I like anything better than carpet. I would rather have DIRT than carpet!

Well, maybe not, but you get the idea.

I prefer HW - and have it in our entire downstairs- except for mud area & powder room (Porcelain tile) - we have lovely old HW flooring in all the bedrooms - however due to noise,comfort and warmth in an old house, I chose to replace the carpets in the bedrooms w/lovely wool carpet.
As w/any choice there are pros/cons as well as various qualities in any material.

LOVE WOOD. We recently moved to Florida where hardwood floors are not the same hardwood floors as up North. Ours are engineered wood. The beautiful wood part is very thin and can only be refinished 1 to 3 times. While I love wood, I do not love my new "florida" type wood floors, they are not as durable as solid 3/4 inch wood floors which can be sanded, stained and refinished long after I have passed on. So, go for wood, but solid nailed down wood, not engineered wood. I would even hesitate to buy prefinished wood.

I have a question for those of you with real wood floors and pets. Do your dogs have traction/slipping problems?

Lindy, I am planning on just the foyer, LR and DR for now. I can just see HW in those rooms! But I debated because a friend of mine, who also has a host of pets, told me that she regrets her hardwood b/c she can see the cat & dog hair slide across the floor on a daily basis. But I vaccuum every day anyway with my 4 (my old girl is almost 14, and sheds horribly due to age), so I don't see where it would necessarily be more work for me one way or the other. I was leaning toward the HW just b/c I love the way it looks, and since I love to change my decor every few years, it would be more versatile esp in the main rooms.
I love how everyone has strong opinions on this subject! Can u tell what I've decided to do???? HA!
Thanks to all of you...I really appreciate your input, and I don't think I ever would've decided this on my own!

Definitely hardwood floors. I did grow up with hardwood but lived with carpeting for many, many years after moving. I really don't care for carpeted rooms, and it feels commercial to me. I do love rugs, though. Carpet is really bad for allergies and just plain holds a lot of dirt and loose fibers. Even with good vacuuming. Allergists will tell you to get rid of it. Synthetic materials and manfacturing chemicals, off-gassing, etc., are also a problem.

I've also disliked it with the usual pet problems of throwing up, dirty paws, etc. I'd also just much rather clean a hardwood floor than when it's necessary to drag in and about one of those big carpet cleaning machines.

As far as choosing which type of hardwood, I sure wish I had solid wood. My lower level is on a concrete foundation, so I had to put the 3/8" stuff down with adhesive. While I certainly prefer it to the carpet, the engineered, veneered stuff does not hold up as well and is limited in the number of times it can be sanded and refinished. There have also been a couple of washing machine leaks :( If a cat throws up or there's water on it for some reason -- it must be wiped up right away or the surface buckles. Unlike the solid flooring. (Not what I had in mind when I switched from cleaning puke from carpet! and I wasn't aware of the difference until I lived with it.) Now, some mfrs recommended putting more coats of poly on the prefinished floors after install, to get a good solid seal across the surface -- but I doubt many people do that. The portion of unfinished flooring that I had stained and sealed myself does, in fact, hold up much better than the prefinished section.

Animals do slip on hardwoods. My cats' takeoff/landing pad at the base of the steps has lots of little claw digs. Our dog growing up also used to slide when he was running around indoors : ) I'm sure his skid marks are still there, but those solid old floors just have an aged patina these days, not a few fresh scratches, so it all looks normal. They're also waxed, so I think the wear differs than the poly finishes (or maybe they just reflect the mars differently).

They're also a pain around toilets.

Some people like pristine wood floors. That can be stressful. But, if you like distressed finishes and old patinas -- not so bad :)

Late to the poll, but definitely hardwood. It is more difficult for the dogs to get traction, yes. But we just put down some runners and the problem is solved. Also, new carpet outgasses for a long time, which is not good for the critters, who are low to the ground. :)

We have more fun throwing a ball for our pooch to slide across the floor to catch . . . .!!

I will never have WW carpet again. I might consider a bound piece in the family room, but that is a real maybe . . . .

LOVE MY WOOD. I have it it every room except kitchen, 3 baths and laundry that have tile.

Valinsv and any others who have had both wood and laminate: do you worry a lot about scratches, etc? My friends who have Pergo-products say nothing can scratch their floor, kids, dogs etc.

They also move furniture around a LOT, just like it was nothing, pushing this way and that, depending on the occasion, such as Super Bowl, Christmas or what have you. I just don't want to baby a floor and the idea of looking at my guests feet to see if they have on high heels or other shoes likely to scratch makes me sick!

Sorry for the segue to this instead of OP's carpet/wood topic.
Susan

Susan: Yes, I did worry in the beginning. It's like a new car that looks pristine until it gets a scratch or two and then you relax. I had my installer leave me a quart of the poly he used and I saw how he would do minor touch ups--a little sandpaper and poly. We did a natural oil based finish which ambers up the floors, though many seem to have also had success with Minwax or Waterlox. I find that the little felt pads work much better than the plastic ones to put on the furniture bases. The plastic ones actually did scratch my floors so I returned them all to LNT. I have 3 kids and have not bought that many rugs as yet and so far they are holding up well. I have in the whole house including my kitchen, with the exception of the bathrooms and my entryway which is travertine (another great choice though not as comfortable to stand on for long periods of time).

My laminant did outscore with scratch resistance--my kids could drop toys, legos, etc. and no scratches, though I did get a few from dropping a knife and an iron once. However, mine could not be replaced. We had a kitchen water leak and since it was all open to the family room, the whole area needed to be ripped out and replaced even though the family room had no water damage.

I have heard that Brazilian Cherry floors, while very beautiful do show more dust, animal hair and scratches because they are dark--whereas the more natural stains don't--particularly if you use a matte or satin poly.

Here they are just put in:

{{gwi:1529341}}

Here it is now:

Well, I LOVE - really LOVE hardwood floors but for animals TILE is the best. I would have never known this if I had moved from cold snowy Wisconsin to warm Arizona.

Hardwood in the kitchen, great room, laundry room, one bathroom, dining room, 3 bedrooms, but tile in 2 baths, and carpet in master. My bathroom is kind of "cold," because it is more spa-like and I like the carpet in bedroom to "warm my feet up" in the mornings. I also have a rug over the carpet. It's a respite from the cold of granite, travertine, metal plumbing, silver mirrors, etc., in the bathroom.

I have all hardwood floors ,wouldnt have carpet.

Another HW fan here...but I've got to climb up on my soapbox again:

"We recently moved to Florida where hardwood floors are not the same hardwood floors as up North. Ours are engineered wood. The beautiful wood part is very thin and can only be refinished 1 to 3 times. While I love wood, I do not love my new "florida" type wood floors, they are not as durable as solid 3/4 inch wood floors which can be sanded, stained and refinished long after I have passed on."

I'm a Floridian too and have engineered wood...and I am here to say that the statements above are NOT NECESSARILY TRUE! Engineered wood has come a long, long way in the past decade or so and as with many other home products, you get what you pay for. If you're willing to spring for top of the line engineered wood flooring, I promise you are going to get a fantastic sturdy easy-care floor that is the equal or better of 'solid' hardwood.

I know because I've got it. I put in Hartco oak flooring with an aluminum oxide finish and this stuff is bulletproof. We've got cats with claws and careless teenagers who eat and drink and spill and dirt that gets tracked in and furniture that gets scraped across the floor and heavy tools that have been dropped and the result is: absolutely no damage.

As for the refinishing X times, I think that is irrelevant. For me since I don't plan or expect to live 2-300 years, if necessary refinishing the floor 2 or 3 times will be sufficient. That is, if I need to which seems unlikely given that my floors are standing up just fine to the hardest abuse they'll take--I don't see my husband and I being any harder on 'em than the teens and they will grow up and move out.

Anyway a bit of a rant but this is a sore spot. For some reason people seem to lump engineered *hardwood* in with laminate and even if it's recognized as wood the perception is that it is a far inferior product. Based on our experience I just don't think that is true, at least with today's products and with purchasing a quality engineered product. Here is a picture of my LR engineered wood floor-please ignore the mess, this was taken during a bathroom remodel:

Climbing down now...:)

Ann

I have hardwood in my living room, dining room, halls and kitchen. Carpet in the family room(budget constraints). My staircase is split with a landing halfway up. This is also hardwood. Our builder thought we were nuts not to put a carpet runner up the stairs. We like the look of the plain wood.

I don't want it to scream "we spent a fortune on the staircase and don't want to cover it up" but until the day were we have time to find a good quality pattered rug to put on it, we prefer to leave it as it is.

Are we nuts?

Valinsv, thanks for the photos...your floor has such a warm, natural look and I have to admit that's the look I'm after. I have allergies so the Dr. says to at least take the carpet out of the master bdrm asap and follow that with the rest of the house when possible. And runninginplace, yours are also lovely. I don't know much about engineered wood but it sounds like yours can take a good bit of tough wear.

I learn so much here, thanks!
Susan

If I had money, My townhouse woul have hardwood floors in every room. I dislike my dirty wall-to-wall carpet that I am always getting steam cleaned. I only like the carpet on the steps so it is quiet going up and down. I find hardwood floors cleaner with less allergens and very rich looking.

eandhl, the house is not very presentable at this point since we just moved in at the end of September and I haven't had the budget to do a lot with it. I've put a couple of pics here where you can see the floor some under the furniture bits I was really photographing. :-) They're beaten-up and patched (not well in some spots!) but it's just part of the life this old lady has had. I have area rugs down for softness and because the floors are very very very cold - we hope to insulate under them this coming year, but the to-do list is very long.

Living room:
{{gwi:1603578}}

Dining room (sorry the second is a little blurry):

Wood is so much easier for me to keep clean even with the doggy tumbleweeds (long-haired, double-coated dog - shed city!) and the copious dust this house generates. A quick run-around with a dustmop or Swiffer and Bob's your uncle.

BTW, there is a myth out there that solid wood can be refinished a bazillion times. You can only sand solid wood down to the tongue, about the top quarter of the board. Some engineered woods have a veneer layer just about the same thickness! Like the Robbins engineered floor we put in the previous house even though we had a plywood subfloor and could have used solids. I live in New England where there are huge seasonal fluctuations in humidity - at least if you don't have humidifiers everywhere and air conditioning - and I dislike the gapping that is all too common in the winter with solid floors here. (I need to find some way of filling the big spaces between many of the boards in this old floor besides wood filler because they collect crud something fierce.) The engineered was more stable because of the cross-fiber construction. With older wood floors you can sometimes take up the boards and flip them over, but you can rarely do that with newer ones. However, these days you usually don't need to do a full sand-down-and-refinish unless you want to change the color of the floor or have deep gouges - a screen-and-recoat is plenty sufficient to take care of dulling and minor dings/scratches. Screen-and-recoating does not remove any of the wood itself.

With all due respect, squirrelheaven, saying engineered is not a good product because it buckled from a washing machine leak just doesn't make that much sense to me. I don't know of any engineered wood flooring that is approved by the manufacturer for use where it may get saturated with water, and your dealer or installer should have told you that right up front. Solid wood can also cup and buckle and turn horrid colors if it gets soaked - we have cupped boards with blue-black stains near two leaky windows. (Hint for anyone buying new flooring: purchase extra over the usual 5% installation cushion for patching any damage later. It's like the umbrella rule, if you have the extra nothing will happen, but if you don't you'll have a catastrophe. LOL)

I have all three........tile, carpet, and hardwood. There's a place for each.

Haven't read all the posts but just wanted to mention that all the 'filth' people often find under carpet isn't dirt at all but the breakdown of the padding and the backing of the carpet fibers. Doesn't take many years before it starts happening.

runninginplace, I couldn't agree with you more. When we first started researching for our new home, I had the same thoughts in mind about engineered not being as good, etc. We thought never would we go engineered, solid all the way for us. The more we researched, the more we learned. The vendor we used answered all of our questions, sent us tons of free samples, guarantees their product, etc. We couldn't ask for more beautiful floors, and at our age (57), they will probably outlive us, sanding or no sanding.

johnmari: Love, love, love those old pine floors of yours! And to think they are over 100 years old! If those floors could talk! Hmmmm.

Susan: We have allergies also. There are pros/cons to what type of wood floor you choose which is why I suggested the flooring forum. For instance, if you have a concrete slab, you need to put in an engineered wood floor as the engineered product is more dimensionably stable as the underlayers are comprised of different types/layers of wood. The top layer/s are comprised of a hardwood/stain of your choice. This choice as well as a prefinished floor (which will have 3/4" thick of oak, cherry, etc.) are the easiest to have installed with minimal disruption since the finishing process has been done at a factory. The con to these floors IMHO is the bevels where the planks are joined together--dirt/dust can accumulate in these belvels. Mine is the most disrruptive to install--site finished floor. First it's delivered a few weeks ahead of time to alclimate to the surroundings, then it's nailed in place, then sanding a few times, if you want, a stain is put down, then anywhere from 2-4 coats of poly with possibly a light sanding/buffing in between. If you choose an oil-based poly the drying time takes longer and there is quite a smell so you would probably want to be out of the house for the sanding/finishing portion. I agree with runninginplace there are different grades of wood and it all depends on the look you are going for. Mine is select & better red oak as I did not want a lot of knots in the wood--and the rift & quartersawn is also a premium cut since it's more of a straight grained look without the characteristic oak patterning. I like the wider planks--mine is 3"--though even wider like johnmari's looks good. If you prefer a more distressed look, you could probably get a lesser grade wood.

johnmari~Just scanning all the posts, I wanted to say how much I love your floors!

oceanna~We had a little dog when I was growing up, and often had hardwoods (moved a lot-army), also have them now in the DR. When she passed away, one of the first things I missed was the sound of her clicking toenails. I don't recall there being any scratches on the floors, and I would say that a regularly finished floor has some resistance to them. If any of you have a real wood desk, you can test this out by trying to scratch it with your fingernails. I just did that, and I can see a slight mark, but it rubs right off. She would slide on the floors if we threw her ball under the chairs, LOL. Hope this helps.

Wood floors...no comparison imho to carpet!! For all the reasons discussed but also it ADDS value to a home--don't think you can say that about carpeting...
Susan

johnmari, thanks for the pictures. Your floors are beautiful. By the way we are in NE too and I have never had a problem with real wood floors, though I have always had oak. (well one problem with a DW leak) These will be my first pine. We did 12 - 20 inch planks, sq head faced nailed, light stain and oil RX. I know the first dings, dents & scratches will hurt but eventually the real patina will come and to my eyes - thats is beauty.

Hardwood is nice, but carpet does have its positive aspects as well. For instance, when I walk across my wood floor, and get tiny bits of dirt sticking to my bare feet, I can walk into the carpeted hallway and no more dirt on my feet. Also, I don't have to chase the dust bunnies made of cat fur on the carpet. They just lay right on top and get vacuumed up, rather than dashing off under the sofa or into the corners or everywhere besides into the dustpan.

In my previous house, I put wood on the main floor except in the tv room, where I chose to put carpet. Rugs just seem like a PITB to me, and if the kid vomits on them, its not like you can get them any cleaner than the carpet.

I think you can get rugs cleaner than wall-to-wall... because you can take them to the dry cleaners. With WTW you've always got the question of the rug pad and the subflooring which you can't even see, let alone access. Right?

I have tile wood and carpet. Each have their uses for the areas they were placed.

Note to dog lovers (probably cats too, but I'm ignorant where cats are concerned) it may be 'fun' to see your dog slipping and sliding across the wood floor, but when they get older and are pained by poor hip quality, you won't be laughing and neither will they.

Puppies, especially, have NO place being on slippery floors. You are doing them no favors for solid hip development.

Enjoy your floors, but enjoy your pets for longer!

Now back to looking for a new wood floor!

Not to hijack, but this is kind of related. Have any of you ever seen, or heard of, this product? *Wood* tile?

http://owencarpet.com/madera.htm

Weird! Why reinvent the wheel? Parquet's been around for years... is this an attempt to improve on it?

Valinsv, I just love your solid wood premium red oak flooring. They are a perfect color (a color I love) and just are really gorgeous. I am now looking for hardwood floors for my home office two rooms. I will have to do the rest of my home in a future year when my budge allows it unless I get a good enough price to also do my family room since right now they all share the same wall to wall carpet. I was forced to make a decision with the water damage from my air conditioner unit dying on me. You are right I have to have engineered wood flooring due to the cement slab I have on my first floor with no basement. Thanks for all your information.

runninginplace, I love your hardwood floors also.

Johnmari, I love your rustic hardwood floors that look great in your rooms.

Here is our new laminate. We have 2 large dogs and several cats. Not living on it yet so can't testify about it.

Beautiful. What's the lovely wall color?

Red

Brutuses, Your new Laminate Flooring looks so real and is beautiful! What species is it imitating and what size planks and what brand? I guess that is an option for me to as long as it has no outgasing. I also love your wall color. Thanks for sharing.

The wall color is BM Nantucket Gray

The flooring is Bruce Park Avenue and the variety is called Makore. I believe the planks are 6". I don't have one handy to measure. The link I posted should have the specs on the flooring.

Here is a link that might be useful: link to flooring

bump for lynn and red in case they didn't see my response.

Thank you Brutuses for letting me know. I went shopping today and tomorrow I will try to find a store that has the Bruce Park Avenue Makore. Do you know if you have noticed any outgassing? I really love the look.

lynn, we haven't lived on it as it's going in our new house. I didn't notice any "smell" after DH laid the flooring and I'm pretty sensitive to smells. Although, I'm sure with almost everything we put in our house, unless it's really green, will have some outgassing. I just told my sister the other day, the good thing about building a house is that you don't have to live with the outgassing and smell that comes with the newly installed things. Of course they are still toxic later, I'm sure, but not as strong in smell. Armstrong warns on their installation instructions that when the product is cut it releases something that can and will cause cancer. I tried to tell DH to wear a mask while installing, but of course he didn't. He thinks he's super man. He'll most probably be diagnosed right after we move in because he's breathed in all the chemicals from the building materials he's used.

brutuses, I am now considering the Bruce Avenue Makore for my home office and the Armanoim for my Master Bedroom since I am so in love with that wood species and can't seem to let it go. I am thinking I need to buy what is good if my little Lexi marks on the floor. She is so small but has this need to mark new things.

The samples I have here are so thick at 1/2" and really are made like a solid wood piece and look very sturdy and nice. I spelled it and did not have a problem. I love your picture and I know samples do not show variation like yours does. I wish the sample would have a touch of red in it like your picture since My Cherry Furniture is red. I wish the Red Pradoo would be lighter since I love the wood grain on the Pradoo sample but I am not sure how i would look matching my desk or maybe being a tad darker?

Wow! All of your homes are just lovely!
What is the best way to clean hardwood floors, especially with pets?

This is a good question beachcomber3, so I am bumping up this thread.

beachcomber3, why don't you start a new thread on how to clean hardwood so others with knowledge will see it.

Good idea, lynn2006. Let's give it a try.

i know i'm late getting to this...

never had hardwood so don't know what it's like to live with them. I have some vinyl and clean frequently but it drives my nutz when i'm walking around and step on a tiny stone, crumb..whatever under my feet. I know that gets in the carpet too but don't think i notice it as easy? I love my dyson. :)
I think hardwoods are beautiful and once the vinyl in the kitchen/DR area's time is up DH wants to put hw in there.

I can't seem to find a hardwood floor color that does not darken over time that is a warm color with a touch of red that will not be too grainy. I then feel maybe I should go back and look at oak again but my floors will be engineered floors. I love the Bruce Park Avenue Makore but I just wish it has a touch more red and it was a touch lighter. I love Runninginplace floors but there is not sample to be sent to me so I can see how the floor looks in my home.

Shaking my head in disgust that I still have not chosen a floor for the master bdrm. I wanted wood and have since changed my mind (I think?) after spending some time in a home with Quick-Step laminate. I wish I wasn't like this, waffling back and forth...nothing good comes of indecision except stress. :(

Brutuses, if you're reading - are you in your house yet? Just wondered what the Bruce Park is like to live with. My heart is not into this, but my allergies have had it, need to get the carpet out of the master.

Susan

mpwdmom, I am just like you and can't come up with my final decision either but I think I have decided to keep the tiles for my foyer areas I chose and have here in the Rialto Beige since I got used to the color and now it is warm an not too dark. BUT for the floor I keep going back and forth.... I feel for you. I love the high gloss on the Bruce Park Avenue.

Hardwoods for sure!! Although I like nice carpet in the bedrooms.

My hardwoods show EVERYTHING with my pets...but I still love them.

valinsv, I still love your kitchen and hardwood floors so much and your kitchen is one of my favorite kitchens since it is so worm and inviting and stunning to look at. Just wanted to let you know. If I could have solid wood in my townhouse I would choose your floor but I lives on a slab and must choose Engineered Hardwood flooring.

Hardwoods that are distressed and in a fairly light color would suit you very well bc of the pets. MUCH better than carpet.

Old thread but I wanted to update...we chose the laminate for the master. And I'm sorry. Not sorry that the carpet is gone, the laminate is a good improvement but I wish I had gotten wood. When he was doing the floor Dh said, this laminate is nice, let's put it all over the house...I don't know why but I said no, let me live with this a few months first.

One good thing, we can (and have) moved furniture all over, around the painter, etc and it's not been a problem, no scratches.

Brutuses, I haven't kept up, are you in your house yet? And how do you like your floors, if you're in?

Susan