Alternatives to wall-to-wall carpeting on second-floor (wood floor) (hardwood floors, engineered, laminate)

[crisan]

Right now we have wall-to-wall carpeting in the second floor except the bathrooms, this has small tile. I would like to replace it with something else because I can't stand carpeting.

(I may show our ignorance with this next paragraph.)
My husband says that tile is out of the question since the floor is wooden which allows for movement . I have to agree since the grout in our bathrooms has cracked. The cracks were fixed but the cracks came back shortly after.He says that a second floor made of concrete would have been better but I don't know many second story houses that have this on the second floor.

So, what about hardwood or cork? Are these okay on wooden floors? Am I just stuck with carpeting?

Thanks, Crisan

[Omaha Rocks]

When you say you have hardwood floors on your second floor, are you referring to oak floor? Because if that's the case - and it was my decision to make - I'd sand and refinish the floors. It's not as hard as you'd think, though is it time-consuming.

Regarding the cracking tile grout... Unless you have Cement Board under it, you'll always be cracking the grout and/or tiles. There's not a lot of flex in wood floors, but enough to cause constant problems.

Cement board is a little bit like a much heavier drywall board. It usually comes in 3'x5' panels.

[crisan]

Originally Posted by Omaha Rocks

When you say you have hardwood floors on your second floor, are you referring to oak floor? Because if that's the case - and it was my decision to make - I'd sand and refinish the floors. It's not as hard as you'd think, though is it time-consuming.

Regarding the cracking tile grout... Unless you have Cement Board under it, you'll always be cracking the grout and/or tiles. There's not a lot of flex in wood floors, but enough to cause constant problems.

Cement board is a little bit like a much heavier drywall board. It usually comes in 3'x5' panels.

The hardwood floors look like the panels you have in your picture on the floor. It is just sheets of wood laid down on the frame of the house.

Thanks for the info. on cement boards and the picture. I will look into this. You just lay it down on the bare floor (I am sure more work is involved) and that will allow for other alternatives, right?

ETA: I just read about cement boards. This is so exciting! Thanks.

[Omaha Rocks]

Originally Posted by crisan

The hardwood floors look like the panels you have in your picture on the floor. It is just sheets of wood laid down on the frame of the house.

Thanks for the info. on cement boards and the picture. I will look into this. You just lay it down on the bare floor (I am sure more work is involved) and that will allow for other alternatives, right?

ETA: I just read about cement boards. This is so exciting! Thanks.

Okay... Saying you have hardwood floors is inaccurate. It's just under-layment.


I'd say you have several options:

The first, and least expensive, is to just keep your carpet - or even replace it with carpet you like a little better.


The second is to install a good laminate, such as Pergo. It's not terribly difficult to install, provided you have a miter saw and some other specific tools. It is installed over existing floors, with a thin membrane between. It is not attached to the existing floor, and essentially is held in place by both its own weight, and the quarter-round you install on the baseboards. It snaps together almost like tight tongue-and-grove boards.



Your third option is to install actual hardwood flooring. This would be the most difficult, and expensive. What you'd do is actually what contractors do when building a new house and installing that kind of floor.
http://i.ehow.com/images/GlobalPhoto/Articles/5008893/189478_Full.jpg (broken link)

Good luck!

[Moonlady]

Keep in mind the noise factor. If you have any kind of hard surface, you may be able to hear someone walking across the floor when you are downstairs. This might not be an issue for you, but it's something to consider.

[golfgal]

I agree about the noise factor as well as a temperature issue. In our area it gets COLD and it is nice to have carpet in the bedrooms. My in-laws have hardwood flooring upstairs and you hear EVERYTHING. If you don't want carpet I would look into cork. You can easily install it yourself, you can get padded or unpadded and it holds up very well.

[crisan]

Originally Posted by Omaha Rocks

Okay... Saying you have hardwood floors is inaccurate. It's just under-layment.

I know, I know. I didn't know the terms and used "hardwood" in my following post. "Under-layment" got it

Originally Posted by Omaha Rocks

I'd say you have several options:

The first, and least expensive, is to just keep your carpet - or even replace it with carpet you like a little better.

Or maybe just get a better vacuum and broom more often. From what I have heard, wall-to-wall carpeting is unhygienic.

The secret life of germs: what they ... - Google Books

My infant daughter is just learning to crawl and she picks up hair on her hands.

Another thing, we don't wear shoes or bring food upstairs but there are bleach stains around the second floor (it is not my bleach).

I just never liked it.

Originally Posted by Omaha Rocks

The second is to install a good laminate, such as Pergo.

Just the laminate and membrane on top of the wood under-layment? Its weight will be enough without cement boards?

[crisan]

Originally Posted by Moonlady

Keep in mind the noise factor. If you have any kind of hard surface, you may be able to hear someone walking across the floor when you are downstairs. This might not be an issue for you, but it's something to consider.

Originally Posted by golfgal

I agree about the noise factor as well as a temperature issue. In our area it gets COLD and it is nice to have carpet in the bedrooms. My in-laws have hardwood flooring upstairs and you hear EVERYTHING. If you don't want carpet I would look into cork. You can easily install it yourself, you can get padded or unpadded and it holds up very well.

I will take the noise into consideration. This is why I had cork as a possibility.

ETA: I can also use carpet panels instead of wall-to-wall.

[Threerun]

Make sure the underlayment isn't particle board. They use that quite a bit for carpet underlayment, and it's not receommended for hardwood or even engineered wood as suitable underlayment.

In some cases, builders put tile over particle board to, which is all fine and dandy until it gets wet.

[Omaha Rocks]

Originally Posted by crisan

I know, I know. I didn't know the terms and used "hardwood" in my following post. "Under-layment" got it

Or maybe just get a better vacuum and broom more often. From what I have heard, wall-to-wall carpeting is unhygienic.

The secret life of germs: what they ... - Google Books

My infant daughter is just learning to crawl and she picks up hair on her hands.

Another thing, we don't wear shoes or bring food upstairs but there are bleach stains around the second floor (it is not my bleach).

I just never liked it.


Just the laminate and membrane on top of the wood under-layment? Its weight will be enough without cement boards?

That is correct. You do not install cement board under Pergo (Pergo is a brand name - maybe the original - for laminate flooring).

Unless the process has changed very recently, what you do is put this membrane over the existing floor. You can get it in either 1/16th inch thickness or 1/8th inch thickness. The stuff I've worked with is blue.

You then install the laminate flooring atop that. It's a little hard to describe the motion, but basically you install it at an angle, and it snaps together.

You do not nail or in any way attach the laminate flooring to the existing flooring. It essentially becomes one big piece of flooring, held down at the edges.


Keep several things in mind:

1. Laminate flooring is not the same as real wood. It will not stand up under extremely heavy traffic the way wood will.

2. Though the floor you're installing it on doesn't have to be perfectly smooth (as with commercial tile), it needs to be pretty good. No big bumps or imperfections.

3. There are a lot of companies that make this stuff now, and a lot of places that sell it. You might be able to score a really good deal on some of it. You could even check Craigslist. Sometimes people have left-overs, or they changed their minds before installing it and are selling it on the cheap.


Good luck!