Carpet v wooden flooring

Natalie · 06-03-2009, 10:14 AM

I currently live in a new house and when we moved in it was lovely with a nice pale beige carpet throughout. 3 years, a toddler and a puppy later, my lounge and hall carpet is just awful and stained and it doesn't matter how oftern I use my carpet shampoo machine it still looks a mess.

I have managed to grind my hubby down and he had promised me some wooden flooring instead which will be easy to clean. Is there any particular type I should go for that will be suitable for the dogs and their claws or would you stick with carpet for warmth and comfort?

dinahsmum · 06-03-2009, 10:24 AM

I'd go wood every time.
Make it real wood - laminate doesn't sound nice ... you even hear the cats' claws tapping on it and it will drive you crazy! Also, the dogs get wheel-spin on it!

The dogs' claws will mark it - like grooves, not scratches. Be prepared for that and discuss with your supplier the best kind to minimise it. Get a type you can sand down and refinish - it makes the lifetime much longer.

yola · 06-03-2009, 10:35 AM

Definitely real wood - laminate looks like, well, laminate! As DM says go for the best you can afford - solid if possible as this can be sanded down and refinished, even in a different shade if you tire of the one you have!

I laid an oak floor just before Christmas in a really high traffic area of my house and it's the best investment I've made - can't fault it!!

alexgirl73 · 06-03-2009, 10:53 AM

I put wooden flooring down last year, it has now been replaced by nice warm carpet lol. I found the house was so cold with no carpet, and the heating bills went through the roof. Also the house seemed to 'echo' and with 2 kids and the cats, that was not a great thing to have

Just giving you the other side of the coin

angieh · 06-03-2009, 12:13 PM

Can I just put in a word for laminate - I do hear Merlin's claws on it, granted and I'm sure that you get dogspin too! I have laminate in the kitchen and lobby by the front door and it's great - so easy for spills and hygienic cleaning. I have vinyl in the utility room and the bathroom - again easy to clean. But the rest of the house is carpeted, for comfort and cosiness and energy saving too. It really is horses for courses I think. Have to say I would always go for carpet in a bedroom.

fancyabrew · 06-03-2009, 12:20 PM

no carpet in our house at all now. Most of the house is stripped floorboards, they're around 100 years old so look really nice. Slate in the kitchen, but we've just done up a bathroom and an office and have put in Bamboo, very nice, cheaper than oak, sustainable and can be used in wet areas.

Take a look at http://www.simplybamboo.co.uk/ lots of styles and colours

calismum · 06-03-2009, 06:51 PM

Kids have laminate in their rooms, I find it cold and would never have it in a bedroom. The toilet has laminate and I find it great.

Kitchen, utility and bathroom are tiled.

Rest of house carpeted. However having had a real wood floor I would vote for that over laminate for living rooms, halls etc. But for areas that get lots of damp, etc then laminate or tiles are fine.

mattde · 06-03-2009, 07:47 PM

I remember having laminate in my old house. All downstairs was done in it. Remember one day thinking lets give it a mop, all good nice and clean. I then though I wanted it shiny so I got the Mr sheen out and covered the floor in it, wiped it down.
To my surprise I then found I had an ice skating ring in my house. Loads of fun watching the dog go for the post . If I had socks on I could slide from one side of the house to the other.

I'm fitting some laminate in the hall next week as the cats have destroyed the carpet. Bring on the Mr sheen

yola · 06-03-2009, 08:35 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mattde

I'm fitting some laminate in the hall next week as the cats have destroyed the carpet. Bring on the Mr sheen

Poor M 'n' M; I trust you'll be there with the camera Matt

dandysmom · 06-03-2009, 09:41 PM

I grew up in a house with wooden floors and that's what I have in my current house. I love the look of real wood; from what I've seen of laminate in friends' houses, don't care for it. Real wood with good rugs, not wall-to-wall carpeting, is my preference. Bathrooms have tiled floors, kitchen is linoleum with inexpensive rugs that can be tossed when they get too grungy from spills, etc.

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