Buildings continue to evolve as human technology improves day in day out, and with these exuberant innovations, various improvements in building component finishing such as wall finishing, ceiling finishing, roofing, doors finishing, window finishing and even floor refinishing become evident. With these new developments, consumers are left to make choices depending on the feature that will best suit individuals to ensure their satisfaction. Because of the difference in sense of taste in individual persons, engineers and architects do not just impose the kind of finish to be used in a home but rather recommend to the homeowner the best form of finish that is most suitable.
Today of course, many people are used to numerous types of floor finishes from tiling, Carpeting, 3d flooring, hardwood flooring, to terrazzo and lots more. All these forms of finishes have their benefits as well as their downside. In order to properly choose the form of floor finish that is best for your home, there are some criteria or features in each of these floor finishes to look out for. This article will do justices to the pros and cons of Carpet and Hardwood flooring and what factors you should consider before going for either option in your home.
BENEFITS
Each finish, both carpet, and hardwood flooring has shown that they have their own set of advantage over the other, nonetheless, there is no clear cut answer to the question of which is better than the other since both have merits and demerits.
PROS OF HARDWOOD FLOORING
Aesthetics: Countless research have been carried out and it is revealed that aesthetics is one of the benefits of hardwood flooring. As a matter of fact, most home users remove carpet floors and replace them with beautiful hardwood floor which illuminates the extravagant aesthetic value of this finishes. It is difficult to not like the look of hardwood flooring. Having a different opinion means that one ’s flooring choice is easier. It’s a great flooring material for most rooms of the home.
Cleanliness: Aside from the aesthetic value of hardwood flooring that most of its user appreciate, it also radiates that special ability to be able to absorb dirt and dust without losing its glow and initial sparkling effects. Unlike other kinds of floor finishes, hardwood is much easier to clean.
Durability: This property is an essential feature needed in choosing any type of finish for a structure. As a matter of fact, hardwood flooring is considered one of the most durable forms of floor finishes especially when comparing its durability with other floor finishes. When properly maintained, it can last for few decades while carpeting would have needed some refurbishing over a decade. Hence, the durability of hardwood floor is one of the factors that are put into consideration for choosing it over carpeting in floor finishing.
Flexibility: At some point in time, home users may decide to use their floor for whatever they want regardless of what the floor is designed for. This is called use- conversion. When use conversion occurs in a floor finished with hardwood, the floor will maintain its standard and elegance. Use conversion takes place on all major floors of homes and so does not necessarily occur where the floor is made out of hardwood alone. Thus, the flexibility of hardwood flooring makes a top priority when it comes to choosing floor finish. Users of hardwood flooring maneuver the way they set or even used this floor finish by combining other forms of floor finishes especially carpeting such as area rugs to some certain area in the room and the house at large. This merit help in ensuring that users benefit from other forms of finishes cum the merit that comes along with hardwood flooring.
PROS OF CARPETING
Aesthetic and Selection: if there is one thing that is superb about carpeting it is the wide range of available patters already produced and that are being continually manufactured on a daily basis from which you can select your desired patterns. And yes, you will be overwhelmed at the magnificent designs of carpets except you have not been to a carpeting showroom. All in all, if one is looking for a type of floor finish that will leave your home a decent and beautiful floor, carpeting is not only an option but one of the best choices to make in fulfilling the desire for aesthetic value. The ability to select from uncountable and available types of designs in carpeting makes it have an edge over hardwood flooring as the design and patterns in hardwood floors are not so diverse and as such reduces the aesthetic value in eyes of the beholder.
Muffles Sound: This characteristic is another feature that distinct carpeting from other types of floor finishes because it has the ability to resist sound movement and it thus reduces echo and controls the density level of sound in a structure. Carpeted rooms are therefore less noisy compared to other floor finishes and most especially hardwood flooring.
Warmth: Carpeting does not only help home users knock out echo in their building but also help to conduct heat in a home which is a necessity. This ability once again helps in ensuring more comfortable than with other flooring options, especially, hardwood flooring. If you are one that prefers walking with barefooted, then carpeting is your best option to prevent cold.
Safer to use: Here we go again, safety! The first question you ask yourself here is that ‘are other types of floor finish not safe enough?’ The second question will be “if they are not safe, why to design them or recommend them aqt all?”. Well, the answer is simple and fair enough, carpeting allows for ease of movement of furniture in case of re-arranging and more so, it prevents the object from having a great impact on your floor when they accidentally fall off. The rationale behind the safety characteristic of carpet is that it does not only protect the users but also their properties and belongings.
DEMERITS
No matter how great all kinds of floor finishes could be they always have their diverse limitations which their users regret and look for ways to perfect. With this in view, hardwood flooring and carpet flooring finishes both have their own downsides which make it difficult and tricky in selecting the most suitable of these two-floor finishes. The aforementioned facts eliminate the pros of both hardwood flooring and carpeting choice of flooring. Nevertheless, this article will now briefly discuss the downsides of the two options.
Cons of Hardwood Flooring
High level of Noise: From the collection of experiences, people who live below hardwood floors get disturbed abruptly by noise. Hardwood floors are noisy both in the rooms themselves and beneath the rooms. The sound is not muffled at all.
Scratches: No matter how carefully one can use the hardwood floor, one defect or the other is bound to occur. Scratches happen.
Cold: One fact about this choice of flooring is that hardwood floors do not insulate well and are always cold to the touch, especially in the morning and late evenings.
Hard surface: Harwood flooring comes along with hard surface, if any fragile objects or kitchen utensils should fall down it will be damaged.
Cons of Carpet floors
Dirty: No matter how hard you try cleaning carpet flloor, it does not come clean easily or get clean at all. Even if you vacuum every other day, carpeting is dirtier than the hardwood floor. It is also more difficult and time-consuming to clean a carpet floor.
Replacement cost: As highlighted earlier, Carpet floors have a short lifespan compared to hardwood floors. Thus, when considering the cost of replacing carpet floors, one might choose hardwood floor over carpet floors to save cost.
Stains: Although, today’s carpeting ensures decent stain resistance and steam cleaners can do a great job removing stains, there are still permanent stains found on carpet floors, defecting the patterns and aesthetic value.
Chemicals: The art of manufacturing Carpet floors involve the use of some chemicals and hence carpets contain chemicals. Meanwhile, Steam cleaning carpet floors calls for chemical use as well. Therefore, the hardwood floor will be a preffered option if you do want to live in a house with less chemical and chemical odour.
Carpets are no no for people with Dust allergies.