Carpet or Hardwood Flooring? Make the Right Choice for Your Renovation

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Deciding whether to install carpet or hardwood flooring is one of the most difficult decisions you’re likely to face when you’re renovating, so read on for some guidance…

Carpet or hardwood flooring? If you’re in the process of renovating your home, you’ll no doubt be toiling over the prospect of having to pick one over the other. Take a look at Islington flooring for further information.

These options are amongst the most common flooring materials, despite the fact that they couldn’t be any more different from one another! Both have their positives and negatives, so it’s important that you are fully clued up before you decide to make a start on your renovation plans. After all, your final decision is likely to depend heavily on your needs, tastes and budget.

Once you receive your search documents from your Stamford, Swansea, Salford, Sidcup, or Sheffield based conveyancing solicitor, you can start making more concrete home renovation plans. So, to discover which flooring is best for your needs, read on…

Carpet

In this day and age, most modern carpet is created synthetically. Closely spaced synthetic fibres, such as nylon and polyester, are looped together through large sheets of backing material, creating the carpet effect you’ll no doubt be familiar with. There are some natural-fibre carpets available, using cotton or wool, but these are much harder to come by.

If you’re looking to buy carpet, you’ll usually have to measure out exactly what you need in feet and buy a large sheet in your required quantity – simple.

Carpet Pros

There are a number of advantages to using carpet for your home renovation. These include:

Plenty of Variation

If you want a flooring material that reflects your personal tastes, then carpet could be the way to go. You can install a carpet with your preferred colour, pattern, texture and feel, matching any interior design preferences you might have. How good does that sound?

Easier to Install

Yes, you’ll probably want a professional to do the work for you – unless you already happen to be a carpet fitter yourself. That said, the installation process for carpet isn’t going to break the bank and isn’t too complicated either.

Cheap to Buy

This is a huge bonus. Of course, the price of carpet will vary depending on quality and size. However, on average, carpet works out as a much more appropriate option for anyone on a tighter budget.

Comfortable to Touch

You want to feel comfortable in your own home, right? Well, carpet is the perfect choice where comfort is concerned. It’s soft to touch, is pleasant to walk on in bare feet and is a great way to promote a more relaxed atmosphere – especially on those cold winter nights!

Good Insulator

When it comes to insulating your home, carpet is your best friend. The materials used in carpet have great absorption properties, which means it acts as an effective insulator, both for heat and noise.

Carpet Cons

It’s not all perfection when it comes to carpets. So, before making a sure decision, some classic negatives about carpets include:

Stains and Dirt

To kick off the negatives, carpet isn’t the easiest to maintain. By that, we mean stains and dirt are much harder to get out and can often lie unnoticed without constant attention. That’s not exactly ideal if you have young children or pets running about!

Need to be Replaced Frequently

Carpet is super-durable, which means it’s going to have to be replaced pretty frequently. To be a little more precise, the average lifespan of carpet tends to be between 5 to 15 years. That’s certainly not ideal if you can’t track down any more of your existing carpet!

Less Sustainable

It’s important to take a second to think about the impact on the environment when making any home renovation decision. Carpet flooring – at least synthetic flooring – isn’t a sustainable option, as it’s made from non-natural materials.

Hardwood Flooring

Hardwood flooring generally comes in two main forms; solid hardwood flooring (real wood flooring) and engineered wood flooring. Solid hardwood flooring consists of boards of solid wood that are taken from felled hardwood trees. The boards are smoothly sanded on one side and left with rough edges on the base to allow easier installation.

Engineered hardwood flooring is created by sticking a thin layer of solid hardwood to a thicker piece of high-quality plywood, making the flooring more affordable. 

Hardwood Pros

On the flipside, what are some of the positives to hardwood flooring? Let’s take a look…

Sophisticated Appearance

Hardwood flooring is often seen as a more high-end and luxurious choice. It’s also worth mentioning that current style trends tend to favour hardwood flooring so, if you consider yourself a style icon, keep that in mind!

Easier to Clean

If cleanliness is your thing, hardwood flooring will be your best friend. It’s much easier to spot when hardwood needs a good scrub and, if there happen to be any spillages, stains are much less likely to linger! 

Reused Materials

As far as sustainability goes, hardwood is the best choice. Most hardwood flooring is made from reclaimed wood, which means the materials used are natural, sustainable and environmentally friendly. 

Most Homes Already Have Them

One great thing about wooden flooring is that many homes are already equipped with this throughout the house. It may be covered by grubby carpets, but underneath might reveal a classic wooden look. It could be worth exploring this to see if your home has this hidden gem.

Long Lifespan

So long as you look after it properly, hardwood flooring can last for a very long time – up to 100 years, in some cases! You do need to be careful though, so no stomping around in high heels!

Hardwood Cons

Finally, let’s take a look at the negatives of wooden floors, to get an idea of every side of the argument so you can make an informed decision.

Expensive

For the budget-conscious among us, the costs involved in hardwood flooring can be a sticking point. This is especially true for solid hardwood flooring, which is composed of very expensive materials. Luxury comes at a price!

Not Comfortable 

If you’ve ever walked on hardwood flooring in bare feet, you’ll know that the experience isn’t worth repeating! Not only is hardwood cold to the touch, but it’s also hard and unforgiving, especially if you are standing or kneeling for long periods of time.

Safety Concerns

This is an important point for those with children. Hardwood flooring is not the safest option, for a number of reasons. It’s possible that individual planks in the flooring can rise and lift over time and, in some cases, nails could begin to rise above floor level. Nasty stuff.

Have You Installed Carpet or Hardwood Flooring?

As you can see, there are several benefits and drawbacks to both flooring options. So, it’s important that you take them all into consideration before you make the final decision when renovating your home. You may well want to use a combination of both options, depending on the room you intend to renovate!

Have you used carpet or hardwood flooring in the past? If so, what do you think? Leave a comment below so we can get as much information out there as possible!