On 11/21/2012 6:23 PM, Gordon Shumway wrote:
It's time to replace our carpeting again and I was thinking about the
possibility of installing hardwood flooring instead for all or part of
it. This would be the living room, dining room, hallway and bedrooms
only. The kitchen, bathrooms and entrance are tiled.

My wife said something about hardwood may be harder on older people
than carpeting, we're in our mid 60's, but I don't know about that.

Does anyone have any experience or preferences that may help me decide
which way to go?

Lots of considerations:
Dust/mite/pollen allergies? Hardwood floors.
Less dusting/vacuuming desired? Hardwood floors.
Cold slab or cold room underneath in a climate with significant winter
weather? Carpets.
Room gets noisy use or complaints of noise one floor down? Carpets.
Audiophile quality system? Carpets.
Usually walk around in socks or bare feet? Carpets.
Incontinent pets or people? Hardwood floors.
Plan to lay area rugs over the hardwood floors? You are spending more
than for either choice alone and have taken on the allergy issues again.
Decorating options greater with rugs than with bare hard wood floors.
You also should consider how much use the room gets. If not much, the
potential disadvantages of carpets are less significant.
Maintenance costs depend on how likely there will be a major spill (and
of what) or something or someone producing a deep scratch or gouge. A
professional re-finishing of a damaged hardwood floor (sanding,
re-varnishing with or without staining) can cost as much or more than
replacing wall to wall carpeting (depending on the details).

Gordon Shumway wrote:
It's time to replace our carpeting again and I was thinking about the
possibility of installing hardwood flooring instead for all or part of
it. This would be the living room, dining room, hallway and bedrooms
only. The kitchen, bathrooms and entrance are tiled.

My wife said something about hardwood may be harder on older people
than carpeting, we're in our mid 60's, but I don't know about that.

Does anyone have any experience or preferences that may help me decide
which way to go?

Huh? It's no harder to walk on than the sidewalk.

In my view, laminate is preferable to carpet for many reasons. Some a
* In many instances laminate is cheaper than carpet*
* Laminate is fairly easy to install for a DIY person and a fun, week-end,
project
* Laminate is MUCH easier to keep clean and considerably tougher to damage
than carpet
* By changing out the throw rugs, you can easily alter the decor of the
room. Try that with purple shag!

If you do decide on laminate, check back here. We who've worked the project
can provide some really useful tips.
---------
* Check Lumber Liquidators and Floor & Decor Outlets for economy laminate
(they've got quality stuff, too). In most cases, prices are half that of the
box stores. I've seen perfectly usable laminate, say for a spare bedroom, at
$0.49/sq ft.

On Thu, 22 Nov 2012 17:17:52 -0600, "HeyBub"
wrote:

Gordon Shumway wrote:
It's time to replace our carpeting again and I was thinking about the
possibility of installing hardwood flooring instead for all or part of
it. This would be the living room, dining room, hallway and bedrooms
only. The kitchen, bathrooms and entrance are tiled.

My wife said something about hardwood may be harder on older people
than carpeting, we're in our mid 60's, but I don't know about that.

Does anyone have any experience or preferences that may help me decide
which way to go?

Huh? It's no harder to walk on than the sidewalk.


Not an expert, but some people have feet trouble with hard surfaces.
Usually seen the comparison applied with concrete versus dirt or turf.
Horses and athletes.
But when I was doing heavy factory work some guys said wood was easier
on their feet/legs than concrete.

On Wed, 21 Nov 2012 17:23:09 -0600, Gordon Shumway
wrote:

It's time to replace our carpeting again and I was thinking about the
possibility of installing hardwood flooring instead for all or part of
it. This would be the living room, dining room, hallway and bedrooms
only. The kitchen, bathrooms and entrance are tiled.

My wife said something about hardwood may be harder on older people
than carpeting, we're in our mid 60's, but I don't know about that.

Does anyone have any experience or preferences that may help me decide
which way to go?

Thank you all for your replies. I'm leaning more toward wood than
carpeting. Now all I have to do is convince my darling bride.

On Thu, 22 Nov 2012 20:01:49 -0600, Gordon Shumway
wrote:

On Wed, 21 Nov 2012 17:23:09 -0600, Gordon Shumway
wrote:

It's time to replace our carpeting again and I was thinking about the
possibility of installing hardwood flooring instead for all or part of
it. This would be the living room, dining room, hallway and bedrooms
only. The kitchen, bathrooms and entrance are tiled.

My wife said something about hardwood may be harder on older people
than carpeting, we're in our mid 60's, but I don't know about that.

Does anyone have any experience or preferences that may help me decide
which way to go?

Thank you all for your replies. I'm leaning more toward wood than
carpeting. Now all I have to do is convince my darling bride.

It wouldn't take any convincing for mine. Some day, again.

Wood may be slippery and can cause more accidents than carpets. That's what I think your wife is saying. With carpets you can be sure that there are no slippery floors but it is also a bit costly in terms of maintenance. - yve

Hardwood - it improves value, lasts longer and easier to clean when compared to carpet. Hardwood floor is better for people who have allergies. But carpet on bedrooms will provide warmth and smooth to feet. Personally I prefer hardwood floor.

The thing with changing your flooring is that it is a big job and one that won’t be done for another few years, well at least ideally. To change a floor all the furniture and room items have to be removed and stored somewhere else. Then the floor has to be fitted before everything gets moved back into place.

The mistake a lot of people make is to only think about the present problems a carpet or wood floor may make when trying to decide. However because the floor will be a permanent feature for years to come you should try and think about future problems you may face. This was our downfall.

Last year we decided to get a wooden floor from here. Anyway to cut a long story short we now have a pet dog who we love very much but I cannot say the same for the wood floor. It now looks a complete mess and has been basically transformed into a giant expensive scratch pad. We cannot afford to replace the floor again anytime soon and regret getting a wood floor. I am not saying wood floors are in anyway bad as before we got daisy (our dog) I preferred the wood floor to our carpet as it was easy to clean and gave the house a more modern and attractive image.

On Thu, 29 Nov 2012 15:42:28 +0000, ckelly10
wrote:

Anyway to cut a
long story short we now have a pet dog who we love very much but I
cannot say the same for the wood floor. It now looks a complete mess and
has been basically transformed into a giant expensive scratch pad.

A neighbor(RIP) had dark wood floors. Standing at the front door you
could see all the scratches in the floor.

You might try a few things to help disguise the marks.

OLD ENGLISH furniture polish (if dark wood)

Wax pencils

Magic markers in a close color

The scratches will not look so obvious to the eye.