Laminate floor or carpet ?

[dilligaf]

We are having our two storey house decorated. At the moment it is carpeted throughout. We decided to get the carpet replaced with laminate flooring but now are having second thoughts.
Carpet is warmer and absorbs noise but needs more cleaning and is liable to show stains.
Laminate flooring is easy to clean but seems colder and not very noise absorbent.
We are undecided:

1. Laminate throughout.

2. Laminate on ground floor, carpet upstairs.

3. Carpet downstairs, laminate upstairs.

4. Carpets throughout.

I welcome your opinions or experiences on laminate vs. carpet.

[originalang]

Hi dilligaf, We went from carpet to laminate floor downstairs two years ago, I find its more practical to keep clean as I have a dog and I still like its appearance, however I miss the comfort and warmth of carpet and being able to stretch out on the floor to watch telly or read. We will being going back to carpet downstairs in the future with perhaps the exception of the hall for practicality.
I have friends who have laminate upstairs and they all regret it, find it cold and very noisy .
I probably havent helped really but hope you find what ever you choose works well for you.

[oldwoman]

We have laminate Hallway ,kitchen,dining room,bathroom. Carpet in the rest.

[dilligaf]

Hi originalang,

Contrary to your comment, your answer HAS helped a alot towards my decision.
Thank you.

[pingping]

i have laminate in the hallway and living room (but v. good quality - not that cheap plasticy stuff you see everywhere!) and it's great for keeping clean. we have amtico flooring in the kitchen and bathroom (again for cleanliness) and then carpets in the bedroom. i would have this again as it is much easier to look after than carpet, but would probably keep carpets upstairs as there is nothing nicer than getting out of bed and putting your feet onto a nice soft carpet!

we have rugs in the hall and living room which makes it cosier - but you could always try underfloor heating.

[dilligaf]

Thanks for your reply pingping. We are thinking about Quick Step flooring throughout apart from the stairs and landing which we are carpeting (safety reason). We are going to put vinyl in the bathroom.
It's a first time for us to go away from carpets hence the question . I think we are going for laminate with rugs. Unlike originalang I don't stretch out on the floor but I would miss the comfort and warmth of a carpet when getting out of bed.

Whatever it is my decision and I thank you and originalang
for your experiences / opinions.

ps. Does anyone know who would like to buy a used Dyson vacuum cleaner or a Vax carpet shampooer?

[RATTER15]

The only advantage to laminate is its easy to clean!!
It looks cheap and tacky and unless you get it fitted extremely well you end up with gaps and poorly fitting edging.

[meltoadhall]

we have sanded all the floorboards downstairs and have tiles in the kitchen, the stairs and upstairs are all carpeted. looks lovely and very practical with animals and kids.

[parkesquay]

Having just moved to a house from an apartment we had the same dilemma.
The first thing I want to say is - definitely carpet on stairs but not in toilets/bathrooms. I would go further and say don't use use laminate/wood either but a good quality vinyl.
Definitely laminate/wood in the kitchen though.
If one looks at cost then many carpets are actually considerably less per sq.m than laminates. Therefore a case could be made that if carpeting in a room needs changing say after 5 years then so what because it may only have cost half the amount of a laminate/wood floor to lay in the first place.
There is probably a good case to lay laminate in room that leads directly out onto a patio so that dirty errant foot marks are easier to clean up but it is noisy.
Carpet is much quieter and cosy though.
Mix and match- but bedrooms definitely need to be carpeted.

[Twilight]

hi, I stumbled on this page searching for tip myself [I'm looking to mutual exchange my home, carpet in lounge and master bedroom is very old now] and I must say the contributions helped my decision making too. At first reluctant to spend too much if I'm leaving here [low income] but plus point : people who love my home won't need to spend ££ on carpet here if I replace mine. Many of theirs already have fairly new carpets /plank floor it seems. Thank you all contributors.

regards,
Twilight

[MarryJone]

I personally like carpet. Though it need to clean regular for its maintenance but it is very helpful to improving the home resale value and productivity. Apart that it looks very attractive to making your home more beautiful.
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