Hardwood Floors Vs. Carpet

In trying to pin point why hardwood floors have made a great comeback, all one has to do is look within their own home. Carpeting contains an enormous amount of nasty stuff including dust mites that cause the simplest forms of allergies. You may think by calling in the steam vacuum guys the problems will disappear. Unfortunately they are often ground deeper into the bottom of the carpet. After time they fall through carpet and padding and become trapped. Ordinary household vacuums do the same.

Odors

Carpeting often traps unusual odors that even the best cleaning cannot remove. If you're fond of dogs and cats, hairs don't get to be a problem with hardwood floors as they are easier to clean .

Natural And Not Synthetic

Hardwood floors are natural and more eco friendly compared to carpeting that utilizes petroleum based products in manufacturing. Moreover, dust mites cannot survive on hardwood floors, but they populate carpet by the droves. Not only does newer carpet turn off many sensitive to allergies, but some that are severely sensitive cannot live with it.

Hardwood Finishes

For those that may be chemically sensitive, new prefinished floors will off gas to an extent but will dissipate quickly. Some Chinese imports may take longer. Conversely, site finished floors will also have lingering effects but will be more noticeable if oil based types are used.

Appearances

Hardwood floors also have their own unique beauty. Besides being beautiful and hard-wearing, hardwood floors are environmentally friendly as well. Solid 3/4" hardwood floors will last a lifetime if proper care is applied. Not one single piece among a few possible thousand (depending on the layout) will be the same.

Hardwood Sells Homes

A sizable portion of the renewed interest has to do with increasing a homes value, which in many cases it will, but depends on other factors as well. Being in the right neighborhood certainly helps resale value. However if you're on the wrong side of town expect your new investment to be enjoyed by yourself only, but adding hardwood floors to the home has proven effective in selling a home faster.

Rental Properties

Hardwood floors are a great choice for rental properties. You don't have to choose the expensive stuff, just something that will serve it's purpose and last. Prefinished cabin grade hardwoods are ideal. They don't carry a warranty, but is your tenant going to be concerned with a few flaws here and there? Ask yourself about a potential

Prices for decent prefinished cabin grade hardwoods can be found for at low as $2.00 a square foot. Let's say you have a rental house that changes tenants every two to three years and you own the property for twenty. In that 20 year period the carpeting may have to be replaced 3 or four times if you're a nice landlord and care about what conditions people live in. Basic carpet and padding can run in the one dollar a square foot range. Add professional installation (because you or I don't know how to install carpet properly without your tenants tripping over ripples) and you're two to three times the hardwood cost. With hardwood it can be done by many do it yourselfers; at least the more simple types, and no major installation costs are incurred.

Where To Look

Finally, considering hardwood floors make up a large portion of home improvement expenses, we suggest doing your homework first to learn of all the options available today. Unfortunately your average carpet store and hardwood floors don't go hand in hand, nor does any big home improvement store. The more uncommon applications and wider variety will only be found with a specialty hardwood flooring retailer.