I totally agree with the problem of off-gassing of any of these products. The chemicals in them are toxic. Did you know that latex paint will off-gas for 7 YEARS after you paint! Oil paint is worse. I know that to be a fact as I my profession encompasses toxicity.

We went with manufactured wood flooring and are very pleased with the result.
The installation was by Royal Palm Flooring see their tel number in post #4. They have a show room and a good selection of examples of different types of flooring.
The owner of the company lives in TV.

What’s the ballpark price to replace carpet with luxury flooring either vinyl, wood, or tile for many rooms or the whole house? Is it around $5K, $10K, $20k?

Luxury vinyl planking. Love it. Robertos did the job. Bought a home in New Jersey for the summers and had all carpeting ripped out and vinyl installed there.

We went with hand scraped rustic bamboo floating floor. High quality vinly planks are a good alternative. I've installed both. The vinyl is easier to cut & lay.

If you like a rustic look than choose a distressed wood flooring. Scratches just add to it's character & can easily be touched up.

As a diyer I have had a lot of experience laying floor for family and friends. I would not choose : a. Pristine wood type floor, it will scratch, you won't be happy, b. Pergo type flat smooth flooring that to me looks like plastic, or c. Cheap looking vinyl plank flooring. If it doesn't fake you into believing it's wood, don't by it.

I would also recommend that you actually see the floor installed somewhere. you really can't tell what a floor is going to look like until it's actually installed in a room.

We have tile and love it. No carpet for us!

What is wood composite as compared to laminate?

My husband is a carpenter and never thought he would recommend vinyl flooring. We replaced the carpeting with vinyl and don't regret it.

Very similar to our experience!
 

Our home already had ceramic tile installed in both washrooms and pecan (nice light color) laminate in entry hall, back hall, foyer, kitchen, and dinette. We were able to match the laminate exactly and had the entire rest of the house done in the same. The flooring just appears to flow throughout the house, enhanced by two small and one large area rug.

We were frankly more than a little surprised to find laminate flooring in a kitchen. However, it looked to be in like new condition, so we just left it. It's now about fifteen years old and still looks really good!

We'd heard mixed reviews about Floor Masters but prefer to make such judgments for ourselves. We did the balance of the house in stages and thus dealt with several different installers (who are independent agents, not employees). We could not have been more pleased with them and the sales and management crew at Floor Masters itself.

We have vinyl planking and laminate floors in 2 different homes. I suggest if you get laminate choose a lighter color. It does not show the cleaning streaks on floor as easily and keeps your rooms looking light. Love my vinyl planking but it did show dents/scratches when I move the refrigerator. The vinyl planking is easy on the feet. Both are easy to keep clean. Whatever you choose you will love the flooring compared to carpeting.

Us too - The Floor Shoppe

Vinyl planking with Sticks and Stone Company

Area rugs put over solid flooring add color, design, softness, and help define spaces. It is a decorating tradition that has been around ever since time. I think Moses had an area rug in his tent.

Most people (you excluded, apparently:)) think it looks nice.

We used Great Lakes for the floor in a den. Great job. Our neighbors did their whole villa in wood and used Roberto's, who sent out an entire cleaning crew the next day and cleaned the house from top (even cabinet tops) to bottom. They were very pleased.

We did a combination. The house was all tile with the exceptions of the bedrooms which was the gorgeous shaggy crap. We redid two of the bedrooms with a high level carpet with a high grade pad and the third bedroom with a wood laminate. For us, something about walking on a soft carpet in the bedroom has always been appealing. The third bedroom is actually a den/office so we did the wood just for a variety.

Roberto’s
Great selection and prices. We went with a quality laminate product. Very pleased with process and outcome.