Home remodeling project

[Hirschkopf]

The most awesome floor I ever experienced was in the home we rented for 4 years in Germany. It was terracotta tile with hot water radiant heat. If I ever build a home outside of the AZ dessert, I'm voting for ceramic tile and electric radiant heat in bathrooms (if compatible). We currently have engineered hardwood in most living areas and the kitchen, carpet in bedrooms (dislike both for different reasons), and sealed stone in the bathrooms (really sensitive to scoring by acids).

FWIW: I voted for "Hardwood of some sort" with ceramic "hardwood" in mind. Consider looking into radiant heat.

ETA: By radiant heat, I meant "makes the tile warm in the winter to treat your toes"; not to heat the room, like the home in Germany.

 

[CHenry]

Radiant heat is a price buster I'm sure. I have nice ceramic tile in the kitchen, dinning room, entryway and both bathrooms. I have this crappy carpet in a large living room and all 3 bedrooms. The 2 front bedrooms aren't used (one is a guest room used very light and other isn't used) so the doors are shut. I'm just doing the living room and master bedroom...and master closet, with new flooring for now.

 

[hunter966]

Is there a wait time before the furniture can be put back in a ceramic tile floor or before it can be walked on?

Seems like we had to wait 24 hours.

 

[TwoShoots]

I know you're leaning toward tile now, but as someone that has had both, I still prefer carpet. Why?

Carpet is warm in the winter and cool in the summer.
Carpet holds cat/dog hair and keeps it from creating tumbleweeds that blow all around your house and stack up in the corners.
Carpet is cheap, even the expensive stuff. You can change it every 10 years and still be ahead and have a great look.
Carpet doesn't crack when the foundation shifts.
Carpet doesn't crack when we have these oddball Oklahoma earthquakes.
Carpet keeps resale value, just under hardwood.

Just my 2 cents. Some people love hardwood, and colored tile that looks like hardwood is a new thing so we'll see how that works out long term , but for me and many others it's carpet for the win.

 

[turkeyrun]

Pro: Carpet is less expensive, WARM in winter. Less labor cost to install. Easy to change color / style. Fast install. Condition of slab not as critical.
Con: cleaning, wear, pets. Cheap carpet looks CHEAP, wears quickly.

Pro: Hardwood engineered plank looks great, easy to clean, lasts for years.
Con: labor cost, slab level, wood on concrete considerations.

Pro: Ceramic wear, looks, styles. Easy to keep clean.
Con: COLD, HARD, chips / cracks, slab shifting, slab level, labor intensive, no traffic for 24 hrs after install.

We have carpet in bedrooms. Red oak hardwood in living room with an area rug. Engineered plank in dining room and kitchen. Sheet vinyl in bath and utility.

I have sold and installed every type.
GET WHAT YOU LIKE.
Resale is subjective. Some see one flooring as an upper scale or positive selling point. The next will view the same floor as a negative. That's why we have choices.


One point I will push, IF you choose carpet, do NOT get POLYESTER! Nylon only.

 

[CHenry]

Pro: Carpet is less expensive, WARM in winter. Less labor cost to install. Easy to change color / style. Fast install. Condition of slab not as critical.
Con: cleaning, wear, pets. Cheap carpet looks CHEAP, wears quickly.

Pro: Hardwood engineered plank looks great, easy to clean, lasts for years.
Con: labor cost, slab level, wood on concrete considerations.

Pro: Ceramic wear, looks, styles. Easy to keep clean.
Con: COLD, HARD, chips / cracks, slab shifting, slab level, labor intensive, no traffic for 24 hrs after install.

We have carpet in bedrooms. Red oak hardwood in living room with an area rug. Engineered plank in dining room and kitchen. Sheet vinyl in bath and utility.

I have sold and installed every type.
GET WHAT YOU LIKE.
Resale is subjective. Some see one flooring as an upper scale or positive selling point. The next will view the same floor as a negative. That's why we have choices.


One point I will push, IF you choose carpet, do NOT get POLYESTER! Nylon only.

Good post and this sums it up pretty well. I'm not thinking about resale at all like you said. As long as I enjoy whatever I buy, thats all that matters.
Still undecided lol.

 

[Profreedomokie]

We replaced with ceramic tile that looks like wood.

We did too.

 

[foghorn918]

Doesn’t ceramic chip and crack easier than porcelain?

 

[CHenry]

Doesn’t ceramic chip and crack easier than porcelain?

I have dropped things on ceramic tile, the tile didnt break but the plate did

 

[montesa]

Since you have nice tile in bath in kitchen already, I think the best option would be the engineered wood look plank flooring. Usually the slabs are flat enough but you may need a little leveling compound but that's not a big deal.
Best way to figure that out is to set up a laser and go around the room with a stick and see if anything is more than a 1/4" different and mark the high and low spots.