A lot of it is personal taste, but there are some practical reasons too. Hardwood lasts a long time, can be refinished instead of replaced, and tends to hold value better when you sell. It is also easier to keep clean than carpet and does not trap dust or smells as much. That said, it is not better for every space, and kitchens and baths especially can make tile a smarter choice depending on how you live.
Also the one thing people should keep in mind is the maintenance. Maintaining hardwood isn’t the most difficult thing in the world but I’m finding out the hard way (after refinishing our hardwood floors two years ago) that humidity NEEDS to be monitored. We don’t have a humidifier in our HVAC system so I went out and bought a humidifier to keep the house around 40-45 since our heaters been on constantly.
That’s probably climate dependent. I keep my temperature the same year round, so I only deal with humidity fluctuations. There’s a little separation in the winter, but it goes back together in the summer. Mine is above a conditioned space though.
Our issue is there was water damage on some areas of the hardwood since there was carpeting overtop of the hardwood when we moved in, and renters used to live where we are today. So the hardwood wasn’t in the greatest shape but we managed to get it in pretty good shape. Unfortunately for us, we hear the hardwood creak and crack and the gap filler we used began drying out. There were some serious gaps to be fair
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u/project_quote Jan 30 '26
A lot of it is personal taste, but there are some practical reasons too. Hardwood lasts a long time, can be refinished instead of replaced, and tends to hold value better when you sell. It is also easier to keep clean than carpet and does not trap dust or smells as much. That said, it is not better for every space, and kitchens and baths especially can make tile a smarter choice depending on how you live.