~We also ripped out our carpet and put in hardwood in bedrooms and tile in the wet rooms and living room, much easier to clean and spot a puddle. Plus with carpet it ruins the pad and it is harder to clean and deodorize. As much as I love carpet in the bedrooms, it just wasn't an option with 5 yorkies.
:aimeeyork:aimeeyork:aimeeyork:aimeeyork:aimeeyork

I have the same problem!!! We are remodeling our house this summer and we are tearing out all of our carpet. I'm wanting hardwood in the living room and kitchen. Should we carpet the bedrooms? Can anyone tell me if the hardwood floors are colder in the winter?

No, hardwoods are not colder in the winter. The only difference I noticed was that my feet hurt when I walked barefoot on them for an extended period of time. That was because I was so use to carpet. I usually wear slippers or sometimes I just go barefoot without a problem now.
Hardwoods are so much cleaner (even with new carpet) and so easy to take care of. Our bedrooms are carpeted and I like that because they are on our third level. (I don't want company to hear me walking when they are on the second level).

Make sure you get REAL hardwood. Don't get the fake stuff.
They are worth the money!!

I wouldn't put hardwood in the kitchen unless you finish it with Verathane or some other polyurethane finish. One dropped pot of soup and those wood floors are toast!

Hardwood floors are colder than carpet, warmer than tile. The solution is to put underfloor heating in the bedrooms that you can turn on in the colder months. We just have a few little oriental rugs in the bedroom next to the bed.

This house had a slab floor covered with a relatively new carpet when we bought it. But the previous owner obviously knew little or nothing about cleaning up after his dogs, and the carpet was stained and rank-smelling...so bad that MY dog thought it was the doggie toilet! We took it out and put in oiled French oak. It has been three years and the floor is just lovely. We clean it by hand rubbing it with teak oil (I have a maid...if you don't have one, I STRONGLY recommend a polyurethane finish that can be mopped like tile!).

I have had hardwood floors for more than 30 years, always with at least one house dog. They are warm and beautiful, but require more upkeep than tile or vinyl...but I think they are less work that wall-to-wall carpeting, especially if you have dogs and/or kids.

My hardwoods are on the second level, that's probably why they are not cold. If your house is on a cement slab, they probably would be cold.

It probably depends on the climate you live in as well. My brothers in Florida so the tile floors probably help him to keep the house cooler in the hot summer months. I live in Illinois but on a basement so my floors stay pretty warm. Whenever I sweep the floors and see some of the dust bunnies I always remind myself if it was carpet most of that dust would be stuck down in the carpet.

Wow your house sounds like a mansion compared to mine! We bought our house because of the property. We have 2.4 acres and we have 2 fishing ponds. I didn't look at the house... My hubby was a general contractor at the time..So I thought..who cares what it looks like, he can fix it up. Well it's 1300sq ft. Our last house was 2500sq ft. When we moved in, I cried for hours...Then a year later my husband got sick..So we are stuck in this dump:eek: I'm hoping he can handle doing the remodel. I'm also sick. We're depending on our friends for free labor. Keeping my fingers crossed:cool:

We ripped up all our carpet and put down the solid vinyl. Looks just like hardwoods but it is pretty much indestructible. With 5 furbutts and grandkids, this new floor is perfect for us! We are currently ripping out the bedroom carpet (any carpet is a personal pp pad to my little brats!!) and the upstairs AND stairs will also be in the solid vinyl. We have allergies and the carpet just holds too much dust and dander. I love the clean look of the floors now and the girls haven't had any accidents on it. :cheer:

I have hardwoods and love them, I have never had a problem with urine staining.

Hardwood floors are the way to go. I've had them in all my houses and would never go back to carpeting. The floors have never been scratched by our yorkies, and cleanup is a breeze. Not to mention allergies. So many more advantages over carpeting.

Your so lucky to have hardwood floors under that carpet. We tore our carpets out and paid a kings ransom to have hardwood floors put in. The hardwood floors are much more sanitary. Carpet holds odors in no matter how often they are cleaned. ;)

definitely hardwood over carpet. carpet is so much more harder to clean compared to wood. also hardwood floors, even if you have them refinished, will add a lot more value to your home :):thumbup:

We made the jump from carpet to wood floors about two years ago and have never been happier. I didn't notice how much better the house felt and smelled without the carpet. It can hold odor that you don't even realize is there. And, while Silvia constantly had accidents on the carpet because it held the smell, she rarely has an accident on the wood, I guess because the smell doesn't linger. I don't think you can go wrong with wood. Depending on the color of the wood, urine will most likely not stain it.

We have a lot of tile. We plan to eventually eliminate all the carpet. Even the bedrooms. Too dusty!

Hardwood, especially if it is already there under the carpeting. Hopefully it is still new looking, and has several coats of a finish protecting it. If you wipe of the urine relatively quickly, it will not stain at all. If you have a large dog, it will stain if it sits a real long time, but rememeber, you can always sand and refinish it. WOOD!