Hardwood or carpeting?

9 years ago

Hi, I live in the northeast, outside Philly, cold winters. I need to replace the carpeting on the second floor in four bedrooms, a hallway and stairs. My first floor is all hardwood but it does get echoey at times. I am interested in viewpoints for resale and for comfort. Do people generally like the master bedroom to be hardwood or people like to see wall to wall carpeting? Also, if anyone has experience with radiant floor heating, is there a kind that would be the best to use under hardwood? Looking for opinions. Thank you

Featured Answer

wpbcarpet

9 years ago

You could do hardwood in the high traffic areas like the hall and the stairs, then carpet in the bedrooms? That would also give you a more manageable budget upfront and later on when it's time to replace the carpet in one of the rooms. And you can customize the carpet styles to the rooms, so the master would get a luxury carpet, the kids room a more durable one, a guest room a comfy but inexpensive style etc...

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Comments (37)

PRO
flair lighting
9 years ago
hard wood, and an nice area rug for the feet in the morning. hard wood is just all around easier to keep up with, doesnt stain or get matted down. also works with every style. also lets you pick an area rug that works for what you have going on.
PRO
Cali Floors
9 years ago
Go with hardwood! Carpets require extensive cleaning and maintenance, and quickly lose their beauty. They also easily collect allergens and dirt, and are a constant source of irritating dander, dust, fluff, fur, mildew, mold and pollen. Hardwood is safe, clean, long-lasting, and low-maintenance, not to mention beautiful. You may also like bamboo flooring as an alternative to hardwood. If you are concerned about comfort, cork flooring is a wonderful, softer alternative to hardwood.
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@Emmaline. ..just to assure you that whoever mentioned fuzzy toilet seats mistated this. No, they are not actually put on the SEAT. These are not so popular, I don't think, as they were 30 years ago but what they are is a matching rug toilet LID cover. I remember there used to be tank covers but my memory is vague on that. The tank thing might have been the tank LID also. In old days, bathroom sets had the bath mat, the mat with a cut out to allow it to fit around the toilet on the floor, the seat LID cover. They got picked up and washed regularly with the bath mat. I'm not sure if that wasn't better than stepping in male drippings. Better? Worse? We had no males in our household so it was nice to keep feet warm up in winter. My mom was a really good housekeeper so...anyway that was a looong time ago and it was the lid, not the seat itself. I could see how that would be so wrong on every level.
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If your going to paint it then it's important that you need something such as shellac zinnser on the surface first or you have a high risk of the paint not adhering and therefore peeling or oils from the wood seeping through the paint and staining the finished article. I wouldn't recommend painting it all without zinnser first.
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Extremely concise...........well put and covers everything. Interesting read.
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I'm not sure what OP intends to do. Replace? Add something on top like a rug? Yes, if the current flooring is real wood I'd certainly consider working with it. You can then still add rugs.
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Nancy Travisinteriors
9 years ago
If upstairs I like carpet in cold climates. Get good padding. Go a natural color.
Brandi Nash Hicks
9 years ago
I will always buy hardwood before carpet
harrycage
9 years ago
My preference on floors & stairs will always be hardwood. It's easier to maintain and definitely improves your home's resale value.
alleykat6093
9 years ago
Definitely hardwood. You can always put an area rug down.
PRO
User
9 years ago
hardwood. and add a nice area rug
PRO
River Valley Cabinet Works
9 years ago
Hardwood...you can go for the fleece rug, etc.
User
9 years ago
I would go for the carpeting on the second floor;)
bonnmom thanked User
User
9 years ago
Funny, how everyone likes hardwood and then says to cover it up with a rug;)))
PRO
River Valley Cabinet Works
9 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
It's not "covering with a rug"...it's a landing pad for your feet when you get out of bed.
User
9 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
River- most people do not buy a little landing pad.
Is this the *little landing pad* of which you speak?
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Interior Affairs -- Vickie Daeley
9 years ago
I love wood flooring but think that carpeting is very useful for the reasons you have listed. So, if you choose to have wood flooring everywhere you willneed to consider area rugs...
bonnmom thanked Interior Affairs -- Vickie Daeley
dinajaf
9 years ago
hardwood
Lynnie
9 years ago
I think your room with the color it is and hardwood is fantastic! You can always add a comfy, fluffy rug to warm it up. Most people prefer hardwood. People that have allergies cannot have carpet at all. Even though many times it is nice to keep carpet in bedroom, overall, it is a win-win having wood floors through out, just adding rugs here and there.

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Christine R
9 years ago
Go Eagles! Sorry, I am not a designer so that is all I could bring to the table. I remember the cold nights in suburban Philly. (Ambler,Horsham,Jamison) I think your room is beautiful as is but I would put area rug down in winter for your cold feet. Gorgeous room!
bonnmom thanked Christine R
PRO
River Valley Cabinet Works
9 years ago
@Margo-So we are to pick bones, are we? @Lynnie has the example about which I was speaking in the first picture. Now. it may be a bit of a stretch, but pictures #2 and #3 could also be considered "landing pads for the feet" IMMHO. ;-0
Christine Goodell-Nicodemus
9 years ago
I personally like carpet, because for years I had tile or hardwood in my homes, and it was always so cold in the winter. Area rugs are also Allergan collectors. I noticed that without carpet I had missed having somewhere to sit down and play with my pups, or play a board game with my 5 yr old. Area rugs just didn't work for that purpose. If you have bad knees or feet, walking on hard floors makes it worse. I'd go with a high padding, low pile carpet. They have padding now that resists mildew and several other allergy related problems. We had it in our California home in one living room. To truly help with allergies, you need an upgraded central air system with air scrubber and uv light. We have one and it's amazing. Hope you find what works best for you ! Good luck! :)
bonnmom thanked Christine Goodell-Nicodemus
PRO
Select Hardwood Floor Co.
9 years ago
@River...
When conversing with Ms. M...
Think... "Mini Cooper" and some of the reasoning becomes more clear... lol
Musterd Seeds
9 years ago
I think carpet is nice, when we get up we like to wake up on the warm and soft carpet by your foot. But this is my opinion. Specially the brown and modern design but the not hard expensive carpet. If you search you can find same as bed cover , soft carpet. It is not so easy dirty. You can use vacuum clean as in short time.
thorpetw
9 years ago
I prefer hardwood, but saw a nice design touch on an other Houzz showcase that I think will work great in a bedroom. It is an island of carpet surrounded by wood. Spinnaker Design was the showcase maybe you can look it up.
bonnmom thanked thorpetw
User
9 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
OH, I see how this is..... good old boys club joining forces to pick bones of poor old defensless me, lol. Well, boys, get your engines started..... beep beep
User
9 years ago
I will keep my eye out for you;)))
PRO
Select Hardwood Floor Co.
9 years ago
@Margo...
That's an odd place for curb feelers!
Just how bad of a driver ARE you? haha
User
9 years ago
;)
halfpint2
9 years ago
Beautiful room, keep the hardwood and add an area rug!
printesa
9 years ago
For me it's always hardwood. I'm in your area so I know how cold it gets here.. We had carpet when we bought the house and I couldn't wait to get rid of the wall to wall carpeting. I'm one of those people who can't stand wall to wall carpeting. If you are thinking to sell the house, then go with hardwood. A small carpet can always be added next to the bed if those who buy your house want one.
printesa
9 years ago
You were asking about radiant heat. I remember reading here something about it.,,from what I remember, it's not a good idea to use under wood flooring. You can use it in the bathroom under the tile. Also, wood is not that cold that you would need radiant floor heating
bonnmom thanked printesa
PRO
Rousseau Reclaimed
9 years ago
Go with a Hardwood floor, hands down. An area rug is used more to coordinate with the other design elements, and is not intended to cover the flooring. It is used to enhance the beauty of the floor and the room as a whole.

In regards to hardwood flooring on radiant heat, there are dozens of compatible species of wood that will work with no worries of the floor failing in any way. There are several important points to tend to, to be sure the floor stays happy on the radiant heat.

1) acclimate the wood to the radiant heat prior to installing the boards.

2) confirm the wood being used is compatible with radiant heat systems. Usually, wood that is "Old Growth" or certified as "Antique/Reclaimed" tends to have a much tighter growth ring structure, thus better suited to be installed on radiant heat. "New" wood floors on the other hand, often from faster growing trees, may not fair as well atop radiant heat. Additionally, these new wood floor options often limit you in regards to how wide of a board they'll recommend on radiant heat, whereas Antique wood flooring or old growth flooring is able to go as wide as 20" on top of radiant heat.

3) Set your radiant heat to a temperature you like, and leave it there for the heating season! This will maintain the room and the wood floors' moisture content thus not subjecting your floor to highs and lows in temp/moisture. The wood floor will be happy and warm just like your feet even without any carpets or rugs!

I like WIRSBO radiant heat. www.uponor-usa.com

Happy to chat with you or anyone else on this topic in person (this post is getting way too long! sorry about that) contact me at www.barnstormersreclaimed.com
bonnmom thanked Rousseau Reclaimed
PRO
Warmquest
9 years ago
Beautiful looking room. For either hardwood or carpeting ZMesh is an excellent option for radiant heat. Causes very little floor buildup as it is installed directly under the wood or carpet (usually under the mat). It can also be nailed and stapled through making for easy installation.
bonnmom thanked Warmquest
PRO
River Valley Cabinet Works
9 years ago
"Good ole boys"....@Select who? He hasn't been around for a while...*snort *snort
Tania Summers
9 years ago
In bedrooms I prefer carpet. I am having a home built and in my experience, living with hardwood throughout my entire current home is not as nice as I was expecting. Yes it looks good, but I have no soft areas to sit on the floor and play with my dogs or to just sit on the floor and play board games, etc. I never realized how much I did that until I moved into the house with all wood floors. So my new home will have hardwood on first floor and carpet throughout the second (bathrooms being an exception of course) : )
PRO
Select Hardwood Floor Co.
9 years ago
Been here... just "lurking" occasionally.
Been extremely bizzy and expecting my 1st grandchild/(son) any day.
Guess I haven't seen many topics that were stimulating enough to comment on of late. : )

Have a Happy Holiday!
User
9 years ago
Congrats on being a soon-to-be- grampa Select;)
PRO
Cancork Floor Inc.
9 years ago
Cork flooring is an "outside the box" concept you might want to put on your "to be investigated" list. Cork floating floor will remove the echo, adds thermal insulation (can take the place of in-floor radiant heat = saves THOUSANDS from on install) and looks like a solid surface like hardwood.

Just a thought.
Mary Nigro
9 years ago
We have heated floors in our tiled kitchen we never use because it makes our electric bill skyrocket! May be the type we installed but I would look into cost of use. I wish I would have. I think area rugs over hardwood look nice but I like wall to wall in my bedroom, seem I am in minority here so if your priority is resale You may have to invest in the hardwood. It might depend on what the comps in your area have.

Hardwood or carpeting?

Comments (37)

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