This is a joint post. We figured it might be fun to share some of the things we disagree about and get some outside opinions on the matter. Today we’re going to discuss flooring options (for our upstairs renovation, but also just in general). Kayla’s opinion is in blue, and Seth’s is in green.
Seth and I have spent a long time debating flooring types while we work on other parts of our upstairs renovation. I worry the most about upfront cost since we’re not planning on staying in this house forever, and immediate durability because I don’t want the floors to get messed up by the dogs and cat before we sell it. I’m not as worried about adding resale value, because I believe we’re about maxed out in that department based on the neighborhood we’re in. Someone is only going to pay so much for a 1940 house in this area. I worry more about what will add resale value (since we’re not planning on staying in this house forever) and what we’ll enjoy most while we are still living here for a few years. So here are the flooring types we’ve been debating and the pros and cons for each in our eyes:
Laminate
I like the idea of laminate flooring. My parents just had Pergo installed in their dining room and we had Pergo in the kitchen in the house I grew up in. I grew up in a house where hardwood was the gold standard and if you couldn’t afford that, you got carpet, so I was less convinced. I like it because it is touted as virtually indestructible by doggie toenails, accidents, and furniture, and in my experience that’s pretty accurate. We both approve of the price point. At about $2.50 per square foot, it’s still cheaper than relatively cheap solid hardwoods. I disliked how it felt underfoot at his parents’ house. Laminate always feels a little bit bouncy to me compared to hardwood. I also thought that for laminate it was actually pretty expensive. I knew I could find at least a similar deal on hardwood or bamboo with enough time and research. Last, I wanted to replace the flooring in the whole house if possible, and putting laminate in the kitchen is just asking for water damage which would ruin the floor and require replacing it again (I’ve never had that experience). Plus laminate doesn’t offer much in the way of adding to the resale value of the house.
Vinyl
Neither of us were particularly sold on vinyl tile, but I did consider it for a little while. Vinyl tile is supposed to be relatively easy to install on your own, which saves money. It also has come a long way in terms of how it looks in recent years. Luxury vinyl tile can mimic the look of wood or real tile fairly well at a much cheaper price point. It is also waterproof, which means less prep needs to be done on the subfloor and it’s safe to put in the kitchen. That said, vinyl also has that weird spongy feel that laminate flooring has, and it can be gouged easily by furniture or sharp objects. It adds no resale value whatsoever, and if installed incorrectly it can peel. I really hate the disingenuousness of things that try to look like something they’re not.
Cork
I love the idea of cork. I think Seth was mostly indifferent when I told him about it. Cork is a sustainable product, which we both love, and can be stained many different colors, which is groovy. It has antimicrobial properties and is also insulating, which saves you money on heating and cooling and helps keep noise transmission to a minimum. It supposedly has a soft, springy feeling underfoot, which I’m not sure I would like, but which is supposed to be good for standing for long periods. It can also be refinished which is nice. However, cork is very soft, which means it is easily damaged if furniture sits in one place too long, your shoes have sharp heels, your dogs have sharp nails, or even if dirt particles get dragged around underfoot. That, coupled with the fact that it can be damaged by water and it fades in sunlight made it a non-starter for us.
Carpet
No matter what type of flooring we decide on, I’m the one that’s going to install it. I used to install carpet, so I feel more comfortable with my abilities in that area. That being said, I’m not a big fan of the appearance of carpet in general, or the ecological footprint of that flooring system, but I did suggest it for the upstairs. I can get carpet for pretty cheap, and while wood floors are going to add more resale value to the house, that’s not something I’m really worried about. Plus, it’s a bedroom. If you’re going to put carpet anywhere, the bedroom is a fine place in my mind. I am a biologist and I hate everything about carpet. It absorbs moisture, pet hair sticks to it with abandon, and it stays on your floor for years and years, providing the perfect breeding ground for mold, bacteria, biofilms, dust mites, and every other microscopic creepy-crawly imaginable. There is no way in hell I would ever willingly install carpet in my house on purpose. The only reason I allow rugs in here are because I can take them outside and beat them, have them removed for intense cleaning, or I can throw them away if I deem them truly disgusting. I would like to start getting all natural rugs from now on though, so I can use them in the garden when she deems them “truly disgusting”, but that’s for a different post.
Tile
I love a great tile floor, and we recently installed tile in our laundry room/mudroom. Tile is wonderful because it’s easy to clean, it’s water resistant, and it’s extremely durable in the face of doggie nails and furniture. The only cons for us were that is gets really cold underfoot and that a nice tile can be very expensive. I did consider adding a heated underlayment, but our old house doesn’t have enough room in the breaker box for that much new electrical. Additionally, my societal programming finds tile in the bedroom to be unacceptable. So tile got kicked to the curb.
Solid Hardwood
I grew up in a house where nice hardwood floors were it. My mom was so excited when she ripped up the carpet in our living room and found hardwood underneath. After that I grew up sliding around in my socks on hardwood floors. I like that they feel solid underfoot unlike laminate or vinyl but they don’t feel cold like concrete or tile. They add a great warm, rich feel to every room and are a feather in your home’s cap when it’s time to sell. It feels like everyone looks for hardwood floors and granite counters. However, not all wood floors are equal. The Janka Hardness rating is a scale by which the hardness of flooring made from different tree species are measured. White oak is at 1360 and is one of the most common flooring options. Softer woods like pine, American cherry, teak, and black walnut have lower hardness ratings, which may indicate they will be less resistant to daily wear, especially by doggie nails. Many of the hardest wood floors are exotic species like Brazilian Cherry or Mahogany, which are expensive. Further, buying cheap hardwood floors can mean you are buying unethically harvested exotic hardwoods. Look into Greenpeace’s investigation of Lumber Liquidators for an example of this. Since Seth and I can’t afford to spend $4-5 per square foot on ethically sourced hardwoods, we can’t justify putting a price on our morals in order to have hardwood flooring in our house, and I don’t have the time to harvest and mill our own flooring, hardwood got put on the back burner.
Engineered Anything (Wood or Bamboo)
Engineered flooring is essentially a thin veneer of wood or bamboo (depending on what you buy) over a softer, cheaper core. The core can be another hardwood, but is often plywood or MDF. Engineered wood is great because it resists moisture and temperature changes better than solid wood, so it can be installed in places that solid wood doesn’t do well, like basements. However, I have read conflicting opinions on whether the Janka hardness rating of the veneer on an Engineered hardwood is the same as the Janka rating of the same solid hardwood. For example, is engineered hickory as durable as solid hickory? I’m sure there are many factors at play here, but since the core of an engineered board is softer than the veneer, I can’t imagine that the Janka rating stays the same. Further, engineered hardwood cannot be refinished as many times as a solid wood board. You may not be able to refinish it at all depending on the veneer thickness, and that doesn’t add resale value in my eyes.
Solid Bamboo
Seth and I both loved the idea of bamboo. It has Janka hardness ratings at least as hard as oak, sometimes as high as 4x that of oak, so it’s very durable. More than that though, it’s sustainable because bamboo grows so fast. The bamboo strands are essentially pressed together for a look that is similar to hardwood, is similarly durable, and can be stained to your desired color, but you don’t have to worry about deforesting the Amazon to get your living room flooring. That’s something we can really get excited about. That said, solid bamboo flooring is in the same price category as hardwood flooring generally, which makes it a pretty expensive option. However, I thought it was more likely that I could find a good deal on bamboo than on hardwood and I was very enticed by the idea of sustainable flooring, so I decided to focus on bringing bamboo home if it was at all possible. One thing that does have to be considered when looking at bamboo that made us nervous is the manufacturing process. Because the bamboo strands have to be smashed together they require some type of adhesive substance, and typically the strands have to be cleaned to ensure a good stick. The chemicals used in the manufacturing process, especially products manufactured in China where environmental laws are less stringent, are often not stable, meaning they can off-gas into your home. One such chemical to watch out for is formaldehyde. My cousin and her fiance recently bought a house, and they discovered after purchasing that the bamboo they got had formaldehyde, so they ended up having to buy something else. That’s a mistake we want to avoid, and we want you to avoid. So do your homework and find out where, by whom, and with what methods your materials are being manufactured, whether it’s bamboo or anything else.
We hope that helps if you’re in the middle of a floor war like we are, and keep an eye out for more “We Just Disagree” posts in the future! Also weigh in if you have any experience with the flooring options above. It’s always helpful to have an outside opinion!