Browse Forums Building A New House Re: Tiles or wood? 22Nov 15, 2007 11:08 am We hae a 10yo and a 3yo at the moment.
We have selected boral silkwood flooring for the entry, family, kitchen, dining, hallways etc. Carpet for the bedrooms, theatre and kids play room in a dark mocha colour Tiles for bathroom, toilet, ensuite and laundry only. I couldn't have tiles through the house. In Melbourne, it's cold when you walk around barefoot. Our kids hate wearing shoes and socks in the house too. Had real wood in last house but because of the height difference and a few other reasons have chosen to try the boral silkwod flooring for the new house. I have also heard that you can give them a light sand and put a lacquer over them at the time of laying???? Has anyone done that??? Would like to know how they went and whether they were happy with it - long term? Re: Tiles or wood? 23Nov 15, 2007 11:08 am Jac08 Carpet in formal areas & bedrooms and tiles everywhere else. I love love love real timber floorboards but high heel shoes wreck them!! Same here. But you should take your shoes off in the house Our Adenbrook home was completed in September. Re: Tiles or wood? 25Nov 15, 2007 11:17 am Quote: Thanks for that Steve, I have had a look at the way they make it and there are a lot of similarities between the way they make timber. Your obviously comparing floating timber versus the real McCoy full timber boards. On acerage in QLD. I'd be more inclined to go with tiles in the high traffic areas and only put timber in your less impact living areas. The dirt and dust will grind timber to shreds as the wind blows the dust around and people tramp it in. My place in the NT was 5 acres and during the wet season and dry season the dust and mud was easier to get off tiles with no scratches at all. It was tiles throughout and marble inthe master bedroom entertaining wing. And slate on all verandahs - mind you the horses damaged that when they walked on them one day Tiles are much cooler to the touch and in QLD that is something you will enjoy more than warmer feeling timber floors. My thoughts Steve Re: Tiles or wood? 26Nov 15, 2007 11:30 am royalblue Yes, and by collecting and holding the dust, carpet has been PROVEN to BENEFIT the indoor air quality in the home. Dust is inevitable, especially in bedrooms, (where we sleep, undress etc) as we shed skin constantly. This accumulates in the bed and clothes etc. This dust will constantly re-enter the airspace where hard floors are fitted, whereas a carpet holds it at or near the floor where it is less problematic, (as long as proper maintenance is applied). FACT: A well maintained carpet is as healthy a floorcovering as you can have! FACT 2: When proper maintenance is applied in each case, a carpet required far less frequent maintenance than hard floors. Ash. I agree! I think we'll go with tile in main traffic areas but carpet upstairs, downstairs in games room, living room, family room. Re: Tiles or wood? 29Nov 15, 2007 3:40 pm Hi there,
We could not find a tile we liked, and our three children would severly damage timber (in any form), we ended up going with slate flooring throughout and carpet in bedrooms and lounge/theatre room. Re: Tiles or wood? 30Nov 16, 2007 6:04 am We're still at the quotes stage at the moment & tossing up between two plans.
Carpets to all bedrooms & built in robes. Tiles to all bathrooms / laundry / toilet (maybe put slate flooring in?) Slate everywhere else (living, dining, kitchen, lounge, hallway). I find it really tempting to say slate throughout the whole lot, but I think the above is a good balance. I've never had floor boards, but with two kids (age 5 & 3) and possibly getting a dog I don't like the idea, besides I tend to change furniture around too often on my own, you can imagine scratched floors! A friend once made a comment which I always remember - floorboards are cleaner than carpet only because you have to clean it all the time! And like someone said polished ones can be hard to clean perfectly, LOL if my window cleaning skills are of any indication I think I'll stay away! We lived in Darwin for a while, one place was tiles throughout the whole lot which made it a breeze when toilet training! Tiles are fantastic for warm climates, I think slate is a good compromise in the cooler areas. Strategical addition of rugs should make it nice. In our current house (lino kitchen/dining/hall & carpet everywhere else) it's rather nice laying on the carpeted lounge floor & mucking around with the kids. Something to consider - and things like laying on the floor whilst watching tv or playing etc. Re: Tiles or wood? 31Nov 16, 2007 6:35 am stonecutter1309 royalblue Yes, and by collecting and holding the dust, carpet has been PROVEN to BENEFIT the indoor air quality in the home. Dust is inevitable, especially in bedrooms, (where we sleep, undress etc) as we shed skin constantly. This accumulates in the bed and clothes etc. This dust will constantly re-enter the airspace where hard floors are fitted, whereas a carpet holds it at or near the floor where it is less problematic, (as long as proper maintenance is applied). FACT: A well maintained carpet is as healthy a floorcovering as you can have! FACT 2: When proper maintenance is applied in each case, a carpet required far less frequent maintenance than hard floors. Ash. I agree! I think we'll go with tile in main traffic areas but carpet upstairs, downstairs in games room, living room, family room. Ash - you are 100% correct! (don't laugh and say I told you so...) In our last rental place we had timber (real) throughout, and it was the most dusty house I have lived in. Unless you are a clean freak (which I'm not) don't get anything but CARPETS in the bedrooms. We found that there was always a mass of fluff, dust and hair under our bed from walking past it (in and out of bed) and it swirls as the air moves and then re-settles. This doesn't happen with carpet as it is stuck to the pile once it is on the floor. So floorboards gave the illusion that they were clean where it was high traffic, but pull out a couch or move the bed and YUCK! I don't have proof but in my opinion I'd go carpet in bedrooms over hard floors if you are prone to dust allergies/asthma. We are having tiles throughout except bedrooms and sitting room which will be carpeted. Easy to clean, spills aren't an issue (with kids) and they are fairly hard wearing. Ray. Second Time 'Round Re: Tiles or wood? 32Nov 16, 2007 6:40 am Yak_Chat marble inthe master bedroom entertaining wing. Steve Hmmm... sounds interesting I don't believe we have a bedroom entertainment wing! Ray. Second Time 'Round Re: Tiles or wood? 33Nov 18, 2007 12:01 am royalblue Casa2 I've heard that carpet is not a good option for people with allergies. Yeah, such ill-informed bullschite is regularly propagated! It's time that people woke up! Ash. Facts or bullshyte, in the end it comes down to personal choice. We don't like the carpets or the tiles, you love the carpets. Everyone is happy! Until your kids spill something in the bedroom and it's permanent... Currently Building in Bayside (Brighton East) Re: Tiles or wood? 34Nov 18, 2007 12:32 am Vlad76 royalblue Casa2 I've heard that carpet is not a good option for people with allergies. Yeah, such ill-informed bullschite is regularly propagated! It's time that people woke up! Ash. Facts or bullshyte, in the end it comes down to personal choice. We don't like the carpets or the tiles, you love the carpets. Everyone is happy! Until your kids spill something in the bedroom and it's permanent... Vlad76, You're quite right. It all comes down to personal choice, and climate, circumstances, lifestyle, and other factors can also affect what is the best choice for each of us. Ultimately, my agenda is to suggest people make informed choices, instead of those based on trends, mindless assumptions, and/or misinformation. All floor-coverings will have their good & bad points. "Kids spills permanent"??? Again, with appropriate care, there is no reason for this to be so, and proper maintenance isn't difficult. My boys have grown (now 13 and 10) and our carpets have had all sorts of typical accidents. In each case, they have been promptly cleaned up. We have no stains on our carpets. Permanent stains are usually caused by inappropriate action if/when an accident happens. Ash. Re: Tiles or wood? 35Nov 18, 2007 7:03 am Yep when you have kids scotchguard or some such carpet treatment is worth it's weight in gold!
I still remember having a mothers group at my place, rental property with white (or very light carpet) in the lounge. Coffee spill , ouch - the carpet had no scotchguard & you could tell! It soaked right in. Even so I'm pretty sure carpet cleaning when we moved got most of the stain out. Depends on the type of carpet as well, that would be an entire thread in itself I imagine! I agree that so much of it is personal preference, and I suppose that's exactly what makes it an interesting discussion. Floorboards can scratch Tiles can chip, grout gets dirty Carpets can stain / burn Lino can scratch / melt Polished concrete could be slippery Everything needs cleaning dammit! Re: Tiles or wood? 36Nov 18, 2007 8:45 am If you were buying a house, would it having porcelain tiles or engineered wood in the main living areas, make a difference to your decision to buy the home? Re: Tiles or wood? 37Nov 18, 2007 11:22 am We've put wood throughout on the lower level and clad the staircase with same 83 x 12 spotted gum. Having lived with slate, wood and carpet our preference is definitely solid wood. It does show wear and tear but so does carpet. Tiles are great but hard on the feet. In our last house we had slate in the kitchen and my legs would ache after preparing food for a dinner party. Its also a very unforgiving surface if you drop something.
At the end of the day it is personal choice but I never could get that massage oil out of the carpet despite everyone's best intentions . We have gone with carpet in the bedrooms to keep costs down. I'd go wood every time; however I've walked into display homes and admired their lovely porcelein tiles. We also considered travertine which is very nice particularly in bathrooms. Re: Tiles or wood? 38Nov 18, 2007 11:40 am DeeElle We've put wood throughout on the lower level and clad the staircase with same 83 x 12 spotted gum. Having lived with slate, wood and carpet our preference is definitely solid wood. It does show wear and tear but so does carpet. Tiles are great but hard on the feet. In our last house we had slate in the kitchen and my legs would ache after preparing food for a dinner party. Its also a very unforgiving surface if you drop something. At the end of the day it is personal choice but I never could get that massage oil out of the carpet despite everyone's best intentions . We have gone with carpet in the bedrooms to keep costs down. I'd go wood every time; however I've walked into display homes and admired their lovely porcelein tiles. We also considered travertine which is very nice particularly in bathrooms. DeeElle, You've probably already mentioned this, but my memory is all over the place at the moment. May I ask what wood you used (19 mm, 12 mm or engineered) and what method of attachment to slab (direct stick, plywood underlay or battons). Cheers, Casa Demolition August 2009, Construction Started September 2009, Completed December 2010 Re: Tiles or wood? 39Nov 18, 2007 1:14 pm There is still ongoing debate about wood versus carpet in regards to allergies, so let's not get into religious warfare about proof.
One thing about carpet is that if you can control who (and what) goes on them from new then you're probably OK. Where you can get big problems is if you move into to a house with existing carpets. If the previous owners had pets indoors then it is virtually impossible to get rid of the pet hair and residues in the carpets. Re: Tiles or wood? 40Nov 18, 2007 1:25 pm First_Timer_Ray stonecutter1309 royalblue Yes, and by collecting and holding the dust, carpet has been PROVEN to BENEFIT the indoor air quality in the home. Dust is inevitable, especially in bedrooms, (where we sleep, undress etc) as we shed skin constantly. This accumulates in the bed and clothes etc. This dust will constantly re-enter the airspace where hard floors are fitted, whereas a carpet holds it at or near the floor where it is less problematic, (as long as proper maintenance is applied). FACT: A well maintained carpet is as healthy a floorcovering as you can have! FACT 2: When proper maintenance is applied in each case, a carpet required far less frequent maintenance than hard floors. Ash. I agree! I think we'll go with tile in main traffic areas but carpet upstairs, downstairs in games room, living room, family room. Ash - you are 100% correct! (don't laugh and say I told you so...) In our last rental place we had timber (real) throughout, and it was the most dusty house I have lived in. Unless you are a clean freak (which I'm not) don't get anything but CARPETS in the bedrooms. We found that there was always a mass of fluff, dust and hair under our bed from walking past it (in and out of bed) and it swirls as the air moves and then re-settles. This doesn't happen with carpet as it is stuck to the pile once it is on the floor. So floorboards gave the illusion that they were clean where it was high traffic, but pull out a couch or move the bed and YUCK! I don't have proof but in my opinion I'd go carpet in bedrooms over hard floors if you are prone to dust allergies/asthma. We are having tiles throughout except bedrooms and sitting room which will be carpeted. Easy to clean, spills aren't an issue (with kids) and they are fairly hard wearing. Ray. Ray… are you aware of where ALL that dust goes when you have carpet? Into your carpet and buries itself deep into the pile! Unless you have the best vacuum cleaner, it will remain there. Anyone suffering with dust allegories should NEVER have carpet. In fact they should avoid fabrics altogether…..including fabric window dressings and lounges. The higher the pile of carpet the worse. Dust bunnies on the floor are a pain, but when you vacuum them up, at least you know you have it all. Internal and External Building and Colour Consultant Online - Worldwide http://www.denovoconcepts.com We are tossing up between a Jarrahdale radiant wood fire (the Pioneer) and a convection wood fire (Innovator or Countryman) but cannot decide on which type of wood fire is… 0 5250 yeah i couldnt picture it issue either, but i could clearly picture what they were doing wrong haha 2 5295 Firstly the ableflex that has been installed needs (manufactures specification) a sealant cap over the top, preventing water draining down between the slab and the… 3 7780 |