Your meat of choice gets digested pretty fast. The good news is this long-term relationship with flooring should make it an easier choice. At the time of making this article, presidential debates if you can call them that were happening. Hardwood is the timeless flooring choice. This gives hardwood owners an air of superiority. A major reason people choose hardwood is they feel like carpet gets dirty and is more difficult to clean.
Debris, dust, crumbs, or spills cannot hide with hardwood, and that means you can easily clean them up with a broom and mop. In addition, carpet actually acts as an air filter by trapping dust and debris until it can be vacuumed.
Also, carpets can have a luxurious and natural look, just go with a high-end wool carpet. Properly maintained hardwood floors can last for multiple decades. If the floor is damaged, you can refinish it. Not to mention, hardwood never goes out of style. Also, refinishing hardwood can cost nearly as much as new carpet. Real hardwood comes from completely renewable resources. This not only gives the homeowner the feel of natural beauty, but it also is environmentally friendly.
Wool comes from sheep, and there are also more and more quality carpets being made of recyclable materials: Smartstrand is a popular one. They need to come from socially responsible companies. Any time you want to add a new look to your flooring, you can throw a rug on top. Subsequent boards are installed by sliding the edge grooves into the tongues of the preceding boards, then nailing the boards to the joists with nails or stapled driven at an angle down through the tongues.
If the flooring boards are unfinished, the floor is then sanded, stained, and top-coated with several coats of polyurethane varnish. However, it's more common these days for solid hardwood flooring to be prefinished at the factory, as is also true of all engineered hardwood flooring products.
Hardwood flooring installation is usually done by professionals. DIY installation is not common with either carpet or hardwood flooring, since both require special tools that few people own. But costs for professional installation are considerably higher for hardwood flooring.
Most carpet is considerably less expensive than most hardwood materials. Carpet is a considerably less expensive flooring, but remember that you'll likely be replacing it every 10 years or so. Carpet is generally ready for replacement in 10 years or less. It's not at all uncommon for hardwood flooring to last years, and there are plenty of instances where a floor lasts through two or more homeowner generations. The life expectancy of a hardwood floor is so superior to that of carpet that it may even be the cheaper flooring over the lifetime of the home.
Carpeting is typically available in rolls 12 or 15 feet long, cut to whatever length the customer wants. With engineered hardwood, there is an even greater range, with planks as wide as 7 inches.
There is no particular size advantage to either carpet or hardwood; it depends on your preference. Carpeting usually does not add much real estate value since it is recognized as an inexpensive, short-lived flooring material. However, new carpeting will certainly be seen as an improvement over shabby old flooring.
Hardwood flooring commands more respect than carpeting as a design choice in residential applications. It is seen as being high-end and luxurious, both because it is a natural material and because it is much longer-lasting than carpet. Depending on the type of wood chosen and how it is finished, hardwood can create unmistakable prestige as a flooring material. Real estate professionals and prospective home buyers will much prefer hardwood flooring over carpet.
Perhaps the main advantage that carpet has over hardwood is its comfort. Carpet is soft and feels great beneath bare feet This is particularly soothing in bedrooms, children's rooms, and some family and living room areas, where you want to promote an atmosphere of comfort and relaxation. Carpet is much warmer than hardwood floors, especially on a chilly winter morning.
Dense carpeting with a quality bonded polyurethane padding beneath can create an R-value of 4 or more, meaning that the warmth carpeting lends to a room is very real. The warm softness of carpet also creates a surface with excellent sound-deadening properties. The fact that carpet is so soft also makes it a particularly safe flooring choice.
With hardwood, a trip or fall can result in injuries and broken objects, but carpets offer a cushioned surface throughout the room.
This can be a strong consideration in homes with small children or elderly residents. On the down-side, carpet can be a poor choice for allergy sufferers, since carpets can trap dust mites and other allergens. A major complaint about hardwood floors is that they are loud. When installed on upper levels, people below often complain that they can hear every footstep.
Hardwood does hold one important comfort virtue, though. Whereas carpet can attract and hold dust and microorganisms, hardwood is easily swept or damp-mopped free of these particles, which can be troublesome for allergy sufferers. Hardwood can also be appealing to those concerned about using green building materials.
Provide a barrier between your rug and the hardwood with a non-slip rug pad. In places where you do the most walking or standing, choose a carpet pad with a little bit of extra cushioning. For flat-weave rugs, try a discreet, dual-sided felt rug pad that reduces slippage. Installing carpeting directly over a laminate floor is an option that can easily be done.
If the existing laminate floor is in good shape, you can install the carpeting and live on it for many years. Carpet is usually the best choice for bedrooms and master bedrooms because it is soft and cozy. It is warm and can reduce sound, versus hardwood, which helps sound resonate and makes bedrooms feel cold.
Like carpet tiles, peel-and-stick cork tiles offer a variety of awesome possibilities. If eco-friendly, sustainable types of flooring are important to you, then you have options. You can have your carpet and biodegrade it too! Too cheesy? Anyway, there are green carpet options out there if you do your research. Look for products made from organic materials like wool, cotton, or bamboo.
Some companies even use reclaimed and recycled materials to construct carpet products. Concerned about your padding or carpet emitting VOCs? They can steer you in the right direction. No doubt about it, green hardwood flooring is becoming more desirable among consumers. But how do you know if the manufacturer is ethical? How do you know if the product is sustainable? Look for the Forestry Stewardship Council certificate.
When it comes to eco-friendly flooring choices, we must highlight the amazingness of cork and bamboo. The best cork flooring and best bamboo flooring options on the market today are incredibly sustainable. In fact, when talking about the pros and cons of engineered bamboo flooring , sustainability tops the list.
Ultimately, your local flooring gurus are the best local resource for accurate info on sustainable flooring options. Carpeting combinations are literally endless. The millions of color, fiber, and texture options range all the way from New York Times -approved plush purple chic to Bob Vila -beloved subtle suggestions.
Then there are the different types of carpet piles: cut pile, loop pile, and cut-loop pile. And of course, this discussion MUST circle back to the awesomeness of carpet tile with its bazillion potential combos of colors and patterns. Fun Fact: tiles can be arranged as an area rug over all sorts of existing flooring. There are dozens of wood species to choose from—oak, mahogany, walnut, bamboo, and cork to name a few—and each one offers its own unique look and feel.
Your finish choices also give you different looks, feels, etc. Then there are the cut patterns—the aesthetics vary depending on the way the boards are cut. This article from the New York Times discusses different cut patterns and how they can highlight the grains of a wood differently.
From flat-sawn planks showing a wavy grain look to live-sawn planks showing a combination of grain patterns, you have serious options. Have a desire to step out of bed onto a comfy cloud of softness?
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