New home flooring.. carpet / wood / ceramic

[mart242]

I'm having a new house built in the spring. The builder provides carpet for the 2nd floor (4 bedrooms). I'm thinking for paying for the berber carpet upgrade but I'm wondering if I should consider going with hardwood. I've got a 1 1/2 year old son, might have another kid next year. Carpet is nice and warm... nice when young kids fall on it. Baby puke is a PITA to clean from regular carpet though (easier on berber?).

On a related note, ceramic is included in the kitchen / dinette... It's nice and everything but I'm kinda worried having that with a kid that would be learning to walk. Mine fell a bunch of times in the kitchen when learning and we've got vinyl... If it was on ceramic, I think that he would have cracked his head open!

Any thoughts?

[sandie]

i'd go with what's easy to clean: ceramic, tiles and wood.

with regards to having a baby and worried about them falling - just put them in their pen or have a blanket (or two) on the floor.

you could always buy a rug if you change your mind. harder to do with carpet.

my 2 cents

(please note that i'm utterly biased against carpets. i have dust allergies and have not lived in a carpeted house for about 15 years now)

[blackhawk]

good and bad for both

my kids are all grown now but carpet was nice and soft plus warm for kids, hardwood and ceramics(what we just got done) is cleaner and better looking but colder..........I find I have to wear slippers or shoes all the time

from guys at work with younger kids, its cleaner for allergies etc but not as friendly..........definitely a trade off

our finished basement will be redone in 2 years and I'll probably stay with carpet there

good point about kids hitting their heads

[CSK'sMom]

A couple of things to consider... Berber carpets are trendy as hell right now but not the easiest to live with. It's not recommended to use a beater bar attachment on the vacuum. It's a continuous pile carpet, which means that's it's one continuous thread. If you get a pull and you catch it with the beater bar kiss your carpet goodbye. The string will pull out across the entire carpet. If you're looking to upgrade put your money into the upgrade underpad. Underpad it what makes the carpet feel better underfoot and increases the life of the carpet. In regards to the kids, you may very well want to have it professionally cleaned every year or 2, which most folks do anyway. Kids can be very hard on hardwood. Think toy cars, etc scraped across the floor a thousand plus times.

Personally I could never live with ceramic in my kitchen. I spend way too much time in there. It can be cold underfoot, slippery and it's hard on your back. I'm not sure I would want a little one crawling around on it or learning to walk on it. Don't forget it can be broken as well if you drop something on it and anything breakable that you drop will shatter. I am seriously thinking about putting cork flooring in my kitchen as an alternative to the vinyl.

[temporalillusion]

My son learned to walk on hardwood and tile... Sure he fell and hit his head and got a nice bruise a few times but they are small and light and can't really do much damage to themselves without actually falling off a table or something.

I prefer the ability to truely clean hardwood and tile. That said, I did go with carpet for the stairs, the bonus room and the kids' rooms.

[rc51]

Personally I could never live with ceramic in my kitchen. I spend way too much time in there. It can be cold underfoot, slippery and it's hard on your back. I'm not sure I would want a little one crawling around on it or learning to walk on it. Don't forget it can be broken as well if you drop something on it and anything breakable that you drop will shatter. I am seriously thinking about putting cork flooring in my kitchen as an alternative to the vinyl.


Hardwood will get scratched up, but the real stuff can be re-finished. We just moved into a home with real hardwood and in certain lighting conditions you can see all the scratches a mile away, and the house is less than 2 years old..but I guess all surfaces will have some kind of wear.

I would love tile, I like the look of it, the feel of it and the durability. One thing I would do with tile though is to put in the electric heating sheets under the heavy traffic areas, it makes a world of difference walking bare feet on unheated vs heated tile.

[BobW]

I've had both hardwoods and ceramic tile in my kitchen. I prefer the tile because it wears better. Hardwoods need to be "screened" every few years to buff out the scratches caused by everday use (even my cats running leave scratches on the hardwoods). I don't find tile any "harder" to stand on, and I actually like a cool floor, although you can install in floor heating for surprisingly reasonable prices if its an issue for you.

As for falling babies... good luck...they will always find something hard to bonk their heads on. Puke is much easier to clean up on tile, then hardwood, and then carpet...

[mart242]

I don't find tile any "harder" to stand on, and I actually like a cool floor, although you can install in floor heating for surprisingly reasonable prices if its an issue for you.

Not if you're having that done through the builder. They wanted something like 1000$ for an ensuite. I can't wait to see how much they'll charge for a kitchen! (different builder though)


Thanks for all the tips folks. Keep em coming, I'm sure they'll be useful for lots of people. I'll stick with the carpet in the stairs as in my original plan but that berber carpet worries me now... (single strand). As for ceramic in the kitchen, it comes with the house. I could get a credit and go for vinyl, but installing ceramic later is a PITA.

[CSK'sMom]

mart242, berber carpets are absolutely not recommended for stairs, especially upholstered stairs. Look into a level loop or hard twist carpet. These will wear better. My hubby is a flooring installer by trade and just got a call last week regarding a pulled string on a berber. He went and looked at it yesterday and it can't be fixed. They will be replacing it before they have a houseful for Christmas.

As for the undertile heating systems, with energy prices continueing to rise I would hate to see the bills. Electricity is rumoured to be rising substantially in the spring, which most undertile systems are.

[sleepyguy]

we decided on this...

entrace + kitchen = ceramic (very nice upgraded one though :))

all bathrooms = ceramic

main floor + upstairs main hallway + stairs = hardwood

upstair rooms = carpet

I may rip out the carpet in one of the rooms that will be our office though and install laminate.

[bionicbadger]

Make sure you grab a few extra tiles from them. Tile in kitchen tends to get broken because stuff gets dropped quite often in the kitchen. If you have a few spare tiles, you can at least get any broken tiles replaced.

I like hardwoord and tile. Its just in the kitchen, you have to be a bit careful.

[mrmoe]

I ripped out the carpet and refinished the hardwood.
Its is nice!!!

[galanz]

We just put slate tile in our entryway, looks great and it's pretty durable. We're putting hardwood in the living room, and we're going with cork in the kitchen.

The nice part with cork is that it's easy to clean, easy to install, has some give to it and it's warmer than hardwood or tile. I'd think it would be a lot easier on junior's head.

[mart242]

We just put slate tile in our entryway, looks great and it's pretty durable. We're putting hardwood in the living room, and we're going with cork in the kitchen.

The nice part with cork is that it's easy to clean, easy to install, has some give to it and it's warmer than hardwood or tile. I'd think it would be a lot easier on junior's head.

What's the price difference between basic ceramic and cork?

[Bordello]

What's the price difference between basic ceramic and cork?
The cork floors I've seen are around $6/sq foot. That's a lot more expensive than ceramic.

[galanz]

What's the price difference between basic ceramic and cork?

As Bordello mentioned cork is around $6/sq ft. But it's a lot easier to put in. The installed price is going to be closer than the material price. IIRC we were quoted $7.50 for tile and $8.00 for cork. We're just going to do it ourselves.

[mart242]

As Bordello mentioned cork is around $6/sq ft. But it's a lot easier to put in. The installed price is going to be closer than the material price. IIRC we were quoted $7.50 for tile and $8.00 for cork. We're just going to do it ourselves.

Hmm, I'll have to give it a serious thought. Hopefully my builder will do business with a company that does cork floors. I'd like to have the choice.

If you drop a knife straight on the floor, does it stay up? :cheesygri

[galanz]

I'd look at the cork at least, it's got a good combination of features.

>>If you drop a knife straight on the floor, does it stay up?

Heheh, we don't have ours in yet we're waiting until after Christmas, but I'd bet it would.

[Bordello]

How durable do you think cork is. Is it as strong as softwoods like pine? I imagine that if you're a stillheto sort of person, cork isn't for you.

[CSK'sMom]

Cork flooring in now available in an application similar to laminate. Bordello, cork flooring has been used for hundreds of years in Europe. It's very durable. Todays cork floors have a varathane type finish on them. Because cork by nature is a resilient product heels aren't a worry, it somewhat "self heals"...

[Evil Techie]

id go for carpet

cleaning isnt so hard nowadays since theres that Bissell handsfree spotbot

http://www.bissell.com/Products/product.asp?catalog%5Fname=Bissell&category%5Fname=PortableDeepCleaner&product%5Fid=SpotBot

hard flooring is cold in the winter too
but is a lot easier to keep clean and u do see what kind of dirt is on it and can remove it easily

with carpet, its a great hiding place for organisms

[mart242]

id go for carpet

cleaning isnt so hard nowadays since theres that Bissell handsfree spotbot

http://www.bissell.com/Products/product.asp?catalog%5Fname=Bissell&category%5Fname=PortableDeepCleaner&product%5Fid=SpotBot


That spotbot looks neat. On a related note, do people frequently steam clean tiehr carpets? I've never done that in my 4 years old house... :| Am I a filthy pig? :confused:

[Evil Techie]

That spotbot looks neat. On a related note, do people frequently steam clean tiehr carpets? I've never done that in my 4 years old house... :| Am I a filthy pig? :confused:

when i had carpet in my old apartment, i used to rent the carpet shampooer once every 2 years or something from safeway and do it myself

i would recommend it, there is a lot in there that you dont see
and once you shampoo, ull see how dirty ur carpet was from just looking at the tank in the shampooer

[mart242]

when i had carpet in my old apartment, i used to rent the carpet shampooer once every 2 years or something from safeway and do it myself

i would recommend it, there is a lot in there that you dont see
and once you shampoo, ull see how dirty ur carpet was from just looking at the tank in the shampooer

I'm not gonna bother with renting one, it will cost at least 50$ and is a hassle. I'd buy one for 300$ instead. (see other thread that I've started).

[Bordello]

I'm not gonna bother with renting one, it will cost at least 50$ and is a hassle. I'd buy one for 300$ instead. (see other thread that I've started).
It doesn't seem like a smart buy for something you'll use maybe once a year. I've used many of those machines, and I've found that the ones for rent are much better than the stuff made by Hoover or Bissel. They're the industrial types. You get a much more thorough clean.

[mart242]

It doesn't seem like a smart buy for something you'll use maybe once a year. I've used many of those machines, and I've found that the ones for rent are much better than the stuff made by Hoover or Bissel. They're the industrial types. You get a much more thorough clean.

Yeah, I did some reading followign that. The hoover / bissel and other brand all die within a year of use. Plus, they only put water on the carpet, no steam at all. I'll go with a rental. :)

[yelworC_]

I was in similar situation about 2-3 years ago. These were (and still are, since they were proved valid) my thoughts and notes:
1. Kids fall when they learn to walk. Carpet is better. Even when they crawl.
2. Builder installed hardwood is expensive. I compared their prices with prices from e.g. Home Depot (with better hardwood, not the cheapest) and HD was about $1,000 cheaper (including installation)
3. Generally builder supplied stuff is more expensive than if you get it after.

These were my thoughs:
1. I can always replace the carpet once kids are bigger (e.g. 3y/old)
2. Since I know I'll be replacing them I do not care that much if they stain it.
3. Upgrade only necessary items (e.g. carpet quality), go with default items (e.g. tiles - there was plenty to choose from even from the standard options)

So this is what I did:
1. Upgraded carpet to 50oz/sqft. The default was I think 40.
2. Upgraded underpad to the best they had. I spoke to several people and it makes more difference and is better to upgrade underpad than carpet.
3. Picked tiles to entry room, kitchen, bathrooms. From the standard set(s). Everywhere else is carpet (even on the stairs).

After 2 years living in the house I know I made a great choice.

Good luck...

[mart242]

I was in similar situation about 2-3 years ago. These were (and still are, since they were proved valid) my thoughts and .

What about dining room / family room / living room? hardwood?

[yelworC_]

What about dining room / family room / living room? hardwood?

Carpet for now. Will replace it once kids grow up a bit...
Haven't had any issues so far. Plus there is a thing you can spray on your carpet to make it stain proof (same way as you can do with your sofa set). I am not sure where you can get it from since I got my from the guy I bought my sofa set from.

[bionicbadger]

Putting in hardwood while you are living in the house isn't that great of an idea. When they sand it before finishing it. It makes a whole lot of fine dust that will get everywhere in your house. and in your heating system. If you want hardwood, get it now and lay down a rug on top of it.

[SAS-1]

Putting in hardwood while you are living in the house isn't that great of an idea. When they sand it before finishing it. It makes a whole lot of fine dust that will get everywhere in your house. and in your heating system. If you want hardwood, get it now and lay down a rug on top of it.

I can vouch for that. My folks had shag carpet (later 1970s construction) and they decided to upgrade the whole house to hardwood last year. It was a MAJOR inconvenience. They have to empty entire rooms of furniture so we had to basically pack everything up like we were moving out and put it in the garage. The first day they started working they had to move the fridge, stove, etc. to the family room. The house was barely habitable for the 2 weeks it took them to complete it. Also, as mentioned with the sawdust, if they have to sand or lay down new plywood then it makes a mess.

[Bordello]

Putting in hardwood while you are living in the house isn't that great of an idea. When they sand it before finishing it. It makes a whole lot of fine dust that will get everywhere in your house. and in your heating system. If you want hardwood, get it now and lay down a rug on top of it.
Prefinished hardwood is an option, you know? There's no sanding involved. When we replaced the entire first floor of our house, there was hardly a mess. We did it one room at a time, moving all the furniture from that room into another room. You do get a bit of dust when you're cutting the wood, but we did it in the backyard so it's not a big issue.