Flooring suggestions please

[MamaMia]

With the dog, the puppy, the kids, the grandkids, plumbers and the like coming in and out of the house at all times, I'm spending more money shampooing my carpet and a whole lot more time and energy than I have using the SpotBot. I cant keep up, so....

I'm getting rid of the carpet if I have to tear it up with my bare hands and live on dirt if I have to!

Honestly though, I need suggestions on what kind of flooring to get. I went to look at some flooring my daughter suggested but it was some ugly looking fake wood like substance. I don't have a huge home so I can afford something nice if its reasonably priced.

Any suggestions for floorings and places in Oklahoma City I could visit for a look see?

[JohnnyMack]

Polished concrete. Can't really screw that up.

[SoonerInKCMO]

That rubbery, paint on stuff they use in garages and has that commercial with two guys standing in the garage talking about what you think is the one guy's new car but turns out to be the flooring.

[TopDaugIn2000]

I love bamboo flooring. you can get it very reasonable at some of these discount flooring places (NOT Lowe's or Depot) and it has a 15 yr warranty.

[frankensooner]

Pergo, or other fine laminates have come a long way. Engineered hardwood has come a long way as well. Most flooring stores carry both, as well as home improvment stores. You can float both or glue the EH to the sub floor. I would recommend the Macklanburg-Duncan floor adhesive as it is the best. If you have a nice miter saw, your husband could install either as it is a snap, literally. ;) Or you could put your hired man on it.

[proud gonzo]

hot coals ;)

[achiro]

With dogs I will tell you that hardwood will scratch. Most pergo and tile will not. It really depends on what look you are going for. Some pergo floors do look a little cheap to me but there are some really nice ones out there. They have some newer ones that even look like tile. Tile is nice as well but much more involved with laying it. Also it can chip if something hard is dropped but I don't think that is a huge issue. Also I am not crazy about tile in the living areas, just seems a bit cold(not homey) to me.

[SoonerInKCMO]

Maybe some multi-hued brown shag - you won't notice it's dirty and won't have to get it cleaned as much.

[Sooner in Tampa]

Pergo/laminate/or tile.

Hardwood will have to be resurfaced about every 7 yrs...give or take.

Laminate rocks, we did on entire downstairs (1100 sq ft) with it and for flooring and labor it was only $6k.

[Boomer.....]

I would go with laminate wood floors of some nice large tile.

[SCOUT]

We installed laminate floors in our house about six months ago. I think it looks really nice and it is tough as nails. We put it in because of our dogs too and it has withstood their best efforts to date.

We had a handyman install ours but after seeing him do it I think I could do it.

OK, a real man could do it but you get the idea :)

[mdklatt]

I love bamboo flooring. you can get it very reasonable at some of these discount flooring places (NOT Lowe's or Depot) and it has a 15 yr warranty.


Read the fine print on that warranty, though--it's void if you have a pet panda.

[NormanPride]

I suggest that you join the peace corps and move to the Congo.

Are you floored? ;)

[Frozen Sooner]

I've got laminate in my house. Looks great, wears great, all I have to do is sweep it once a week and mop it once a month.

[Taxman71]

Stained concrete. Hassle free, indestructible and easy to clean. May be tough to do if you already have carpet fixed to it though. I would go with a stone tile of some sort as the next best thing.

[MamaMia]

Stained concrete. Hassle free, indestructible and easy to clean. May be tough to do if you already have carpet fixed to it though. I would go with a stone tile of some sort as the next best thing.

The hubby doesn't like laminate for some reason, even though I do, so thats probably not an option without a big debate. I thought about stained and textured concrete, but we have wood floors under the carpet. There is no concrete there. We learned that we would have to make some major expensive changes to pour concrete, so that wont work. This little old bungalow was built almost 56 years ago.

I would love to go with stone tile if we can afford it. Maybe flagstone? Isn't that one of the less expensive stones? Is it more expensive that ceramic lay? If so, then how about some kind of really nice ceramic with some pretty accent tiles of some sort, maybe? Or would that look weird? :confused:

[12]

A wood subfloor or wood plank flooring? If the latter, rip the carpet up, sand, stain and seal. That will be your cheapest and best option. It should last many years with minimal effort.

If it is a wood subfloor, well... I'd still go with hardwood, but that's just my preference.

[Taxman71]

Yeah, if you already have wood underneath (heh), refinish them and enjoy. Even a rustic, banged up hardwood floor can look real nice. I can't imagine putting tile, etc. on top of hardwood floors though. Obviously, you would have drill backerboard into your hardwood floors to lay the tile. If your hardwood was finished at one time, that could make you cry. I laid red brick tiles in my last house which was easier than laying tile and looked much cooler. It was a little bumpy on bare feet though and would not be good for tricycles and remote cars.

[OUAndy1807]

I'm a big fan of patterned tile or stone.
http://www.tile-store.co.uk/images/combfloorpattern.jpg

have them use a lighter tile and darker grout.

[MamaMia]

A wood subfloor or wood plank flooring? If the latter, rip the carpet up, sand, stain and seal. That will be your cheapest and best option. It should last many years with minimal effort.

If it is a wood subfloor, well... I'd still go with hardwood, but that's just my preference.
I don't know. I just know that they aren't usable. They're 55 plus years old and a contractor told us that it would be less expensive to replace it than to fix it.

I'm going to check out a few places in the city that a couple of you pm'd me about and see what I can find. I'll post the photos of any samples I see that are interesting. My homes decor is a very Italian/Tuscany bungalow type with Italian antiques and furniture, custom but not too formal flowing drapes that I designed, blond and textured walls, old world type lighting and ceiling fans. Next year we plan on putting up those plaster type ceiling tiles as well.

So I need something that will go with that type of decor. I did think of Tecate. Bob Villa has a video online about it, but I heard they chip and discolor very easily.

[sooneron]

Terra Cotta tile on the ground floor and Wood or really good laminate floor upstairs. YWIA

[sooneron]

Slate works too

[tbl]

I would like to know the reasons the hubby doesn't like laminate. It's stinking awesome, and the aesthetic quality is at the point that it's hard to differentiate between the real thing (if you get the good stuff). There's really no logical reason behind it, so I'm interested to hear his reasoning... if there is any.

[sooneron]

I can tell laminate from the real thing.

[OUAndy1807]

Mom's box is full, so I'll reply here:

I don't know of any websites that show what I'm talking about, just have seen it on projects and know that it looks really nice. If you're in the OKC metro area, I can give you a couple of names of tile companies. I am currently working on a large casino in Shawnee and we have an excellent tile subcontractor that is owned by a couple of younger guys. They are relatively inexpensive and do excellent work.

Also, I just did a quick search and found these patterns on Daltile. Slate tile is awesome looking, but any kind of patterned tile would look great. I'll post some pictures from my job in a couple of minutes.
http://www.daltileproducts.com/tile_patterns.cfm?pattern=4

[85Sooner]

What about bella wood. I've heard good things but don't know the cost.