Tile vs Wood Flooring (hardwood floors, pool, vacuum, install)

[DetroitN8V]

Real wood. Laminate may be OK if you don’t care about resale.

[take57]

Originally Posted by Ponderosa

One thing that is very trendy right now is tile that looks like wood. You get the best of both, I suppose. The thing is that it is a trend and it may not last. Colors too, the grays and darks of today will surely be replaced some day with something else. Removing out of style tile flooring is expensive and messy. Hardwood or laminate is a DIY project if you are so inclined.

Something else to keep in mind here. There is dust and dirt and little rocks everywhere. These get on your feet and you track them into the house. Dark tiles show footprints and hardwood finishes can be scratched. With dark tiles and hardwoods, you end up being one of those houses where people have to take their shoes off when they come in.

Guess I'm one of the trendy ones because we remodeled a couple of years ago and replaced dark tile (a nightmare in the dusty desert environment - always looked dirty) with porcelain tile that looks like wood planks. The color is something like a light sandstone blond-ish mesquite with a subtle grain baked in the tile. [EDIT: Found a link to the tile we used, it's the Creme colorway: https://www.arizonatile.com/en/produ...ramic/savannah] Seems to me hardwood flooring would take a beating, particularly the finish, again because of all the sand and dust that gets tossed around in the air around here.

[catz&dogz]

Originally Posted by grmi66

Or the third choice, stained concrete floors. I pulled out the old, dated tile and did stained concrete. If in 10-20 years it looks dated I simply tile over it again.

Yep!

Looks good until you are ready to sell then put down the latest greatest trendy tile.

In AZ once the temps reach their first 130* degree day it will be a buyers market.
And yes, I am a native of AZ, and if you dont think it can get 130* just wait.

[markeg]

We have a condo and replaced all of the carpeting with water resistant laminate. It looks like wood, it doesn’t scratch with our yellow lab. Water resistant means you can spill water on it for hours and it will stand up.
We purchased it at Floor and Decor.

[luv4horses]

I had a back entry, mudroom and kitchen with Pergo tile for 15 yrs and never a scratch from big dogs. Pergo is a brand, and it was a good one.

People in my area are liking what is marketed as "luxury vinyl plank" that looks like a grey washed wood. There are other wood looks too.

[PNW-type-gal]

Originally Posted by fluffythewondercat

With three dogs, I don’t think I’d use Pergo. Unless the product has dramatically improved, it really shows the wear.

It's actually gotten a lot better. The LVT ("luxury" vinyl tile) we put in in our office and bathroom has held up very well, even from office chairs rolling around on it.

As far as people who say to go with wood for resale, that depends entirely on your house and market. If you are trying to sell an upscale house for top dollar, then yes, wood is probably best. But for anything closer to mid-level, I don't think that is as true as it once was.

The other thing about the LVT we used is that it isn't all that expensive - at $2.50 a sf or so (it comes with a pretty good quality underlayer), if I get tired of the pattern in 5 years, I won't have a qualm about pulling it out and replacing it with something I like better. And there are a lot of patterns available now.

Although, like anything else, there are better brands than others, as far as wear layer, the quality of the snap-together joints and the underlayer.

[riaelise]

wood look tile. best of both worlds.

[Seguinite]

It's a personal choice. As a lover of real wood floors, 'wood look' tile makes me want to scream. Some laminates do a pretty good job of looking like wood, but tile looks like tile. It's very popular in new construction around here, and were I shopping for new construction today, that would be an automatic pass. Tile... sure. Big fakey looking planks? No.

[double6's]

ceramic tile is water (and pet pee) proof..laminate or wood flooring is not, no matter what the manufacturer says..

[Mayvenne]

Originally Posted by Seguinite

It's a personal choice. As a lover of real wood floors, 'wood look' tile makes me want to scream. Some laminates do a pretty good job of looking like wood, but tile looks like tile. It's very popular in new construction around here, and were I shopping for new construction today, that would be an automatic pass. Tile... sure. Big fakey looking planks? No.

I tend to agree with this. The look of some of the laminates is great but I don't like the sound of it. I have had both real wood and the ceramic/porcelain wood-look tile. For sure the wood look tile does look like tile but it's really easy maintenance. It's GREAT with dogs and all their accompanying issues (nails, pee, drool). I am thinking of flooring for the kitchen but my dog cannot seem to drink water without drooling it halfway across the house. So wood does not work for us. We currently have tile and while I don't love it, I just picture the wood with the drool.