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Florida Flooring... wood, carpet or tile? infiniteMPG 07-09-2008
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Posted by infiniteMPG on July 9, 2008, 12:30 pm
We're looking at re-doing the entire house flooring. We're in west
central Florida so just about every house is a concrete slab and then
it's either carpet, wood or tile laid on top. Right now the house has
the original carpeting (+25 years, yuck-O) and some vinyl tile (also
yuck-O). Personally carpeting is always problems. Holds dirt,
harbors mold and pests like fleas and ant and food scraps, and if it
ever gets wet (i.e. tropical storms, hurricanes, etc) it's never right
again. I like the sound dampening qualities of carpet, but that's
about where it ends.

Right now we're looking at ceramic tile inside the front door, the
entrance way and down the main hallway. Tile also in the kitchen and
both bathrooms. Then wood flooring in all three bedrooms, the living
room, and the dining room. We are concerned about sound especially in
the living room and wondered if any certain types of flooring are
better for sound then others. Or throw carpets do it or what?

The concrete floor in the porch we were going to tile but I kind of
like the smooth texture to roll the grill around on, move outdoor
furniture and all. Tile gets to be a pain catching chair legs and not
staying clean with our hoizontal rains and pollen issues we have. We
were thinking of just a good concrete stain/paint out there.

Any suggestions, hints or secrets would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks!!!

Posted by topservicepros on July 9, 2008, 10:29 pm
Quote: infiniteMPG wrote on Wed, 09 July 2008 11:30
----------------------------------------------------
> Right now we're looking at ceramic tile inside the front door, the
> entrance way and down the main hallway. Tile also in the kitchen and
> both bathrooms. Then wood flooring in all three bedrooms, the living
> room, and the dining room. We are concerned about sound especially in
> the living room and wondered if any certain types of flooring are
> better for sound then others. Or throw carpets do it or what?
----------------------------------------------------

We just recently ripped the carpet out of the living room and put in
engineered hardwood (laminated plank). This is on top of concrete slab
like your situation. It is noticeably louder but not a big problem (except
the past two weekends when each of our tween girls had their sleepover
birthday parties!)

For sure I prefer the hardwood over the carpet and would recommend the
switch.

The wife says it's more upkeep with need for multiple sweepings each day
(just shows how much junk is landing on your carpet that you don't notice).
But might be a chance to justify a new gadget (roomba robot!). I like
gadgets!

--
Richard Thoms
Founder - Top Service Pros, Inc.
Connecting Homeowners and Local Service Professionals
http://www.TopServicePros.com

Posted by on July 10, 2008, 8:02 am

> ..
> Any suggestions, hints or secrets would be greatly appreciated.
> Thanks!!!

I am going to make a suggestion that is likely to be new to most
people. If fact it is new to me, it just went in last week.

We just finished a re-model of our master bath (not on a slab and
not in Florida) and we chose a rubber sheet floor. So far I am very
happy with it.

It is softer than vinyl and warmer under foot. It is also quieter,
like carpet. I expect it will have a long life. There are several
makes now marketing this stuff, but few contractors have ever seen it.
We chose a Johnsonite ComforTech. There are other brands. My
contractor is planning to use it in his basement.

I can't say much about life or care issues, but I have seen the
commercial version of the produce many times and it holds up extremely
well, even in industrial settings.

Posted by dadiOH on July 10, 2008, 11:37 am
infiniteMPG wrote:
> We're looking at re-doing the entire house flooring. We're in west
> central Florida so just about every house is a concrete slab and then
> it's either carpet, wood or tile laid on top. Right now the house has
> the original carpeting (+25 years, yuck-O) and some vinyl tile (also
> yuck-O). Personally carpeting is always problems. Holds dirt,
> harbors mold and pests like fleas and ant and food scraps, and if it
> ever gets wet (i.e. tropical storms, hurricanes, etc) it's never right
> again. I like the sound dampening qualities of carpet, but that's
> about where it ends.
>
> Right now we're looking at ceramic tile inside the front door, the
> entrance way and down the main hallway. Tile also in the kitchen and
> both bathrooms. Then wood flooring in all three bedrooms, the living
> room, and the dining room. We are concerned about sound especially in
> the living room and wondered if any certain types of flooring are
> better for sound then others. Or throw carpets do it or what?
>
> The concrete floor in the porch we were going to tile but I kind of
> like the smooth texture to roll the grill around on, move outdoor
> furniture and all. Tile gets to be a pain catching chair legs and not
> staying clean with our hoizontal rains and pollen issues we have. We
> were thinking of just a good concrete stain/paint out there.
>
> Any suggestions, hints or secrets would be greatly appreciated.
> Thanks!!!

Both tile and wood are "hard" surfaces and will bounce sound around. That
can be mitigated with area rugs.

Wood swells when wet. If you think wall to wall carpet is a mess post
hurricane, you'll wish you had it if wood gets hurricane wet. Nevertheless,
I like wood. I like tile better as long as a non-dirt showing grout is
used.

--

dadiOH
____________________________

dadiOH's dandies v3.06...
...a help file of info about MP3s, recording from
LP/cassette and tips & tricks on this and that.
Get it at http://mysite.verizon.net/xico




Posted by infiniteMPG on July 10, 2008, 12:01 pm
> Both tile and wood are "hard" surfaces and will bounce sound around. =A0T=
hat can be mitigated with area rugs.

Is a cushioned back wood flooring going to help with the sound or only
with the softness under foot?

> Wood swells when wet. =A0If you think wall to wall carpet is a mess post =
hurricane, you'll wish you had it if wood gets hurricane wet. =A0

I guess I need to put more detail into the original comment. I wasn't
referring to flooding in the house as much as I was about tracking
thru the house with wet feet, umbrellas sitting on it in the hallway,
overall dampness. Maybe a fake wood flooring rather then real
wood????

>>Nevertheless, I like wood. =A0I like tile better as long as a non-dirt sh=
owing grout is used.

Hate white grout, tile or flooring of any kind. And as far as the
cleaning issue stated before with the hardwood, the same stuff is
going down on the carpet, it's just it takes longer to notice it and
it's much harder to clean the crud out :O/

Page 1 of 2       1 2 > last >>
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