Carpet or Laminate

[JSAUNDERS]

So here is the question- In bedrooms of a rental- put in laminate flooring or berber carpeting? Carpet is easier because the floor company will install- laminate is something I would have to install myself. The laminate can take more of a beating though......

Any suggestions are appriciated
Joel

[Dan Auito]

Definitely go with the carpeting Joel. It is the standard and what most folks prefer. It quites things down and makes the sanctuary a little more plush. Definitely carpet in the bedrooms!

As for hallways, kitchens and baths as well as other high traffic areas it is tile all the way. Tile lasts much longer than laminate and gets higher marks on appraisals and your tenants scale of quality.

I always put down tile just about everywhere except those bedrooms! LOL

[Debbie]

Carpeting in bedrooms, of course.

Depending on your location, either tile or hardwood.

I wouldn't recommend laminate----we've had them and didn't last long. Not with two kids and a dog. Tenants beat up on laminate much quicker compared to owner's kids and pets.

BTW, porcelain tile is harder than ceramic tile.

[Dan]

I don't think I'd use berber. Although I have berber in my own home that still looks new 17 years later, it is easy to abuse and get pulls. Tenants would likely do job on it.

[JSAUNDERS]

Thanks everyone- so instead of berber carpet what's the other nice looking (cheaper) option. We have 2000 sqt of bedrooms to carpet.
Have you used National floors or Empire carpet?
There is always Home Depot/Lowes or do you perfer to go the local mom/pop store route?

Tile is already in the kitchens/baths.
Joel

[Jim FL]

Thanks everyone- so instead of berber carpet what's the other nice looking (cheaper) option. We have 2000 sqt of bedrooms to carpet.
Have you used National floors or Empire carpet?
There is always Home Depot/Lowes or do you perfer to go the local mom/pop store route?

Tile is already in the kitchens/baths.
Joel

Joel,
Forget about Empire.
Being from Chicago, where empire started, before they went nationwide, I looked into using them many times in the past.
After giving them multiple chances to beat other prices, local carpet stores/installers seemed cheaper.

At the moment, in my area, construction is slow, so, those related businesses (flooring etc), are also slow.
I've noticed two approaches from local carpet/flooring retailers.
1. They have raised prices to attempt to make up for lost sales volume.
2. They are making GREAT deals, just to get work.

I just did 3 bedrooms in a house, and we used three slightly different shades of carpet, all neutral. (Large hall seperating each room, was tiled darker, so the carpet difference looks fine by the way.)
They were roll ends, each large enough for one bedroom.
Total cost for carpet and pad, was $400, and I paid a local installer $200 to put it in and seam everything, stretch etc.
Looks nice and was cheap......$600 for 3 bedrooms, smalled being approx. 12 x 12. largest was 14 x 16, with a walk-in closet, which we seamed in.


Shop around, there are deals out there.
Avoid Home Depot, Lowes and other national places...........locals have the bargains.

HTH,
Jim FL

[nessita]

In a rental property would you keep the hardwood (need to buff out scratches) or install carpet in bedrooms?

[Dan Auito]

If you already have decent hardwood, I would go with some very nice area rugs to lower costs, if the tenant wanted carpet, I'd allow them to have it installed at their own expense.

[PMCS]

Not too sure what the obvious reasons are. Laminates are virtually indestructible. If you allow pets, laminates win hands down. Easier to clean too. Starting to see laminates show in some of the upper tier homes (as opposed to real h/w). There is even vinyl h/w lookalike out that looks real good too. I've had a couple of clients chose it (mid-level homes). Again, durability and ease of cleaning.

I suppose there are pros and cons to any type of flooring.

[Debbie]

Not too sure what the obvious reasons are. Laminates are virtually indestructible. If you allow pets, laminates win hands down. Easier to clean too. Starting to see laminates show in some of the upper tier homes (as opposed to real h/w). There is even vinyl h/w lookalike out that looks real good too. I've had a couple of clients chose it (mid-level homes). Again, durability and ease of cleaning.

I suppose there are pros and cons to any type of flooring.

When we lived at our last old house, we had laminate floor in the diningroom, kitchen, bedroom and hallway.

No problem in the bedroom.

No problem in the hallway. Well, I take that back----no problem in 3/4 of the hallway because 1/4 of the hallway (leading to backyard) was partially warped due to kids constant in & out of the house.

The kitchen? UGH! NEVER AGAIN! Why? Because of drinks spill, water spill (i.e. washing dishes or washing hands, dog drip water while drinking, etc).

Diningroom kept the laminate dirty on a daily basis due to kids spilling foods but didn't damage the laminate.

Now, laminate is NOT animal friendly. Why? Because they're unable to brake themselves hence slide & spin all over the laminate, ends up digging their nails into the laminate with a vain attempt to stand themselves still.:SM118:

[crestonassoc]

So here is the question- In bedrooms of a rental- put in laminate flooring or berber carpeting? Carpet is easier because the floor company will install- laminate is something I would have to install myself. The laminate can take more of a beating though......

Any suggestions are appriciated
Joel

Definitely agree about some type of carpeting in the bedroom. I don't recommend Empire...too expensive.

[PMCS]

. . . Now, laminate is NOT animal friendly. Why? Because they're unable to brake themselves hence slide & spin all over the laminate, ends up digging their nails into the laminate with a vain attempt to stand themselves still.:SM118:
That may be so, but it's a funny thing to watch . . . :SM007:

[toben]

If it is for sale, I will defer to the experts.

If it is for a rental we found the easiest thing is to put ceramic tile in the entire house. It's the most durable and if you buy in bulk I can get closeouts at 99 cents a square foot - about the same as carpet.

Sure it is more expensive to install but it takes the abuse renters deal out and you only have to do it once.

I have done 3 of my own and about 30 of a friends rentals with wall to wall ceramic tile. Occasionally someone will complain, but the house always rents anyway.

When the people move out, blow out the house with a leaf blower and pour a mixture of bleach/water all over the floor. Rinse it out with a garden hose the next day and you are done. No need to change nasty carpet ever again.

[Debbie]

When the people move out, blow out the house with a leaf blower and pour a mixture of bleach/water all over the floor. Rinse it out with a garden hose the next day and you are done. No need to change nasty carpet ever again.

Now I'd like to see you "hose" it out without getting the walls or baseboards wet...:SM001:

[Jim FL]

that just requires 'hose skills'...........something some of us are far more qualified to do than others.........women.
LOL!
Just kidding.......

[khelzy09]

Tile can be used in just about any room--kitchen, bathroom and living areas. It's durable, strong and comes in a plethora of colors and textures. Tile also comes in varying strengths suitable to the traffic in the room where it will be used. But it more expensive to intall. Tile is also harder to keep clean. Spaces between the tiles, where the grout sits, become a magnet for dirt and grime. Laminate flooring can give your home the glow and warmth you get with wood, that tile just does not provide. Also, laminate is easier and cheaper to install than tile. Although laminate can be used in wet areas such as kitchens and bathrooms, constant exposure to water will warp and buckle the laminate, necessitating costly repairs. If a laminate board in the middle of the room becomes cracked, half of the boards in the room will have to be pulled out in order to repair the cracked piece.

[Dan Auito]

Great answers!

[BSH]

I always go for tile in bathrooms and kitchens and hardwood flooring everwhere else--never carpet and never laminate. I absolutely despise laminate flooring. It is oftentimes MORE expensive than real wood, and pretty much requires the same amount of work, depending on the product. The difference is that you will definitely have to replace the laminate at some point in time, while with real wood (even if you get the engineered kind), if they start looking rough (in about 10 years maybe), you can sand them down a little and put a few coats of poly and you have new floors again for very little cost.

Pets are not a problem because I do not allow them, with the exception of very small lap-type dogs only. Bigger dogs (30+ lbs) will damage nearly any kind of flooring eventually.

That's my 2 cents.

[VaInvestor]

BSH - I'd have to respectfully disagree with you about laminates costing the same as hardwood and being just as hard to put down. We've been using 7mm laminates, 6" wide planks - my cost is less than $1/sq ft, it's incredible easy to put down, durable, and looks pretty good. Nowhere as good as hardwoods of course and I will concede that they ARE less durable than hardwoods, but for a rental property I'd go with laminates over hardwoods all day long. Just my 2 cents.

[BSH]

BSH - I'd have to respectfully disagree with you about laminates costing the same as hardwood and being just as hard to put down. We've been using 7mm laminates, 6" wide planks - my cost is less than $1/sq ft, it's incredible easy to put down, durable, and looks pretty good. Nowhere as good as hardwoods of course and I will concede that they ARE less durable than hardwoods, but for a rental property I'd go with laminates over hardwoods all day long. Just my 2 cents.

VAInvestor, if I could find decent laminates at $1/sf, I might change my tune in certain circumstances. Where are you getting $1/sf laminates?

[VaInvestor]

BSH: There's a place here in Richmond VA (I don't know if they are national) called Floor Trader - I've gotten the best deals from them. There are other places - typically wholesale type operations that consistently have decent laminates for about $1/foot if you buy a decent quantity - usually you have to negotiate.