Can anyone help us with these choices? What are the advantages and disadvantages? Are some better for some type of rooms than others? I’m not exactly sure what laminate is. I’m guessing vinyl is like linoleum, and ceramic means tiling–please let me know if I’m wrong.
We sure enjoy having carpet in the bedrooms, playroom and living room as it invites us to plop comfortably on the floor in front of the TV and helps with the home theatre accoustics.
Hardwoods are nice in the dining room and library but we’ve noticed that in some of the very high traffic areas that they’ll need refinishing every 5 to 7 years or so and that’s not cheap to perform. For that reason, we’re going to pull them in the kitchen and breakfast room and install slate or tile instead.
If you are a klutz, even mildly, do not get ceramic tile in your kitchen. I’m THE klutz. I’ve broken so many plates and glasses since replacing the vinyl in our kitchen with tile. Easier to clean, but if I’m not ever-vigilant… <<crash!!>> {splatter} all over the place.
I’m hearing two things on hardwood floors: the new ones have an almost indesctructable coating, as do the high-end laminates, but then some people say they need refinishing.
Are both of these true–even with the new finish, they will need refinishing? Or is this the older/newer difference?
Granted, ours that need refinishing are about 10 years old. Likely as not there was some tremendous technological breakthrough the month after they were installed.
Any kind of hardwood or laminate is NOT indestructable. The finishes are the best they’ve ever been, but still nothing beats concrete. Use carpet where you want soft warm floors. Use Vinyl where you want low maintenance, waterproof floors, and hardwood, laminate, or ceramic where you want the look. Ceramic is a great choice in a master bath, but look into the in-floor heaters you can install under it for those cold mornings.
Our cats have virtually destroyed our carpeting – what, with the scratching and puking…Oy Vey! It’s beginning to look like a vomitorium. I really want to do laminate next time, but my husband thinks it’ll be too cold in the winter. Anyone have experience with this? It’s an old house.
We have a dog and three cats so I’ve always liked the idea of a stone floor with a drain in the middle and a hose hanging on the wall. Since I can’t sell the concept to my own family, I’m guessing you won’t go for it either. So, my advice is to go for the ceramic tile and if you do, make sure it’s not the smooth shiny kind, which is easy to slip on and shows up every little smudge.
We had big rustic tiles in our last home. They were comfortable to walk on, always looked great and never showed dirt, even when neglected for weeks.
–Carpet: Since you have pets, don’t get white. the carpet in my house was white at one time, but it is now just a dirty off-white color with cat barf stains
–Berber: Basically the same thing as carpet, but looks better and wears better than pile cut. Again consider the color.
–Vinyl: OK in bathrooms or laundry rooms, other than that it should not be anywhere else if possible. personally I would never intentionally put in vinyl flooring
–Ceramic: I have ceramic tile in the kitchen and front hall as well as in both bathrooms. Also what koeeoaddi said about the tile and get UNSANDED grout. Sanded grout is so freaking hard to clean. Also seal the grout to help with stain fighting there.
–Laminate: I know a few people who put this in thier homes. They say they wish they never spent the money on it. The one that has pets said that if you dont get pet accidents (wetting, puke) up right away horrid stains are left behind. The other has kids and says that if spills are not wiped up almost immediatly, the laminate would warp along the seams. I personally do not have experience with laminate, but I would not choose it.
–Pre-finished hardwood flooring: would last if installed right and has a classic look. If it has a high grade polyurethane finish it should last for quite a long time. It would need to be refinished in the future but probably in the high traffic areas. But pet stains mostly from wetting might be a problem.
Think about adding cork to your list. We have cork floors in the kitchen and they’re incredible. They give just a very little bit, but look like hardwood, and glasses don’t shatter into millions of little pieces if you drop one.
Berber for the bedrooms, marble for the bath, hardwood for everywhere else except the kitchen is what we decided.
Laminate is OK, except where you have any possiblity of standing water setting over time.
Sheet vinyl is the best for kitchens and bathrooms. Easist to clean and it doesn’t mind getting wet.
Berber carpet may look good- but heaven help you if you ever get a strand loose and someone (like a child or dog) pulls on it. I was stupid enough to drill a hole in a berber floor- it pulled a strand out all across the room.
Ceramic costs too much, can be cold on the feet, and china and glassware stand no chance at all when dropped.
I’m thinking about laminate but the rooms are below grade. How hard is it to install a moisture barrier and how expensive is it? Or is laminate a good idea in my situation.
The word in my office is that for laminates, you have to get high end, or else it will warp. I’m thinking that may be what happened in the cases mentioned.
Thanks for the insight into the animal issues and floors.
