Carpet vs. Hardwood Flooring Comparison Guide

Appearance

Carpet

Carpet offers a better variety of colors and textures but hardwood and carpet are available in hundreds of styles to meet almost any interior design need. Carpet is soft to the touch and in its appearance.

Hardwood

The main appeal of hardwood flooring is its natural wood-tone colors and grain pattern, which varies depending on the species of wood. Hardwood flooring creates a bold statement, and it feels and looks firm and stable.

Best for Appearance: Hardwood

Although this is largely a personal preference, most people find hardwood flooring to be more attractive than carpet.

Water and Heat Resistance

Carpet

The synthetic fibers used in most modern carpets make them highly resistant to water damage. However, it’s important to prevent water from seeping into the backing layer or the wood subfloor beneath since mold can fester below the carpet. For this reason, carpet is never recommended for wet areas such as bathrooms or where spills are likely, such as in kitchens. Carpet is also easily damaged by heat from burning cigarettes or hot pans and may emit toxic gases if a serious home fire ignites.

Hardwood

Wood flooring is not recommended in any location with water or moisture, although it’s often fine in a kitchen where spills can be wiped up immediately. Most wood flooring is not recommended for below-grade installation against a concrete slab, since ground moisture frequently seeps through. However, engineered wood flooring may be stable enough in these circumstances. Hardwood can be scarred by intense heat, though mild scorch marks can sometimes be sanded out and refinished.

Best for Water and Heat Resistance: Tie

Carpet and hardwood flooring are not recommended for damp or constantly humid conditions such as bathrooms or basement slabs. While carpet fibers are immune to water damage, mold and mildew may grow in the carpet’s backing material. Hardwood can easily be damaged by water. Both materials can be scorched or burned by cigarettes.

Care and Cleaning

Carpet

Routine cleaning carpet involves simple but frequent vacuuming. However, some stains may soak in and permanently settle, or dust and bacteria are easily trapped in the fibers, making it feel like a carpet is never thoroughly clean. Carpet is also regarded as a poor flooring material for those suffering from allergies.

Hardwood

Of the two materials, hardwood flooring is by far easier to clean. Simple sweeping or vacuuming removes loose dirt and periodic damp-mopping with a wood cleaner will remove deeper dirt and most stains.

Best for Care and Cleaning: Hardwood

Hardwood is considered easier to care for since it is less susceptible to staining and doesn’t trap dust and allergens like carpet.

Durability and Maintenance

Carpet

Routine maintenance should include frequent vacuuming, and attempting to remove stains as soon as you notice them. Occasional deep cleaning from a professional cleaning service may extend the life of your carpet, but it will rarely last more than a decade or so.

Hardwood

Properly maintained, hardwood flooring can last for many decades, and some higher-end materials last for generations. Moreover, solid hardwood can be fully sanded down and refinished when wear becomes severe. Most floors can be sanded three or even four times over their lifespans. The surface varnish should be renewed every few years between sanding. This usually involves lightly abrading the finish with a sanding screen, and then applying a good-quality polyurethane varnish.

Best for Durability and Maintenance: Hardwood

Hardwood flooring holds a major advantage over carpets for durability and maintenance.

Installation

Carpet

With carpet, installers first attach an underlayment pad with staples and install tack strips around the room’s perimeter. The carpeting is then stretched and trimmed to a precise fit with special tools. Seams between carpet pieces are joined with heat-activated tape placed below the seams. This is not an easy or DIY process, so it’s best to have professionals install carpeting.

Hardwood

Hardwood flooring is usually installed by laying individual rows of boards one at a time, beginning at the longest, most visible wall. Subsequent boards are installed by sliding the edge grooves into the tongues of the preceding boards, then nailing the boards to the joists with nails or stapled driven at an angle down through the tongues. If the flooring boards are unfinished, they are sanded, stained, and top-coated with several coats of polyurethane varnish. However, it’s more common for solid hardwood flooring to be prefinished at the factory. This is also true of all engineered hardwood flooring products. Hardwood flooring installation is also usually done by professionals.

Best for Installation: Carpet

DIY installation is uncommon with carpet or hardwood flooring since both require special tools that few people own. However, costs for professional installation are considerably higher for hardwood flooring.

Cost

Carpet

Most carpets are considerably less expensive than most hardwood materials. Although carpeting does need to be replaced every few years, perfectly acceptable carpeting may be available for less than $1 per square foot. Costs can also run as high as $20 per square foot for the highest quality wool carpets. On average, most carpets purchased at home centers cost about $3 to $11 per square foot, installed.

Hardwood

Solid hardwood flooring costs start at around $6 per square foot and go up from there. Hardwood flooring costs, on average, about $6 to $12 per square foot, installed.

Best for Cost: Carpet

Carpet is considerably less expensive than hardwood flooring, but remember that you’ll likely replace it about every 10 years.

Lifespan

Carpet

Carpet is generally ready for replacement in 10 years or less.

Hardwood

It’s not uncommon for hardwood flooring to last 100 years, and there are plenty of instances where a floor lasts through two or more generations of homeowners.

Best for Lifespan: Hardwood

The life expectancy of a hardwood floor is so superior to that of carpet that it may even be the less costly flooring option over a home’s lifespan.

Sizes

Carpet

Carpeting is typically available in rolls 12 or 15 feet long, cut to whatever length the customer wants.

Hardwood

Hardwood flooring is typically sold in 48-inch-long boards, ranging from 1 1/2 to 4 inches wide. The thickness of solid hardwood flooring boards is usually 3/4 inches. Engineered hardwood has a greater range, with planks as wide as 7 inches.

Best for Size: Tie

There is no particular size advantage to either carpet or hardwood; it depends on your preference.

Resale Value

Carpet

Carpeting usually does not add much real estate value since it is recognized as an inexpensive, short-lived flooring material. However, new carpeting will certainly be seen as an improvement over shabby old flooring.

Hardwood

Hardwood flooring is an approved design choice over carpeting in residential applications. It is regarded as high-end and luxurious because it is a natural material that lasts longer than carpet. Depending on the type of wood chosen and how it is finished, hardwood can create unmistakable prestige as a flooring material.

Best for Resale Value: Hardwood

Real estate professionals and prospective home buyers typically prefer hardwood flooring over carpet.

Comfort and Sound

Carpet

Perhaps the main advantage that carpet has over hardwood is comfort. Carpeting is soft and feels great beneath bare feet This is particularly soothing in bedrooms, children’s rooms, and some family and living room areas where you want to promote an atmosphere of comfort and relaxation. Carpet is much warmer than hardwood floors, especially on a chilly winter morning. Dense carpeting with a quality bonded polyurethane padding beneath can create an R-value of 4 or more, meaning that the warmth carpeting lends to a room is very real.

In addition, carpeting has excellent sound-deadening properties. With carpeting, though, the surface of the entire floor is padded and insulated so that noise won’t easily pass through the floors.

Carpet is a safer flooring choice because of its cushioning. A trip or fall on hardwood can result in injuries and broken objects, This is a strong consideration in homes with small children or elderly residents.

However, carpet can be a poor choice for allergy sufferers. Carpets trap dust mites and other allergens. In addition, carpets are usually made from chemicals that may cause reactions in those with sensitivities. Carpet is also not known as a “green” flooring material.

Hardwood

A major complaint about hardwood floors is that they are loud. When installed on upper levels, people below often complain that they can hear every footstep. Hardwood does hold one important comfort though. Whereas carpet can attract and hold dust and microorganisms, hardwood is easily swept or damp-mopped free of these particles, which can be troublesome for allergy sufferers.

Hardwood can also be appealing to those concerned about using green building materials. Most carpeting is made largely from refined petroleum products, which are not natural. Hardwood is a natural material made from trees that can be replanted and renewed. However, when buying hardwood materials, do your research and ensure that they are being harvested in an environmentally friendly way.

Best for Comfort and Sound: Carpet

For immediate comfort, carpet has a clear advantage over hardwood. However, homeowners dedicated to “green” building materials will put a premium on the natural quality of solid hardwood flooring.

The Verdict

By most comparisons, hardwood flooring is superior to carpet, with better longevity, more elegant appearance, and better real estate value. However, carpet can be a good choice where comfort is your primary concern or when budget is an issue. Just be prepared to replace the carpet every 10 years or so.

Top Brands

Some companies specialize in hardwood floors, others in carpets, but several large flooring corporations have a good selection of both. Some of the major companies that sell both carpet and hardwood flooring include:

• Shaw: This is the biggest flooring company in the U.S., with subsidiary brands that include Daltile, Pergo, and Marazzi. They make not only hardwood flooring and carpet but also tile and laminates.
• Mohawk: Another flooring giant, this company is best known for carpet but also manufactures a broad range of wood flooring and other flooring materials.

Carpet:

• Sorona: This popular brand from DuPont makes some of the most durable, sustainable, and softest carpets available.
• Stainmaster: This brand, once owned by DuPont and now by Lowe’s home improvement retailer, is a major player in the carpet industry.

Wood flooring:

• Bruce: Once owned by Armstrong, Bruce is owned by AIP (American Industrial Partners). It makes a wide range of solid hardwood and engineered hardwood flooring.
• Carlisle: This company makes unique and quite expensive wide-plank hardwood flooring.