Carpet, Laminate, or Vinyl Plank? Choosing New Floors for Your Connecticut Home

Start with the room, not the showroom

A lot of our flooring jobs start the same way. Somebody calls about a leak, or a stain, or a dog that decided the hallway carpet was a chew toy. We come out, take a look, and the homeowner says, "You know, I've hated this carpet for ten years." So we end up talking floors.

Before you fall in love with a sample, consider what the room actually endures. A basement in Connecticut will see some moisture at some point. A mudroom sees boots full of snow and road salt from November to March. A kitchen sees spills. A bedroom sees socks. The right floor for each of those is different, and that's where most people get tripped up — they pick one floor they like and run it through the whole house.

Carpet

Carpet still has a place. It's warm underfoot, it's quiet, and it's usually the cheapest to put down up front. In bedrooms, especially upstairs, it makes sense for many families.

It struggles anywhere water, pets, or heavy traffic are involved. It holds onto stains and smells. Spills soak through to the pad. And if a pipe ever leaks, wet carpet pad usually has to come out, which is one reason we pull up so much of it after water damage calls.

Good for: bedrooms, upstairs hallways, a cozy den. Think twice for: basements, kitchens, bathrooms, entryways, homes with pets.

Laminate

Laminate is a picture of wood (or stone) on top of a hard core, with a tough wear layer on top. Newer stuff looks much better than what was around 15 years ago, and it holds up well to scratches from dogs and kids.

It's a good middle ground on price, and it goes down fast. The catch is water. Most laminate has a wood fiber core, and if water sits on it or gets under it, the edges can swell and stay swollen. Some newer laminates handle spills much better, but standing water is still a problem.

Good for: living rooms, dining rooms, bedrooms, hallways. Think twice for: full bathrooms, laundry rooms, basements that have ever been wet.

Luxury vinyl plank

If people ask us what we'd put down in most Connecticut homes today, this is usually where we end up. Luxury vinyl plank (you'll see it called LVP) looks like wood, feels solid underfoot, and the good ones are fully waterproof.

That matters here. Between snowmelt, basements, and the odd burst pipe in January, a floor that can get wet and come out fine is a big deal. It's also easy to clean and quiet to walk on when installed over the right underlayment.

It usually costs a little more than laminate. In our view, the extra cost pays for itself in kitchens, bathrooms, mudrooms, and basements.

Good for: just about anywhere, especially kitchens, bathrooms, basements, mudrooms, and homes with pets. Think twice for: rooms with lots of direct sun all day unless the product is rated for it, since some vinyl can fade.

What about hardwood?

Real hardwood is beautiful and can be refinished multiple times, which makes it a lasting, cost-effective option that adds value. Where we steer people away from new hardwood is below ground — basements and wood floors don't get along.

The part nobody sees: what's underneath

This is where floors fail, and it has nothing to do with which floor you picked. Every hard floor needs a flat, solid, dry base.

When we pull up an old floor, we look at what's under it before anything new goes down. Soft spots get fixed. Low spots get leveled. In basements, we lay a moisture barrier first. Doing it right takes a little longer. It's also why the floor still looks good five years later.

If we find something bad under there, like rot from a leak nobody knew about, we'll stop, show you, and talk through it before going any further — no surprises on the bill.

Timing matters

Two times of year our flooring calendar fills up fast: right before the holidays, when people want the house looking right for family, and late winter, when tax refunds come in and folks finally tackle the project they've been putting off.

If you want new floors in before Thanksgiving or Christmas, it's smart to get on the schedule in October. Some materials also need a couple of days to sit in the house and adjust to the temperature before they go down, so build that into the plan.

A quick way to decide

Bedroom upstairs, want it warm and soft? Carpet. Living room or dining room, want a wood look on a budget? Laminate. Kitchen, bathroom, basement, mudroom, or you've got pets? Luxury vinyl plank. Hardwood hiding under the carpet? Refinish it.

And if you want to see it in person, we can bring samples to your home so you can compare them in your own light, next to your walls and cabinets.

How we do flooring

Our own crew does every install. We don't hand your house off to a subcontractor we met last week. We move the furniture, pull up the old floor, haul it away, fix what's underneath, and put down the new one. We'll tell you straight what each option costs and which one we'd pick for our own house.

No job is too small. If you want one bathroom done, or the hallway that the dog destroyed, we're happy to do it. And if you want the whole first floor, we can do that too.

Thinking about new floors? Call Northeast Home Repair at 203-585-8641.

Quick answers to common questions

Is luxury vinyl plank really waterproof? The good ones are waterproof all the way through, meaning water on the surface won't ruin the plank. Water can still get underneath at the edges if it sits long enough, so you still want to clean up big spills and fix leaks fast.

Can you put new flooring over the old floor? Sometimes. Vinyl plank can often go over a flat, solid existing floor. Carpet always has to come out first. We check the old floor before deciding, because putting new flooring over a bad subfloor hides the problem.

How long does a flooring job take? A single room is often a day or two. A whole first floor might be three to five days, depending on how much prep the subfloor needs.

What's the most durable floor for dogs? Luxury vinyl plank with a thick wear layer holds up really well to claws and accidents. Laminate is a decent second choice as long as you clean up spills quickly.

Should I refinish my hardwood or replace it? If the boards are solid and thick enough, refinishing is almost always the better deal. We can tell you which you've got after a quick look.