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Hard wood or carpet for den

post #1 of 25
4/4/09 at 10:09am
Thread Starter 
Just bought a new house and the whole first floor is hard wood. However, the den has a carpet that we need to replace. Some people have said that carpet is better in the den (especially if you have young kids) as the basement does not extend beneath the den (making the room very cold). I love hard wood floors but also want to be comfortable watching tv in the den. Your thoughts?
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post #2 of 25
4/4/09 at 10:17am
Get the hardwood -- just be sure to put some insulation underneath it. Then you can always use a rug during the "young kid phase" if necessary.
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post #3 of 25
4/4/09 at 10:35am
we have exactly the same situation -- hardwood throughout the house and a den with no basement underneath it -- just an unheated crawlspace. the floors are beautiful and we love them, but that floor is damn cold in the wintertime. if you think the kids will be spending time on the floor, i would definitely look into carpet or finding a way to insulate the floor, as eg suggests.
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post #4 of 25
4/4/09 at 12:00pm
Hardwood with throw rugs.
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post #5 of 25
4/4/09 at 12:10pm
depends on whether you expect spills and accidents or not. If you have dogs and clumsy children...hardwood, with a few spare layers of varnish.
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post #6 of 25
4/4/09 at 12:21pm
Thread Starter 
Thanks, guys!
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post #7 of 25
4/4/09 at 1:38pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by millionaire75 View Post
Thanks, guys!
Have you made a decision?
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post #8 of 25
4/4/09 at 7:34pm
What about putting some radient heat under the floor?
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post #9 of 25
4/5/09 at 12:24am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by JayJay View Post
Have you made a decision?

not yet.
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post #10 of 25
4/5/09 at 12:42am
kids = carpet. Falls, toys, playing on floor. Would you want to play on a hard cold floor?
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post #11 of 25
4/20/09 at 3:25pm
Hardwood with area rugs.
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post #12 of 25
4/22/09 at 12:00pm
+1 on the hardwood + throw rug suggestion. I'm tearing up carpet now, and i'm amazed at how much dust is holds/creates. Hardwood will be slightly more expensive, but will outlast the carpet many times over, since you can refinish it, and wont bother you if you have allergies (who doesn't these days?)
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post #13 of 25
4/22/09 at 4:41pm
+1 Hardwood with area rugs. After the kids destory it you can have it screened and re-coated (lightly scratch the top layer of polyurethane and apply (3) coats of oil-based polyurethane) or a full sand & finish where the bare wood will be exposed. With todays coatings that contain aluminum oxide the durability factor is much higher than it once was. I would recommend not going with a "Bargain Basement" brand or even Bruce. They are so massed produced with very little attention to quality. "Bargain Basement" brands have several issues including improper kiln drying which can lead to cupping, cracking, and bowing in the future. Look into some better Canadian mills such as Mirage, Mercier, or Lauzon. If you want to go for an exotic look go for BR-111 or Expama. Feel free to PM me with any detailed questions.
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post #14 of 25
4/22/09 at 4:59pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by FromCAtoCO View Post
kids = carpet. Falls, toys, playing on floor. Would you want to play on a hard cold floor?

meh. pain = they learn faster.
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post #15 of 25
4/22/09 at 9:53pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Lucky7 View Post
+1 Hardwood with area rugs. After the kids destory it you can have it screened and re-coated (lightly scratch the top layer of polyurethane and apply (3) coats of oil-based polyurethane) or a full sand & finish where the bare wood will be exposed. With todays coatings that contain aluminum oxide the durability factor is much higher than it once was. I would recommend not going with a "Bargain Basement" brand or even Bruce. They are so massed produced with very little attention to quality. "Bargain Basement" brands have several issues including improper kiln drying which can lead to cupping, cracking, and bowing in the future. Look into some better Canadian mills such as Mirage, Mercier, or Lauzon. If you want to go for an exotic look go for BR-111 or Expama. Feel free to PM me with any detailed questions.

Thinking about making my own in exotic, doesn't take much more then a planer and a tongue and groove bit. That and bit of hand sanding.

In my other post i finished those exotics by hand sanding from 100 grit to 1000 grit in about 5 stages, 0000 grade steel wool, then a tack cloth, linseed oil and finished with a bowling alley wax. Nice thing about the wax is that you can touch it up easily.

This finish is fine for me since i wear leather soled shoes and dont try to do wind sprints in my house, but it might be trouble for kids.
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