What should I expect to find under the carpet?

[Ena2022]

Hello,

I am a novice DIYer with no experience whatsoever so please be gentle.
I live in a house built in the late 1990's. We are the second owners after the original one. I hate the old carpets and due to several reasons we'll not be able to put new ones or other flooring for at least several months if at all. So I was wondering if I took it upon myself to remove the downstairs carpets what should I expect to find after carpets, underlays, etc. removal? I always dreamt of removing the carpets and finding lovely wooden flooring or tiles but since it was built in the 90s I know I shouldn't expect that. Also, is it possible to never replace the flooring?
Any ideas, experiences, welcome!

@OneEpisode

Could you lay on top of the existing carpet or on top of the existing underlay?

I will never do that. I need to actually remove the carpets so that it feels that I am putting something new and clean, not just covering the old nasty carpet.

@user1471530109

OP, have you actually looked? My parents had tiles I think? Under their living room, early 90s Bryant house. I may be misremembering.

I've laid (as a stop gap) those stick on vinyl tiles in my large kitchen. They actually look nice and I get lots of compliments. It's really made a positive difference. I've done the same in the bathroom but that floor wasn't quite level in places, so it doesn't look as good. Still miles better than concrete. I'm in that annoying phase where I have lots of ideas of fancy extensions and no money...so don't want to pay too much for something if I do an extension in a couple of years and it gets wasted.

@user1471530109 Ohhh! I really do NOT want to have expectations of anything good! but I will have a look as soon as I can.

@QuiteAtALoss

Laying flooring isn't as easy as it looks, but its not impossible either. I've done a roll of lino on my bathroom floor (botch job, but it works for now!) as well as carpet squares on my stairs and landing (old wooden floorboards so easy to tap a few nails into each corner). Hard on the old knees and back requires physical stamina as well as high attention to detail.

We are paying someone to replace our kitchen flooring soon - tiles are coming up and the floor will be leveled before laying the laminate. (Hopefully warmer underfoot and easier to clean!) That's definitely not a DIY job.

In your position, OP, I would pay for someone to lay new flooring, as high quality but cheap as possible, and use your rugs over the top. Good luck!

@QuiteAtALoss Yes I agree, paying someone is the best solution of course. Thanks for sharing your experience

Cynic flooring is a cheap option. You can lay ceramic or porcelain rules on top of it when you can afford it. You can get specific adhesives for it. The vanilla also makes a good insulating layer. We did this in our kitchen and the porcelain floor is never cold underfoot.

For some reason my phone doesn’t like vinyl😂

We have just laid a new vinyl floor in the bathroom. I made a template using brown paper then marked out the vinyl on living room floor. Checked all measurements before cutting and the result was brilliant. We bought an off it to do the job it is actually contract flooring which has a felt backing so it reduces the noise. DH and I were well chuffed with result. Cost us £40.

@Angrymum22

We have just laid a new vinyl floor in the bathroom. I made a template using brown paper then marked out the vinyl on living room floor. Checked all measurements before cutting and the result was brilliant. We bought an off it to do the job it is actually contract flooring which has a felt backing so it reduces the noise. DH and I were well chuffed with result. Cost us £40.

@Angrymum22 it looks lovely! Could you please put a link to the vinyl you bought?

I didn't quite understand this part "We bought an off it to do the job it is actually contract flooring which has a felt backing so it reduces the noise" could you please explain? Thanks!

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I'm assuming it's high quality offcuts bought at a cheap price compared to a brand new roll/package.