Favorite type of Flooring in a Florida home? (and with large dog and kids?) (new house, tile)

[bluefeather52]

My son and his family live just south of Jacksonville in Clay County. They replaced carpeting in their living room and all the bedrooms last year with laminate flooring. My observations of their dog on the laminate flooring bring me to caution you that a very active dog can have trouble on laminate floors; once they get going, they can't stop and will be sliding into things all over the place. Hopefully, though, they will figure it out and stop running in the house!

[kyle19125]

Originally Posted by AliciaMaria

We're from South Florida as well... both of my previous homes (that I owned myself) I had completely tiled. One I had done in entirely saltillo tile (mexican tile) and the other I opted for 18" ceramic tile with a saltillo look. Its just so much easier to keep clean..

I totally agree regarding ceramic tile. It's easy to maintain, doesn't scratch like laminate or bamboo can, and also helps keep the house cooler during hot weather. It's a breeze to clean (get the non-glossy variety) and easy to fix, buy extra tiles and if there's a crack or chip it can easily be replaced.

[AliciaMaria]

^ yep!! Non glossy preferred!!!

[SandmanSand]

If you do decide to go with ceramic tile, yes it is best to buy extra tile/tiles. Not only for chips & cracks, but tiles will vary in color by different box lots. If you ever have a slab leak under a tiled area within your home, and don't buy extra (new install), it's very hard to match that same exact tile.

[MissNM]

Originally Posted by AliciaMaria

We have tile and hardwood throughout our whole house.. we are not carpet people.. Carpet just seems so gross with all the bare feet on it, not to mention it soaks up spills . . .

Ditto on carpet, YUCK.

Anyway, when it's time to do it all over again - I want stained concrete. Easy to sweep, can be wet mopped, etc. And has an old earthy mission look about it.

http://www.concretenetwork.com/photo...rete-floors_1/

[SLCPUNK]

Originally Posted by bsgm

I am wondering what kind of flooring people like here in their homes. Most of the homes we are looking at have carpet and vinyl flooring, but I feel like the builders did that because it was cheap to install (we are looking mostly at homes built after 2000.) We are thinking we'll either look for an upgraded home or change the flooring ourselves when we buy.

We are buying a home soon and we prefer solid floors... wood and tile. I am doing a bunch of research and with a large dog and kids, it seems we might be better off looking for wood laminate in a home (or installing it), because it might hold up better. Also, I am reading humidity can warp wood even more than the wood laminate. Any experience with this? I would love recommendations for good types of flooring in the climate here, as well as what goes with the style of homes here.

I am concerned about floors that off-gas, however. We have a baby and I know that some of the flooring gives off some really nasty chemicals when it is new and even afterward. I am trying to find "greener" versions of different types of flooring because of this, but I need the flooring to be durable, too, so I may need to compromise.

I know in South Florida a lot of homes will have tile throughout the entire living room / kitchen area, but I see that less here.
As far as resale value goes (maybe 10 years from now or something, in this housing market), what do you think the taste of home buyers in North Florida is as far as flooring choices go? I do want to think about resale value or what renters might like since we may eventually want to sell or rent out this first starter home.

Tile is my favorite for Florida without a doubt.

[HollyinJAX]

I agree with many of the posts here....my 2 cents...go for wood. We have three dogs and our wood floors seem to hold up really well.

[titaniummd]

Originally Posted by bsgm

I am wondering what kind of flooring people like here in their homes. Most of the homes we are looking at have carpet and vinyl flooring, but I feel like the builders did that because it was cheap to install (we are looking mostly at homes built after 2000.) We are thinking we'll either look for an upgraded home or change the flooring ourselves when we buy.

We are buying a home soon and we prefer solid floors... wood and tile. I am doing a bunch of research and with a large dog and kids, it seems we might be better off looking for wood laminate in a home (or installing it), because it might hold up better. Also, I am reading humidity can warp wood even more than the wood laminate. Any experience with this? I would love recommendations for good types of flooring in the climate here, as well as what goes with the style of homes here.

I am concerned about floors that off-gas, however. We have a baby and I know that some of the flooring gives off some really nasty chemicals when it is new and even afterward. I am trying to find "greener" versions of different types of flooring because of this, but I need the flooring to be durable, too, so I may need to compromise.

I know in South Florida a lot of homes will have tile throughout the entire living room / kitchen area, but I see that less here.
As far as resale value goes (maybe 10 years from now or something, in this housing market), what do you think the taste of home buyers in North Florida is as far as flooring choices go? I do want to think about resale value or what renters might like since we may eventually want to sell or rent out this first starter home.

I have Ceramic Tile throughout except for the bedrooms, stairs, living room. My doggy would only pee and poop on tile, which made clean up easier. It is resistant to odor, stains or cracks. It doesn't scratch. Wood is nice but requires a lot more maintenance.

[AliciaMaria]

Originally Posted by MissNM

Ditto on carpet, YUCK.

Anyway, when it's time to do it all over again - I want stained concrete. Easy to sweep, can be wet mopped, etc. And has an old earthy mission look about it.

Concrete Floors - Photo Gallery - The Concrete Network

Love it!

[bativac]

We have hardwood, wood laminate (which I installed myself) and carpet in our house. It's a 50+ year old home. We've been there a year and plan to eventually have hardwood installed in the add-on, which is where the carpet is.

Wood has its drawbacks but it wears much better than carpet, I think. Real wood can always be refinished. The engineered stuff can only be sanded down so many times, and the laminate stuff can't be sanded or refinished at all.

I'd go with wood because I think it looks "classy." I might be biased, though, since I grew up with hardwood floors. Tile looks nice, if it's decent tile. I will say that I cannot stand carpeting, and in new homes, carpeting is definitely the builder's way of getting the house finished cheaply. Especially considering the "builder's grade" carpet they use.