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Flooring choices
Jun. 29th, 2024 10:56 amWe are nowhere near the flooring choices part of the process, but I’m gonna be an absolute nightmare when it comes to flooring choices so I figure I should just start now, especially since I’m waiting to hear back about switching, and I’m still waiting to hear back about interior doors, both of which are significantly hotter fires right now. I’m also waiting to find out if anyone speaks up about pool room lighting, because that still hasn’t been completed, either.
The trigger: 2 story stair, hardwood tread with some kind of integrated something or other to make it not slippery. The architect has designed the edge of the tread to be a curve, so a carpet runner is not an option. Gah. The bottom and main landings are tile — BEDROSIANS "MAKOTO" 2.5" X 10" FLOOR TILE, KUMO GREY.
Behold: https://www.bedrosians.com/en/product/detail/makoto-tile/?itemNo=DECMAKKUG2510M
If you poke around, you will see that all the product ideas are kitchen and bath. Yes, this is absolutely not what we want for an entry tile. And also, I don’t want an entry tile.
The top of this 2 story stair has a hardwood floor landing, which is enough of an acoustic problem all on its own, but at least it doesn’t run cold. A good chunk of the surround on this stair (around half) is glazing, which because of its height there’s no obvious way to run drapes. There is literally nothing to absorb any of the sound that is going to reverberate through this space, and adjoining corridors on 3 floors. It’s completely insane.
Step one: okay, but can it be hardwood? No, because it is an entry and all of the above, there will be substantial temperature and humidity cycling leading to expansion and contraction and wood can only do that in one direction. He plans expansion joints.
Step two: cork? Cork was dismissed, because cork is always dismissed, because people don’t have experience with it and the last time I looked at it back in the ‘90s, it was pretty expensive, too.
Step three: carpet. At this point, I’m not asking anymore, because the answer is not going to be tile, or wood, or cork, then carpet it is. I think the background theory around me is that No One Would Put Carpet In An Entry. However. I grew up in a 1970s ranch that acquired a partial second story, and the whole fucking thing was carpeted, with the exception of vinyl sheet flooring in the kitchen and bath. I know how carpet wears and I know the replacement interval, and I know the cost and I know the maintenance and care involved. Also, we do not have small children or animals. Carpets a pretty fucking obvious choice. It is comfortable to walk on (vs anything else, really). If you pick looped and low pile, it wears well and doesn’t shed much. It makes a room quieter and it makes it feel warmer. The choices are breathtakingly broad, and it’s dead easy to find someone with the expertise to install it.
You know carpet is the correct choice when the response “Why tile” is “I assumed you would put area rugs in there”. Well, your tile just became the stupidest underlayment imaginable then.
I _was_ going to explore this whole jute / seagrass / sisal thing, but at this point I can’t even imagine why I would do that.
Anyway, I’m poking around at Forbo products like Flotex and Coral, because the idea of reproducing a commercial style entry is appealing. However, the scale of the project does not in any way justify the trouble. This is a smaller lobby than the lobby/entry at the condo on cap hill that I own. Which is carpet, with a mat in front of the doors. Do I know the interval on maintenance and replacement of that carpet? Yes! Yes I do. Going back over 25 years, actually.
I’ll be back (probably) after fixing A. breakfast; I want to describe some discussion and reactions about carpet in the entry, and also what I turned up when researching lifecycle / environmental impact of various flooring choices.
R. is deglossing the dresser now that we have it downstairs and on the porch. I’ll be painting it after he’s done and it has dried. Porch is well ventilated, which is lovely.
In the meantime, I was talking about flooring last night, and one person (P.) was emphatic about the high traffic at the front entry. And when I commented that there would be carpet on top of the proposed tile and _that_ would have to be replaced, so might as well just put carpet in of an appropriate nature; worst case scenario, I’d replace the carpet after 5 years. The look on J’s face. Extra points because J has carpet throughout his house (which is floored exactly the way the house I was raised in was floored), multiple generations of multiple cats, and can point to stains throughout the house from all the various Incidents. It does make me wonder if people advocate for tile for other people because they have carpet and pets. Since I don’t have pets, I don’t see why I should have to have that degree of nonsense going on in my house.
I’ve heard nothing to deter me from carpet, only arguments that serve to encourage me to escalate. Why tile (really stupid underlayment) and put area rugs (bad carpet, often) on top when you can have a good underlayment and nice rugs? Less of a trip hazard. Less costly. Better acoustically.
Finally, I went on a little trip through google images with A., looking for dining rooms. I was convinced that most of them would have carpet under the table and chairs on a hardwood or similar floor. I was right, altho I underestimated just how dominant that theme was. So tell me again why no carpet in a dining room.
ETA:
https://www.thespruce.com/modern-wall-to-wall-carpet-trends-8651654
The trigger: 2 story stair, hardwood tread with some kind of integrated something or other to make it not slippery. The architect has designed the edge of the tread to be a curve, so a carpet runner is not an option. Gah. The bottom and main landings are tile — BEDROSIANS "MAKOTO" 2.5" X 10" FLOOR TILE, KUMO GREY.
Behold: https://www.bedrosians.com/en/product/detail/makoto-tile/?itemNo=DECMAKKUG2510M
If you poke around, you will see that all the product ideas are kitchen and bath. Yes, this is absolutely not what we want for an entry tile. And also, I don’t want an entry tile.
The top of this 2 story stair has a hardwood floor landing, which is enough of an acoustic problem all on its own, but at least it doesn’t run cold. A good chunk of the surround on this stair (around half) is glazing, which because of its height there’s no obvious way to run drapes. There is literally nothing to absorb any of the sound that is going to reverberate through this space, and adjoining corridors on 3 floors. It’s completely insane.
Step one: okay, but can it be hardwood? No, because it is an entry and all of the above, there will be substantial temperature and humidity cycling leading to expansion and contraction and wood can only do that in one direction. He plans expansion joints.
Step two: cork? Cork was dismissed, because cork is always dismissed, because people don’t have experience with it and the last time I looked at it back in the ‘90s, it was pretty expensive, too.
Step three: carpet. At this point, I’m not asking anymore, because the answer is not going to be tile, or wood, or cork, then carpet it is. I think the background theory around me is that No One Would Put Carpet In An Entry. However. I grew up in a 1970s ranch that acquired a partial second story, and the whole fucking thing was carpeted, with the exception of vinyl sheet flooring in the kitchen and bath. I know how carpet wears and I know the replacement interval, and I know the cost and I know the maintenance and care involved. Also, we do not have small children or animals. Carpets a pretty fucking obvious choice. It is comfortable to walk on (vs anything else, really). If you pick looped and low pile, it wears well and doesn’t shed much. It makes a room quieter and it makes it feel warmer. The choices are breathtakingly broad, and it’s dead easy to find someone with the expertise to install it.
You know carpet is the correct choice when the response “Why tile” is “I assumed you would put area rugs in there”. Well, your tile just became the stupidest underlayment imaginable then.
I _was_ going to explore this whole jute / seagrass / sisal thing, but at this point I can’t even imagine why I would do that.
Anyway, I’m poking around at Forbo products like Flotex and Coral, because the idea of reproducing a commercial style entry is appealing. However, the scale of the project does not in any way justify the trouble. This is a smaller lobby than the lobby/entry at the condo on cap hill that I own. Which is carpet, with a mat in front of the doors. Do I know the interval on maintenance and replacement of that carpet? Yes! Yes I do. Going back over 25 years, actually.
I’ll be back (probably) after fixing A. breakfast; I want to describe some discussion and reactions about carpet in the entry, and also what I turned up when researching lifecycle / environmental impact of various flooring choices.
R. is deglossing the dresser now that we have it downstairs and on the porch. I’ll be painting it after he’s done and it has dried. Porch is well ventilated, which is lovely.
In the meantime, I was talking about flooring last night, and one person (P.) was emphatic about the high traffic at the front entry. And when I commented that there would be carpet on top of the proposed tile and _that_ would have to be replaced, so might as well just put carpet in of an appropriate nature; worst case scenario, I’d replace the carpet after 5 years. The look on J’s face. Extra points because J has carpet throughout his house (which is floored exactly the way the house I was raised in was floored), multiple generations of multiple cats, and can point to stains throughout the house from all the various Incidents. It does make me wonder if people advocate for tile for other people because they have carpet and pets. Since I don’t have pets, I don’t see why I should have to have that degree of nonsense going on in my house.
I’ve heard nothing to deter me from carpet, only arguments that serve to encourage me to escalate. Why tile (really stupid underlayment) and put area rugs (bad carpet, often) on top when you can have a good underlayment and nice rugs? Less of a trip hazard. Less costly. Better acoustically.
Finally, I went on a little trip through google images with A., looking for dining rooms. I was convinced that most of them would have carpet under the table and chairs on a hardwood or similar floor. I was right, altho I underestimated just how dominant that theme was. So tell me again why no carpet in a dining room.
ETA:
https://www.thespruce.com/modern-wall-to-wall-carpet-trends-8651654