hope I was of help!
Oana
8 years ago
First I think you need to look at the houses that sell in your neighborhood and see what kind of flooring do they have. If they have hardwood and you install vinyl it might hurt your resale price.

When we first started looking at flooring we wanted tile in the kitchen and carpet everywhere else. We have about 1600 sq ft of flooring and buying the carpet from Home Depot it would have costs us around $4000. But then we couldn't decide on the tile for the kitchen, what we liked was somewhere around $5/sqft only the tile, and a friend of ours that works in this field said that for an extra $2 we could install solid hardwood with finishing on site.

We haven't done anything yet, because in the mean time we found out we have a gypcrete subfloor and you can only do floating floors on that thing, so we need to buy engineered and I am still gathering all information about this.

The bottom line is you need to explore all possibilities, get multiple quotes for different types of flooring and figure out what works best for you.
Amy Huneycutt
Original Author
8 years ago
Thank you all for the great and educational input! I’m going to see what our realtor recommends for our area and do some more research on carpet vs laminate or vinyl.

Most of the comp homes in our area are a mix of vinyl, carpet, or laminate. There are only a few 15+ year older homes with hardwood and usually only a few rooms.

BTW, luckily the cat damage is not urine but the Siamese we had liked to claw at the carpet when doors were closed so all of the padding/sub flooring is currently exposed in some doorways.
SJ McCarthy
8 years ago
Whew! Dodged a bullet on the cat damage! Clawed carpet in door ways is super simple to deal with (and BTW...Siamese don't like doors closed. It ruins their concept of "Ruler of the Roost" which they firmly believe is them!).

It doesn't sound like you need to work "high-end" into your budget. It sounds like your neighborhood will accept:
1. Sheet Vinyl in the kitchen and baths
2. Laminates throughout the living space (living room, hallways, dining)
3. Carpet in Bedrooms
This combination is VERY common for mid-priced or even "upper-limit low-end" housing. If that is common in your area, you might as well keep going with it.

What you CAN look at is vinyl plank flooring in both the kitchen/baths AND the living areas. Carpets are probably STILL the favourite in the bedrooms (especially if you are in a cold area).
annied75
8 years ago
You'll also want to look for flooring at your local flooring stores, not just Home Depot or other big box stores. They will be very helpful and point you in the right direction for your needs and price point. My husband and I were at Home Depot the other day to pick up some light bulbs. I noticed that they had a flooring sale going on, so I checked it out. They were offering free installation, however, when I looked at the carpeting prices they were a lot more than our local flooring store. It may sound like a great sale, but the overall price can be more at the big box stores. Just make sure to shop around.