To rip out all the carpets and replace with hard floors?

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... although probably not on the stairs as the noise would drive me nuts.

It's just so hot in my house and the carpets are man made something or other and feel hideous under my feet. I'm loving the kitchen floor which has cool tiles. The carpets are still in decent condition but quite old and a bland beige that could do with an update in the not too distant future.

Has anyone gone from carpet to hard floors and regretted it?
Will it be freezing in the winter?
What about bedrooms, do they still feel cosy?

I guess voting would be YES to change to hard floors and NO to keep carpets.

I don’t like how dusty hard flooring looks very soon after mopping it.
At least, with carpet, you don’t notice it as much but it does make you realise how foul carpets can be. Regular vacuuming should do the trick and it’s quicker than brushing and mopping.

We have all hardwood downstairs. We’ve got engineered wood in the open plan kitchen/dining area, laminate in the living room and lino in the utility.

The engineered wood and vinyl are lovely all year round, even in bitter winter. The laminate is great in hot weather but so so cold in the winter!

@Mintjulia

That’s great until February. How will you feel about cold floors when there is snow on the ground and your heating bills are rising?

If your house is new and well insulated, then maybe but mine is 150 years old. I’ve done a reasonable job of insulating lofts and replacing doors & windows, but going carpetless wouldn’t work here.

Our house is 170 years old, no carpets and not cold in winter...

We have hard floors throughout the house. The only carpet is on the stairs. We used to have carpet in 2 of the downstairs reception rooms but I’d never go back to carpet now. I don’t find them cold but we keep the house really warm in colder months. We have dogs so hard floors are really convenient and look great too.

We have wood floors except for the kitchen and bathroomsWhich are tiled. The kitchen is a kitchen diner so we have underfloor heating for the winter.

Today I am sitting with bare feet on cold tiles, it’s bliss.

It’s so easy to keep clean too. A quick wander around with a steam mop.

@Musmerian

I’ve never understood the cold thing. I’ve owned three houses - all Victorian Terraces and have only had carpet in the stairs. Otherwise I’ve had floorboards throughout. Look much nicer, easier to clean and feel nice underfoot. Carpets are grim - all the dirt is hidden.

You’d definitely understand the cold thing in this house! Ancient floorboards have very big gaps.

I'd say YANBU with provisos.

1. You absolutely must get the highest quality, thickest underlay. Because come February, it is really cold downstairs.

1. Rugs are your friend. One in the living area and at the front door.

1. Be sure that there are no draughts from the windows, as the cold just rolls towards you on hard flooring.

1. The carpeted stairs are a good idea. Not just for noise, but if somebody stacks it (perhaps because they've just come out of the bath and their feet are wet), they will really hurt themselves.

1. You could still have carpet upstairs. The insulating properties don't just keep it warm and quiet in winter, it also stops heat transfer in summer.

1. You definitely need to be aware of sliding/slips. I've buggered up my hip because I spilled some water whilst carrying it and practically split in two because one foot stayed put, one aquaplaned.

HOWEVER, if it is purely because you're sick of feeling so hot, it would be cheaper and less disruptive to get aircon units installed upstairs and down. That way you could have a cool house and cool carpets. And a warm house with warm carpets.

@Musmerian

I’ve never understood the cold thing. I’ve owned three houses - all Victorian Terraces and have only had carpet in the stairs. Otherwise I’ve had floorboards throughout. Look much nicer, easier to clean and feel nice underfoot. Carpets are grim - all the dirt is hidden.

I don’t either, I’m in an ex industrial building with original wood flooring, my external door is original, so not a modern sealed one. I also have single glazed windows and it isn’t cold in winter and my heating bill is far from excessive.

Maybe I just feel the cold more 🤷‍♀️

I like carpet in the front room stairs and bedroom but we have tiled hall and family room and utility and downstairs bathroom. Do I can't vote because you need a mix.

I hate carpet and always make sure its removed before I move in. Then put my own on the stairs only or a runner.

My last house Victorian and this one 50s are warm enough with wooden or tiled floors in most places.

You may have to take some off the bottom of your doors, which may be harder than it sounds. You can rebuild the bottom or iron on laminate if the doors don't have enough meat. You can also get shallow wood.

I grew up in Australia with tiles, and they hurt my feet, so I prefer wood, but I still wear slippers.

We have tiled bathrooms, both tiled on wooden floors, and they are great.

We have engineered oak throughout. I do believe you should be able to walk from your front door to the kitchen without taking your shoes off so you can bring the shopping in.

We almost went with bamboo. I wish we had as it is a lovely wood, and we do have some scratches on the oak. Bamboo is very hard.

Take a look at Karndean vinal flooring. Fairly expensive but great quality do go to a specialist fitter though it takes skill to lay it. Not a DIY job.

I’ve lived in places with hard floors downstairs; laminate didn’t feel cold but it never seemed to actually stay clean longer than half an hour (although that’s probably an insight into how much dust carpets hold). I’d be cautious about doing it upstairs though as my experience has been that it removes the soundproofing and when people are upstairs it can feel like they’re going to come through the ceiling

We have all hard floors downstairs: tiles in the hall, kitchen and loo, vinyl in the utility room, and wood everywhere else. Wouldn't go back to carpets.

Upstairs (and stairs) is all carpets (except for tiles in bathroom) and am wondering about moving over or wood for them at some point.

My house - slate tiles in kitchen and conservatory, marble tiles in bathroom, wood flooring in hallway and living room.

Stairs and two bedrooms are carpeted (these are the only carpeted areas in my house) - I will eventually make these two bedrooms have wood floors too. Third bedroom has laminate flooring.

Definitely easier to keep clean. I love the cool floors in the summer and I wear slippers in the winter. My house was built around 1945 and has very good insulation in the loft - it gets cold in the winter but normal cold, if that makes sense? Not too cold that a bit of heating wouldn't get rid of.

I vote get rid of carpet 👍

We have Karndean throughout the whole of downstairs except for the snug. It's cool in summer yet warm enough in winter to sit on the floor with a toddler. It was pricey but completely worth it.

Stairs and bedrooms are carpeted but no shoes are worn upstairs and food is rarely eaten up there.

@Newjez
We have bamboo flooring in one room and it's not particularly hardwearing, not as much as decent laminate.

I said laminate but meant a good quality vinyl like Amtico.

Regular vacuuming should do the trick and it’s quicker than brushing and mopping.

I think this is probably why I like my vacuuming/mopping 'robot' so much as it keeps on top of this.

I grew up in the north east and remember well carpets in kitchen and bathrooms (!) My mum actually just removed her kitchen carpet in 2019. I hate carpets personally, we have a mixture of wooden floors and tiles. We have lots of rugs including a huge one in the bedroom which can be hoovered and beaten which is a good compromise.

Good quality hard floors downstairs maybe. Carpet in bedrooms, anything else is just impossible to make a bedroom cosy and comfy.

Never laminate. It looks shit, always. We replaced the laminate in half our house as soon as moved in. Saving up to get rid of the rest if it. Can't wait to see the back of it.

I cannot wait until I can rip out all the carpets here. I've never had problems with hard flooring and cold - lived in all sorts from Edwardian to 1970s houses. I have to vacuum every day anyway, so I don't ever see the 'dusty wood' some have complained of. It's so much easier to get cat hair off wooden floors or tiles than it is off carpet. I do have a large rug for the living room though. More for decorative purposed than anything else.

I have wooden floors downstairs and carpet upstairs, with tiles in kitchen and bathroom. I think this is the perfect mix. I used to have laminate in the bedroom but much prefer carpet in bedrooms.

I hate carpets, we have real wood floors throughout exept bathroom and kitchen/ diner / family room which has tiles with underfloor heating!
I have to say, ever since we ditched the carpets, I don't wake up with a blocked nose and sore throat. T think carpets are dust/ dirt collectors who knows what is living in them?

I hate carpet and love my wood floors. They are so much more hygienic and not cold like tile in winter. They stay looking nice for years as well.