Is it safe to have wood floors? (Phoenix, Scottsdale: environment, hardwood floor)

[ajgranda]

Hi,

I will be looking into some real estate in Scottsdale come May. I have some mild asthma and need to stay away from excessive carpeting. I've been seeing some houses with primarily ceramic tiled foors throughout the house, but most of the bedrooms have carpeting. This is actually the worst place to have carpeting for anybody with or wothout allergies. We currently have solid wood floors throughout our house here in NY, but I don't really see that in Phoenix metro area. Is the problem termites? What are people using in their bedrooms besides carpeting? I heard from an agent that Pergo can be just as bad for termite infestation as real wood. Any other options besides more tile?

Thanks

[sablebaby]

Yes, it's safe to have wood floors. I have pergo real hardwood everywhere but the bedrooms. It's very common out here for tile or wood floors and the bedrooms left with carpet. My last house had tile/carpet and I hated having that much tile to clean. Most people think it's easier, but I didn't think so.

If you find homes with wood floors then most likely they had it installed (or did it themselves) after they bought it. It has been more popular to have laminate wood flooring (which I hate walking on!). But I think the most common you will run across will be all carpet or tile/carpet.

[aj661]

Originally Posted by ajgranda

Hi,

I will be looking into some real estate in Scottsdale come May. I have some mild asthma and need to stay away from excessive carpeting. I've been seeing some houses with primarily ceramic tiled foors throughout the house, but most of the bedrooms have carpeting. This is actually the worst place to have carpeting for anybody with or wothout allergies. We currently have solid wood floors throughout our house here in NY, but I don't really see that in Phoenix metro area. Is the problem termites? What are people using in their bedrooms besides carpeting? I heard from an agent that Pergo can be just as bad for termite infestation as real wood. Any other options besides more tile?

Thanks

With the exception of the old saloons with wood planks, Phoenix is mostly too "new" to have wood floors. My parents bought in SE Scottsdale in 1962 and the house came with wall to wall linoleum. Brown linoleum. From there homes went straight to carpet.

I've loved wood flooring since the first time I had it while in the Army, living in Arlington, VA. I think I told you my wife is from upstate NY, and she missed wood also, so we installed it in the master bedroom four years ago. (Not a job for an old guy with a bad back and knees, but I just had to do the job, no matter how painful). Turned out real nice, but glued to concrete it doesn't have that great sound! We bought the best we could afford through Home Depot. It's few steps better than basic Pergo, 3 inch wide strips of hardwood bonded over wood plys, but not solid wood $$$. It's not wearing real well in a few places. However, being a "trophy-husband" married to an intelligent, well educated, highly paid professional 'sugar-mama' , you should be able to afford some flooring that will remind you of NY!

Funny you should mention termites. I've only had them at one house. This house. We had pipe leak in the exterior wall of the bedroom and after a few months, two wood strips began to look rotted. When I chiseled into them, TERMITES. I ripped out a small piece of sheet rock for a look in the wall, but fortunately they'd only chewed on 4x6 inches of flooring and left the house alone. I don't know what kind of termites you have in NY, but here they seem to be exclusively the ones that build a mud tube on an outside wall. It's easy to catch them before they do any damage. Because I have a concrete patio against the bedroom wall, and had some clutter against that, I didn't see it. Afterwards, I found a tube right next to the spot on the floor. So I'd say if you want wood, get it. Just make sure you have a quality pest control company stay on top of the termite barrier. sablebaby does real estate and may be able to recommend a company.

Other than wood or tile, I think you're options are limited. If you decide to go with the wood, I know a retired FOP Brother living on bologna sandwiches and soup who works cheap and does quality work! I should warn you though, with my knees, it could take me a year or so to finish .


Seriously though, the only regrets I have are not using nails or a free-float installation method and not springing an extra $1000 or so for solid wood planks.

[ajgranda]

Hey Aj661 and everyone,

Thanks for the responses. We wrote off the idea of Cary, NC because of the school busing situation, so Scottsdale is our number one choice now. We hooked up with a real good relocation agent and it looks like we will be concentrating on Mcdowell Mountain Ranch, Grayhawk, Scottsdale Mountain and maybe DC Ranch if we up our budget a little. The fact that we will be raising an infant daughter (she is our life) limits what kind of communities we will settle for. I've seen a few homes with wood floors in the MB, but they are usually at the high end. We will only need wood floors in the MB and baby's room, the other two br's can remain carpeted. Also, in our price range, most of the homes we've seen have a tiled FR and DR, so that's alright. If Scottsdale does not work out, we are also considering Southlake, TX, which is a suburb of Ft Worth, TX. I'm hoping it does not come to this.

Thanks again

Originally Posted by aj661

With the exception of the old saloons with wood planks, Phoenix is mostly too "new" to have wood floors. My parents bought in SE Scottsdale in 1962 and the house came with wall to wall linoleum. Brown linoleum. From there homes went straight to carpet.

I've loved wood flooring since the first time I had it while in the Army, living in Arlington, VA. I think I told you my wife is from upstate NY, and she missed wood also, so we installed it in the master bedroom four years ago. (Not a job for an old guy with a bad back and knees, but I just had to do the job, no matter how painful). Turned out real nice, but glued to concrete it doesn't have that great sound! We bought the best we could afford through Home Depot. It's few steps better than basic Pergo, 3 inch wide strips of hardwood bonded over wood plys, but not solid wood $$$. It's not wearing real well in a few places. However, being a "trophy-husband" married to an intelligent, well educated, highly paid professional 'sugar-mama' , you should be able to afford some flooring that will remind you of NY!

Funny you should mention termites. I've only had them at one house. This house. We had pipe leak in the exterior wall of the bedroom and after a few months, two wood strips began to look rotted. When I chiseled into them, TERMITES. I ripped out a small piece of sheet rock for a look in the wall, but fortunately they'd only chewed on 4x6 inches of flooring and left the house alone. I don't know what kind of termites you have in NY, but here they seem to be exclusively the ones that build a mud tube on an outside wall. It's easy to catch them before they do any damage. Because I have a concrete patio against the bedroom wall, and had some clutter against that, I didn't see it. Afterwards, I found a tube right next to the spot on the floor. So I'd say if you want wood, get it. Just make sure you have a quality pest control company stay on top of the termite barrier. sablebaby does real estate and may be able to recommend a company.

Other than wood or tile, I think you're options are limited. If you decide to go with the wood, I know a retired FOP Brother living on bologna sandwiches and soup who works cheap and does quality work! I should warn you though, with my knees, it could take me a year or so to finish .


Seriously though, the only regrets I have are not using nails or a free-float installation method and not springing an extra $1000 or so for solid wood planks.

[Axiom]

A realtor friend told me there are 2 kinds of houses in AZ... those that have had termites and those that will have them. While I'm not sure I completely buy that, termites are a very common problem. I don't think having hardwood floors increases your chances of getting them. Like others have said: hire a reliable exterminator and/or keep a close watch for termite tubes.

[ConeyIsBabe]

When I bought my home (in southern Oregon) before even moving in, I had all the wall-to-wall carpeting ripped out, I purchased and had installed prefinished hardwood flooring for the entire house. IMHO carpeting is "nasty" and anyone with allergies should consider eliminating it from their environment, no matter where they live.

[Stumblina]

Although I have laminate flooring in my house and I'm fine with it, there's nothing that can replace the beauty of "real" hardwood floors. And, like sablebaby commented, it is "weird" to walk on. Laminate will last a long, long time, but definitely not as long as "the real thing."

[Bummer]

Originally Posted by ajgranda

Hi,

I will be looking into some real estate in Scottsdale come May. I have some mild asthma and need to stay away from excessive carpeting. I've been seeing some houses with primarily ceramic tiled foors throughout the house, but most of the bedrooms have carpeting. This is actually the worst place to have carpeting for anybody with or wothout allergies. We currently have solid wood floors throughout our house here in NY, but I don't really see that in Phoenix metro area. Is the problem termites? What are people using in their bedrooms besides carpeting? I heard from an agent that Pergo can be just as bad for termite infestation as real wood. Any other options besides more tile?

Thanks

My home has Saltillo Tile in the Kitchen, Entrance Hallway, Main Hallway and both Bathrooms while Laminate Flooring is the Living Room, Dining Room and all three Bedrooms . . . NO TERMITES YET!

Personally, I think your agent is a little off on this one.

Allergies or not, carpeting in the desert is just asking for problems.

Good Luck!

[Leaving AZ]

Originally Posted by ajgranda

Hi,

I will be looking into some real estate in Scottsdale come May. I have some mild asthma and need to stay away from excessive carpeting. I've been seeing some houses with primarily ceramic tiled foors throughout the house, but most of the bedrooms have carpeting. This is actually the worst place to have carpeting for anybody with or wothout allergies. We currently have solid wood floors throughout our house here in NY, but I don't really see that in Phoenix metro area. Is the problem termites? What are people using in their bedrooms besides carpeting? I heard from an agent that Pergo can be just as bad for termite infestation as real wood. Any other options besides more tile?

Thanks

I have real hard wood floors in my home and carpet in the bedrooms. I love the look of the hard wood floors its very pretty I just cant stand when Im sweeping and things get stuck in the little cracks but they do look pretty.

[Great Joy]

Welcome soon to AZ!

We've had wood floors in other states we've lived in. Even though we thought they were beautiful, I was always concerned about water spots. For that reason, we chose a home with tile here. We love the tile, and there are lots of beautiful colors to choose from. If you want wood here, go for it; however, choose a light color wood. One of our friends here chose a dark wood, and she really regrets it because she is sweeping every day to control the dust here.

Don't worry about termites. Just hire a good company to take care of them.