carpet or hard wood?

[HappyPuppy]

Fad? Before there was carpet, floors were hardwood.

Before there was carpet, well, there was no carpet so people had to put up with the gritty wood floors. Now wood/laminate is back in vogue and in another decade everyone will be covering it with carpet again.

Life is a circle. Why do you think this fad will stop it?

 

[lupi]

My Mom said if you want to become a lesbian, you have to lick carpet.

 

[Capt Caveman]

Before there was carpet, well, there was no carpet so people had to put up with the gritty wood floors. Now wood/laminate is back in vogue and in another decade everyone will be covering it with carpet again.

Life is a circle. Why do you think this fad will stop it?

Maybe, b/c carpet was a fad.

 

[HappyPuppy]

Maybe, b/c carpet was a fad.

Everything is a fad. Life goes in cycles, but maybe you haven't been around long enough to recognize this fact of life.

 

[TheAdvocate]

Downstairs, I have a floating floor of ~1000 sq ft of engineered handscraped 4.75" wide maple saddle floors from home depot and they look fantastic. Product Link

This isnt mine, but it looks a little like this:

I put down some very expensive padding/vapor barrier underneath the wood that I believe makes a noticeable difference.

The den and the playroom have very large and plush area rugs in the middle of the rooms. The playroom has a design that my son uses as roads for his matchbox cars.

I also have 600 sq ft of glazed 16" procelain tile in the kitchen, bathroom, utility room, etc.

Product Link

I am absolutely thrilled with both of them.

Upstairs, I am about to put some plush carpeting in the bedrooms, and I have some generic sand tile in the bathrooms, which I also like.

So tile in wet rooms, carpet in bedrooms, and hardwoods w/ rugs in living areas.

 

[xanis]

hardwood FTMFW

 

[MotF Bane]

Wood marks up too easily. Carpet.

 

[vi edit]

Wood marks up too easily. Carpet.

Depends on the wood and where you have it. Wood isn't a great option for high traffic areas or "landing zones" like bottoms of stairs or entry ways. It's finish will wear quickly in those areas but the "meat" of the plank will last for decades.

Tile is a great choice for those spots. But for family living spaces it's tough to beat hardwood. It sweeps/wipes clean, looks beautiful, and is much more allergy friendly than carpet.

 

[surfsatwerk]

Carpet is mungers.

 

[n7]

Both, but i really like how carpet makes a room feel warmer.
And yeah and "shows dust" olds mentioned re: hardwood.

Holy crap indeed...i've got hardwood of some kind all over & i swear, it's disturbing how much dust gets visible in a hurry...

 

[Gunslinger08]

Flooring depends on the room.

Above grade living areas, office, half baths: Hard wood
Bedrooms: Carpet
Full baths: Heated tile or linoleum
Below grade living areas: Carpet or laminate

 

[NetWareHead]

We had hardwood in our entire home except the bathroom were ceramic tile, including tile in the shower and as well as the bathroom walls.

We had rugs in key areas. The foyer and entry way to the home was done in granite tile.

 

[geno]

I'll take carpet any day. Wood/laminate floors are just another fad, just like crown molding in a ticky tacky tract house.

Hard wood has been "in" for a long time, so it's tough to say it's a fad.

 

[Apple Of Sodom]

For those saying dust is visible...are you happier with carpet when it is still there, just not visible? Carpet is completely disgusting. Just because you cannot see the dust doesn't mean it isn't there.

For those saying it marks up...that is part of what gives hardwood its identity. Little scratches and nicks give it character. I could say I don't like carpet because it stains too easily.

I love hardwood floors. Cheap laminate from Home Depot doesn't count. I have bamboo and it is wonderful.

 

[Binarycow]

I'm in Oklahoma, it's not cold long enough in the winter that if I had my way my whole house would be tiled. Easy to clean, easy to maintain, no scratching, no nasty depository of god-know-what like carpet. We're in our 2.5 year old house and already plan to replace the whole living room with tiles as soon as its carpet shows a sight of wearing out.

 

[Platypus]

hardwood floors all the way.

I do like having a rug in the bedroom though for when it's cold.

 

[grrl]

Carpet, but only if it's white shag!

 

[Imp]

Downstairs, I have a floating floor of ~1000 sq ft of engineered handscraped 4.75" wide maple saddle floors from home depot and they look fantastic. Product Link

This isnt mine, but it looks a little like this:

I put down some very expensive padding/vapor barrier underneath the wood that I believe makes a noticeable difference.

The den and the playroom have very large and plush area rugs in the middle of the rooms. The playroom has a design that my son uses as roads for his matchbox cars.

I also have 600 sq ft of glazed 16" procelain tile in the kitchen, bathroom, utility room, etc.

Product Link

I am absolutely thrilled with both of them.

Upstairs, I am about to put some plush carpeting in the bedrooms, and I have some generic sand tile in the bathrooms, which I also like.

So tile in wet rooms, carpet in bedrooms, and hardwoods w/ rugs in living areas.

Is Homedepot laminate flooring comparable to Ikea (i.e. better or worse)?

Ikea's marketing machine is amazing; just click and lock. I've seen the Homedepot stuff and they have the dregs try to make instructions for stuff you buy there. Curious because I may do my room's floor. Should cost $300-ish at $1.50 per sq.ft.

 

[vi edit]

I've seen the Homedepot stuff and they have the dregs try to make instructions for stuff you buy there. Curious because I may do my room's floor. Should cost $300-ish at $1.50 per sq.ft.

In the $1.50'ish range look at the stuff at Sam's Club. It's bit thicker than the normal $1.50'ish stuff at HD and the like and has an underlayment preattached. Plus the finishes are much nicer than the other cheapie laminates. Lumber Liquidators also has some 12mm laminates that run $1.60 - $1.70 a sq/ft that look decent. That added thickness takes out some of the hollow sound that the thinner planks have.

 

[Blackjack200]

The only place you should not put hardwood floors is the kitchen and bathroom. It gets mighty expensive to have floors ripped out or re-sanded if they bow up.

I have hardwood in the kitchen and so do my folks. Mine's been there 2 years, theirs has been there almost 10, no problems. I don't think kitchens get nearly as steamy as bathrooms do, and I'm careful to clean up liquid spills (also have a small rug in front of the sink)

We were installing some wood from an old 1800s school house and I was using a chop saw when something hit me upside the head. I looked down and saw half a musket ball stuck in the board. The other half left a welt. I bet that soldier was laughing in his grave that he hit someone 200+ years later.

Lol, nice. I got shot by a table saw once, but it was a ripping, not a musketball. Hit me right in the nipple and took 10 stitches to close. To this day that nipple is still sensative. Greatest injury ever. :awe:

The only time anyone said miter is when pussies used a miter box for cutting shoe molding. Real men use a paint can.

Yep, we call them chop saws. My dad told me that when they first appeared, they used to be called electric miter boxes.

 

[sdifox]

Maple hardwood for me. 1700 sq ft of it. Rest is tiles.

 

[Blackjack200]

Maple hardwood for me. 1700 sq ft of it. Rest is tiles.

I used maple with no stain (clear finish), so it's very light. I like the look of darker woods better, but I have small windows, so the light wood really helps brighten the interior up.

 

[Kirby]

Hey! Don't rub on that! You blot that! You understand? That's alpaca! That's $25,000 alpaca! You blot that shit!

 

[AstroManLuca]

Wood. Easier to clean.

 

[BurnItDwn]

Carpet is the most comfortable to my feet, so I prefer carpet.