FulkersonShepardson255

You'd be difficult-pressed to uncover a homeowner who doesn't want hardwood floors. Wall-to-wall carpeting is out, and hardwood floors are in. But are they worth the price? Let's face it: at $eight-$ten per square foot (installed), wood flooring is much more expensive than carpeting or the increasingly frequent laminates that offer a comparable appear.

If you are on the fence and can not decide regardless of whether to install hardwood floors (or perhaps peel back your old carpeting and refinish the wood underneath), this list may possibly be able to help. We're going to take a look at some of the advantages of hardwoods:

1. Longevity

Thanks to tough finishes that are simple to repair, solid-wood floors can last for a hundred years or much more. There are quite couple of flooring components that have been around as extended as wood. Over the centuries, it has shown itself to be a beautiful and durable floor selection. Other newer supplies have however to prove themselves.

2. Coziness and Warmth

Not only is hardwood a lot more pleasant to stroll on than laminate (which usually really feel cold and a tiny "plastic" underfoot), but it is naturally warm. Wood is an outstanding insulator, thanks to its thousands of tiny air chambers per cubic inch, which hold in heat.

three. Hypoallergenic

Got allergies? In contrast to carpets (read: breeding grounds for mold, mildew, and dust mites, all of which can be tough on any individual with allergies), wood floors do not give pollen, animal dander, mold, and so forth. any place to hide and thrive. Even when you steam clean carpets, it really is impossible to get them entirely clean. In reality, obtaining them wet just tends to make factors worse. Hardwood flooring is an exceptional selection for any person with any type of environmental allergies. (And it tends to make very good sense for everybody else as well--who desires to lie down on a floor that's hiding mold?)

4. Easy to Clean

A small sweeping and a little mopping, and your hardwood floors will maintain searching good for a long time to come. Even families with dogs and youngsters are realizing that it is less difficult to mop a hardwood floor than try to spray/scrub/wash grape Kool-Help out of a carpet. One more perk is that a scratch here or a gouge there really just adds character to wood floors (of course, you can always have them refinished if you prefer perfection).

5. Enhance Home Worth

Unless you happen to be going to be living in the very same house for the rest of your life, you really should think about how the flooring alternatives you make these days will impact the price tag you can get for your property when you sell it. Carpet will look old and employed in just a couple of years, whereas wood floors last a lengthy time and add worth to a property (if you've ever watched these house hunter shows on television, you have doubtlessly noticed just about each prospective purchaser seeking around hopefully for hardwood floors). Even laminate flooring, which looks like wood flooring, is a distant second choice for homebuyers. It just does not have the identical warmth and feel.

These are just a couple of of the rewards of hardwood floors. We did not even mention the aesthetic value: at the end of the day, they just appear greater than the options. If you can afford to pay an extra couple dollars per square foot, go with hardwood. If you have hardwoods hiding under your existing carpets, tear these suckers up and get the wood refinished.

If you settle for laminate or just replacing the carpeting, you may regret it down the road.

For a lot more information, pay a visit to the Hardwood Flooring section of the author's House Improvement website. pdf on carpets review