Carpet or hardwood floors?

13 years ago

We currently have carpet throughout the house. It all needs to be replaced, so we are thinking about going to hardwood. Has anyone made this switch, and were you happy with the results? Are you using area rugs? Does sound echo throughout the house?

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fuzzymama

13 years ago

I just ripped out carpet and installed hickory (3/4 in hardwood) in a house we're purchasing from my parents. If you go with solid wood, you can refinish it SEVERAL times at signifigantly less cost... meaning that you get new floors repeatedly from one installation. My current home has oak floors that are 80+ years old and were refinished to look brand new seven years ago. They still look great. Installing hardwood (NOT LAMINATES) also raises the value of your home in many real estate markets... in mine, it's more than the cost of having them installed. And you can change out area rugs with your decor as the years pass, giving you much more flexibility and creative options. Once you see what lurks beneath old carpet, if you or your family suffers from allergies, you won't want to have it around ever again. (These are the things that made my decision, anyway. Everyone has their own needs and preferences.)

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Comments (8)

deardeniseh
13 years ago
I just bought a house and ripped out all of the carpet throughout. I had hardwood (engineered) installed over concrete in all of the main parts of the house (living room, dining room, sunroom, hallway and study). I am putting laminate plank floors in the bedrooms to keep down costs. I am absolutely loving the beauty and feel of the hardwood and the ease in maintaining it. I live in the desert with natural landscaping (no grass) so it is easy to track in dirt but all I have to do is run a dust mop over it to keep it dust-free and use a hardwood cleaner occasionally to clean it as necessary. I will never go back to carpet.
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deardeniseh
13 years ago
And, yes, I do use wool area rugs to define the living/dining areas and I've put a large jute rug in the sunroom. Otherwise, I let the wood shine through. We have a casual household so I do not notice any echoing in the house even though the wood floors are glued down to concrete. Be aware that the hardwood is likely to be significantly more expensive than carpet...but to me it was worth the extra cost.
Tom Burns thanked deardeniseh
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kathleen MK
13 years ago
Our allergist said get rid of the carpet but our budget doesn't agree. I grew up on hardwoods and would love to have them again.
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Dytecture
13 years ago
It's definitely worth the switch coming from personal experience. There isn't any echo at all with all the furniture in place.
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Mill & Woods
13 years ago
You will add so much value to your home by adding hardwood floors. With the right finish, they are easier to care for than carpet. We have solid wood flooring that starts at $2.00 per square foot so if you are willing and able to add sweat equity, you can add a floor that will last the lifetime of your home.
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moonblue
13 years ago
We just made the switch. I'd choose Hardwood every time. Darker shows more dust and any color will show more than carpet, but a damp dust mop fixes that and you have the satisfaction of knowing the floors are really clean.
That said, we do have more noise. Rugs help a bit to soak it up, but there is more echo, and footsteps are more distinct.
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joyce
13 years ago
I had wall-to-wall carpeting when we moved to this house and have since ripped out the carpeting to find beautiful original wood floors (house built in 1926). And yes, it looks brand new!! What amazed me is how carpeting, no matter how often it's vacuumed, will retain some dust/dog dander and pollutants. I find wood floors a cinch to upkeep and so much cleaner. Def go w/ hardwood. I use an area rug and with furnishings/pictures etc, no echo.
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