HoneyBBQ
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Post by HoneyBBQ on Jun 4, 2015 10:51:15 GMT -5
I've posted about this before... but... oh well, here's to a new thread. Ok, so... our house is 11 years old. We've been in it for a little over 2. When we bought the carpet in the home was pretty ickified, but we are ok with that in the basement because that is where we keep the dogs during the day (they bark at people on the sidewalk going to the park, sigh). Upstairs, not so much. So, the layout is basement 100% carpet (will replace... someday when the dogs are gone). I don't mind carpet in a chilly basement. Main floor is 100% hardwood. Our upstairs is where we have 3 bedrooms + 2 bath + laundry. The hardwood goes through the master and the hallways. The 2 bedrooms have the exact same carpet. The carpet is REALLY light colored.... and we have 3 dogs (2 black) and a toddler... and... I don't vacuum enough. And they were already stained to begin with. Pic of carpet (from the sellers not our stuff). So, my kid often complains about hairy feet when she runs around barefoot. It's my hair.. .the dogs hair... its dirt... it's icky. I have priced out how much it is to replace the two bedrooms with the oak hardwood flooring and stain to match and it's 5k. I can afford it. But I'm a cheap bastard. Trying to do that whole retire early thing... house already costs way to much.... I can't really decide what's worse; blowing cash on some wood that is over priced or having my kid live in squalor. Ok, not quite, but the carpets really never look clean even when they ARE clean... and don't stay clean for more than a day because of how light they are. My spouse thinks carpet is NICE in a bedroom. I hate it and want wood floors and a rug I can throw away someday if it's too nasty. Anyways, should I just do it? I'd like to do it in the summer if possible because we can ventilate a bit more. What a PITA. And PS I hate the yellow walls. I'm slowly painting the entire house away from builder's yellow.
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yogiii
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Post by yogiii on Jun 4, 2015 10:55:40 GMT -5
LOL, I want to do the same with our office, it has the same color carpet and the rest of our downstairs is oak or tile. I can't decide what to put down because part of it depends on what type of office chair we get. I hear there are casters that won't mark up wood but can't decide if getting a rug to put over wood is better.
DO IT!
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Tiny
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Post by Tiny on Jun 4, 2015 11:02:01 GMT -5
I am biased against carpeting - so any other kind of flooring generally gets my vote.
That said, what if you do alittle cost analysis:
How much would it cost to replace the carpet with new carpet? How much does it cost to have the carpet cleaned (you'll probably do that atleast once maybe twice? during it's life time)? How much do you think it will cost to replace the carpet AGAIN in 7 to 10 years?
How much does an area rug cost (you'll probably want to put something on the floor if you go with hardwood or laminate)?
How long do you expect to be in the house? How does maintaining/replacing carpet compare to the cost of hardwood with occassional purchases of area/throw rugs?
A cheap quick fix might be to have the current bedroom carpets cleaned (I personally cringe at the thought not having it cleaned before doing this fix) AND then go out and purchase an area rug (some non-wool type rug) and put that OVER the carpet. Your kid gets an instantly 'updated' room and no more hairy feet. When your kid wants to update their room (because they are NOT a little kid anymore) just repaint the walls and get them a new area rug.
There is an overwhelming variety of non-wool area rugs available thru Home Depot/Menards. The 8 by 10's tend to be under $300.00. I've got one of those in my dining room (over hardwood floors) The last 'cheap synthetic rug' looked good for about 8 years of medium use - my dining room is a 'pass thru' room from the kitchen to the front room (yeah, I have a front room).
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Jun 4, 2015 11:04:17 GMT -5
Real wood floor (not an engineered wood product or laminate)? That seems a reasonable price and you won't think it is expensive when you see how much effort the sanding takes. You also need to be gone from the house for a couple days when it is sealed.
Why oak? There are so many nice wood choices now.
Getting wood floors does not absolve you of cleaning responsibility. You will be sweeping plus vacuuming then. You & hubby are working professionals, why not get cleaners to vacuum for you?
I would put in wood floors both for resale value and personal preference. I am surprised that your home didn't have them under the carpet already.
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Abby Normal
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Post by Abby Normal on Jun 4, 2015 11:05:02 GMT -5
Just a reminder that you and your dogs do not shed less- just because you have carpeting. The cleaning method is just different. So if you get the hardwood- do it because it's what you want- not because you think- by some miracle- there won't be hair on the floor.
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HoneyBBQ
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Post by HoneyBBQ on Jun 4, 2015 11:05:25 GMT -5
Tiny - I think rugs on carpet looks weird. It would probably 1/5th the price to replace the two bedrooms with carpet. Or even less. We clean all the carpets (either hire somebody or do it ourselves with the home depot version) 1-2x a year already because of the dogs. We expect to be in the house 10+ more years. So we'd 'see' something on our investment, or at least get to enjoy it.
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HoneyBBQ
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Post by HoneyBBQ on Jun 4, 2015 11:06:13 GMT -5
Just a reminder that you and your dogs do not shed less- just because you have carpeting. The cleaning method is just different. So if you get the hardwood- do it because it's what you want- not because you think- by some miracle- there won't be hair on the floor. Sorry, I forgot to post about this, but - cleaning hardwoods is infinitely easier than carpet. we have one of those pet roomba things, and it just doesn't work as well on carpet as it does on hardwood. Plus there are no stains to worry about, doggie accidents will just wipe up, etc.
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milee
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Post by milee on Jun 4, 2015 11:07:01 GMT -5
My spouse thinks carpet is NICE in a bedroom. So does mine. On the other hand, he never vacuums. Not an exaggeration - I mean never. On the 23rd, we will have been married for 25 years and I'm not sure I've ever seen a vacuum in his hand. So... never.
Since I'm the one that vacuums (or sometimes arranges for someone to vacuum), I've decided that I get to decide what is nice vs. nasty in regards to floor coverings. IMHO, carpet is firmly in the "nasty" category. Can't even begin to describe how unsanitary it is and how much I don't want my kids rolling around on it. So we have tile or laminate. It's not exactly sterile, but it's a little less nasty than living with years of accumulated ick.
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HoneyBBQ
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Post by HoneyBBQ on Jun 4, 2015 11:07:34 GMT -5
Real wood floor (not an engineered wood product or laminate)? That seems a reasonable price and you won't think it is expensive when you see how much effort the sanding takes. You also need to be gone from the house for a couple days when it is sealed. Why oak? There are so many nice wood choices now. Getting wood floors does not absolve you of cleaning responsibility. You will be sweeping plus vacuuming then. You & hubby are working professionals, why not get cleaners to vacuum for you? I would put in wood floors both for resale value and personal preference. I am surprised that your home didn't have them under the carpet already. Yes, real oak. Oak, because that's what the rest of the flooring in the house is. Since the woods meet at the hallway, I'd want them to match. See my above post re: cleaning. Our house is only 10 years old. I'd expect carpet over wood in an older house; not in a relatively new one.
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Lizard Queen
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Post by Lizard Queen on Jun 4, 2015 11:10:06 GMT -5
I prefer carpet in bedrooms. It just feels warmer. I do plan on getting rid of the carpet in 2 of our rooms though. Our dining room carpet is just nasty. That said, the hair is going to be there with or without the carpet. It'll just swish around the room more on wood floors. It seems easier to "catch" all of it on carpet, to tell you the truth. JMO.
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CarolinaKat
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Post by CarolinaKat on Jun 4, 2015 11:25:00 GMT -5
Real wood floor (not an engineered wood product or laminate)? That seems a reasonable price and you won't think it is expensive when you see how much effort the sanding takes. You also need to be gone from the house for a couple days when it is sealed. Why oak? There are so many nice wood choices now.Getting wood floors does not absolve you of cleaning responsibility. You will be sweeping plus vacuuming then. You & hubby are working professionals, why not get cleaners to vacuum for you? I would put in wood floors both for resale value and personal preference. I am surprised that your home didn't have them under the carpet already. I have some bamboo flooring that I eventually want in my LR and hall
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Jun 4, 2015 11:27:19 GMT -5
Oh sorry, my memory must be failing. I remembered pictures you posted that were the big old craftsman style homes, so I thought it was older. Maybe it wasn't your house that you were posting, but area real estate pics.
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Chocolate Lover
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Post by Chocolate Lover on Jun 4, 2015 11:30:19 GMT -5
I prefer carpet in bedrooms. It just feels warmer. I do plan on getting rid of the carpet in 2 of our rooms though. Our dining room carpet is just nasty. That said, the hair is going to be there with or without the carpet. It'll just swish around the room more on wood floors. It seems easier to "catch" all of it on carpet, to tell you the truth. JMO. Hair tumbleweeds are awesome
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Lizard Queen
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Post by Lizard Queen on Jun 4, 2015 11:36:24 GMT -5
I prefer carpet in bedrooms. It just feels warmer. I do plan on getting rid of the carpet in 2 of our rooms though. Our dining room carpet is just nasty. That said, the hair is going to be there with or without the carpet. It'll just swish around the room more on wood floors. It seems easier to "catch" all of it on carpet, to tell you the truth. JMO. Hair tumbleweeds are awesome That's a great name for it! I tell ya, one of my most annoyed moments was in my old townhouse that was all hardwood and linoleum. I had 2 cats living with me, swept the whole damn place, sit down on the couch and spot freakin' hair tumbleweeds in the corner! I did not miss that corner--they snuck over there!
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HoneyBBQ
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Post by HoneyBBQ on Jun 4, 2015 11:41:53 GMT -5
Oh sorry, my memory must be failing. I remembered pictures you posted that were the big old craftsman style homes, so I thought it was older. Maybe it wasn't your house that you were posting, but area real estate pics. Good memory! It's a pretend craftsman! You wouldn't know it was 'new' because it was done pretty well in the style of neighboring houses.
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alabamagal
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Post by alabamagal on Jun 4, 2015 11:56:47 GMT -5
Well first off, the amount of dirt/dog hair does not change with the type of flooring. It is just how much you notice it.
My old house was all carpet. I never looked at the carpet and said "I need to vacuum". When I did vacuum, I was amazed at how much carpet the vacuum would pick up. I had medium light carpets. My 2 current dogs are white and tan medium hair length.
My new house has hardwood. While I like it, if I go a couple days without sweeping, the dog hair begins to pile up.
I prefer carpet in the bedroom. I would replace it with a darker color that hides the dirt/dog hair better.
And if my kid complained about dirt/hair on the floor, I would point them in in the direction of the vacuum cleaner.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Jun 4, 2015 11:58:38 GMT -5
I hate carpet.
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NomoreDramaQ1015
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Post by NomoreDramaQ1015 on Jun 4, 2015 12:50:54 GMT -5
My spouse thinks carpet is NICE in a bedroom. I hate it and want wood floors and a rug I can throw away someday if it's too nasty.
I fought for years with DH on this. I HATE carpet. We have two big dogs as well and it's disgusting. We still have carpet in the sunroom b/c it was cheaper but I want to rip it out if we purchase the house and put down laminate.
DH insisted for years we had to have carpet b/c it is so nice. This from the man who never vacuums and when he does has managed to break 5 separate vacuum cleaners.
The carpet in the house was cheap my dad had it put in quickly before my grandmother moved in (apparently what was here first was worse) and it just got crappier over time. I could have seen DH's point if we had luxury carpet but this was junk.
Finally one day when he was at work I called my dad over and we ripped up the living room carpet.
DH was pretty pissed at me but over time agreed it's better. Took me another three years to convince him to rip up the carpet in the bedrooms. Finally got him to do it when Gwen puked up rainbow colored popcorn on our bedroom floor and I couldn't get the stain out.
I still have to clean the floors a lot thanks to the dogs/kids but it is MUCH easier. I get queasy sometimes b/c I think about this is what I SEE on the hardwood. I can't imagine was living in the carpet all that time that I couldn't see.
The hardwood gets clean and I can do it easily. I don't feel like carpet is ever clean and I don't want to shell out the money to have it professionally cleaned on a regular basis.
DH still occasionally bitches but I tell him if he wants carpet that damn bad then he needs to step up and be responsible for weekly vacuuming. That usually shuts him up. Gwen also often takes the opportunity to spill something that would be a nightmare to clean up if we had carpet and that reminds him of why we got rid of it in the first place.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Jun 4, 2015 12:55:40 GMT -5
Oh sorry, my memory must be failing. I remembered pictures you posted that were the big old craftsman style homes, so I thought it was older. Maybe it wasn't your house that you were posting, but area real estate pics. Good memory! It's a pretend craftsman! You wouldn't know it was 'new' because it was done pretty well in the style of neighboring houses. Seriously - PM with who the builder was then. It looked authentic! I want a Craftsman style house, but don't want to deal with very old home. I can't find houses the size/style I want in neighborhoods I want to live in, so thinking about going after land & building a county north
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kittensaver
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Post by kittensaver on Jun 4, 2015 13:04:42 GMT -5
Another vote here for hardwood floors - with area rugs on top of them in places where you want warmth (like under beds and couches). Real wood is NOT that hard to take care of (vacuum to get rid of dust and pet hair; a weak vinegar and water solution when a wipe-down is needed). Once you put it in, it will last you longer than almost any other flooring material. And it will look good for many years. If cheapness is your issue (it's mine too, lol) W-t-W carpeting is d*mned expensive to be replacing every 7-10 years! Plus as you and others have said, it gets gross pretty fast in a well-lived in and well-loved home (as opposed to a showcase home). Areas rugs can be rolled up and sent out for cleaning, and will certainly last you FAR longer than 7-10 years.
Just my two cents. Good luck whatever you decide.
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cael
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Post by cael on Jun 4, 2015 13:10:08 GMT -5
I grew up in a townhouse with those 70s square wood floor tiles, and I always swore I'd only want carpet after that because my feet were constantly cold. I've kind of changed my tune because carpet can be such a PITA. I'd still want wall-to-wall in my bedroom, but probably hardwood everywhere else. So much easier to clean. And I keep seeing this thread title and thinking "is your kid a hobbit?.."
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andi9899
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Post by andi9899 on Jun 4, 2015 13:10:56 GMT -5
I have hardwood floors in the rooms that aren't bedrooms. Carpet in the bedrooms. I like it and it's pretty. I don't have animals though. I think I would spend the money and get wood floors. You can wipe up spills instead of shampooing the carpet. But, dust does really show on hardwood and not on carpet.
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zibazinski
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Post by zibazinski on Jun 4, 2015 13:11:23 GMT -5
I have cats. They shed too. I also have hardwoods. I could clean them daily and it'd make no difference.
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CarolinaKat
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Post by CarolinaKat on Jun 4, 2015 13:26:24 GMT -5
I grew up in a townhouse with those 70s square wood floor tiles, and I always swore I'd only want carpet after that because my feet were constantly cold. I've kind of changed my tune because carpet can be such a PITA. I'd still want wall-to-wall in my bedroom, but probably hardwood everywhere else. So much easier to clean. And I keep seeing this thread title and thinking "is your kid a hobbit?.." There are things called rugs. Rugs are cool, Rugs can be taken outside and cleaned (I can't stand vacuum sounds now), Rugs can outgas somewhere that isn't my room. A new rug can change the tone of a room. Oh yeah, they also give you this nice warm feeling on the feeties when getting out of bed.
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Post by The Walk of the Penguin Mich on Jun 4, 2015 13:47:15 GMT -5
Well first off, the amount of dirt/dog hair does not change with the type of flooring. It is just how much you notice it.
Exactly. With carpet, the hair is everywhere. With hardwood, it tends to clump up and it seems like I am always picking up clumps of dog/cat/human hair (even after vacuuming).
We have hardwood and tile upstairs (no carpet). There is carpet running down the stairs and the basement den and guest bedrooms downstairs are all carpeted. We have hardwood in the master bedroom and while I'm ok with the look, it is still cold when I go on an early morning bathroom jaunt.
That being said, the silk rug that we picked up in Turkey looks awesome at the end of the bed, against the hardwood floors.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Jun 4, 2015 13:51:45 GMT -5
I like my hardwood, but I must be cleaning it wrong, because I find vacuuming carpet way easier than vacuuming and mopping my hardwood. Hardwood has many benefits. They are beautiful, long lasting, and dirt is removable. However cleaning them is a pain and 5 seconds after vacuuming and mopping the dog hair starts showing up again.
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bean29
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Post by bean29 on Jun 4, 2015 14:27:47 GMT -5
I agree with Pooks, I think hardwood is way harder to maintain than carpet. My last house was a bi-level with Laminate floors in the kitchen and living center area. 24x24? It was a constant battle to keep the dust and dirt off the floors. It looked beautiful, but it was a lot of work.
Now we have carpet in the living room. Wanted hardwood originally DH said no. Recently he decided we need to replace the carpet and said maybe we should get hardwood. Well I would go for it, but it is more...and now DH mentioned that he does not know how we would finish the floor around our river rock fireplace...it's all wavy.
Working on getting carpet now. We want it by July 25th. Home Depot said we had to pay for it to get an install date - they said 5 weeks out...they come back and give us July 21. That is 7 weeks out and the install is the week of my party. Now we are trying to look around for someplace else, but homedept had low low price for higher quality carpet.
I do agree that old carpet has to have lots of something gross lurking underneath it. I have tile in my entryway, hallways, kitchen, laundry room and bathrooms. We also have tile in the basement living center, bath and office. We do have heat vents in our basement, and no one seems to feel it is too cold down there. I wanted tile in the basement b/c when we were finishing it, we were sweeping up lots of dead bugs. thinking of that underneath my carpet. I also knew I was going to want to put bug spray down, and did not want to do that to carpet. We put carpet in the basement guest bedroom only. Everytime I sweep and Mop the floors I ask my self what if I had carpet here?
I am lucky, we have 2 dogs, but they are no-shed breeds. It's just what ever the puppy decides to shred or if one of them coughs something gross up.
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HoneyBBQ
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Post by HoneyBBQ on Jun 4, 2015 14:30:44 GMT -5
Good memory! It's a pretend craftsman! You wouldn't know it was 'new' because it was done pretty well in the style of neighboring houses. Seriously - PM with who the builder was then. It looked authentic! I want a Craftsman style house, but don't want to deal with very old home. I can't find houses the size/style I want in neighborhoods I want to live in, so thinking about going after land & building a county north Hmmm how do I find out who the builder was? I know they do a bunch of stuff around Seattle....
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Post by The Walk of the Penguin Mich on Jun 4, 2015 14:33:35 GMT -5
Seriously - PM with who the builder was then. It looked authentic! I want a Craftsman style house, but don't want to deal with very old home. I can't find houses the size/style I want in neighborhoods I want to live in, so thinking about going after land & building a county north Hmmm how do I find out who the builder was? I know they do a bunch of stuff around Seattle.... If you go into your county's tax records, there will be a list of owners of the house before you. The first owner is very likely the builder....or it is for our house.
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HoneyBBQ
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Post by HoneyBBQ on Jun 4, 2015 14:34:16 GMT -5
Gosh, seems like a 50/50 split. I like that carpet is cozy and warm. But I do think with dogs dragging their butts on it that maybe I don't want to nuzzle up in it? Dunno.
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