YOU ARE SO RIGHT ON TARGET RE THE ACCOUSTICS......WE NOTICE IT ALSO IN PLACES SUCH AS YOU MENTION...........so it is a consideration.
Thank you.

The floor is from when the house was built, so yes an upgrade. This was built in 05 when they still allowed changes and upgrades. As an example, this model is a Gardenia with 2 feet added through the middle of the kitchen and 2 feet through the garage and master bedroom/bath. I bought it as a resale and added the island and the granite. In that picture you can also see the laundry room door is coming into the kitchen is different then the standard model. I am not sure what they are doing today as far as upgrades and changes. If you look at homes built in 04 to 06 you will find many many changes from the standard models.

I own another home built in 05 where the garage will easily hold two full size cars and two golf carts because they made it 2 feet wider and 6 or 8 feet longer.

Yes, as I replied in my p.m. in response to yours........all along, we've been looking at resales, thinking that previous owners sunk a lot into upgrades including underground sprinkler systems, etc. that do not come with the brand new home..........plus with so many resales on the market, and many gently used at that.........it would be a good buy indeed. Thank you !!!

Tile is "work"
 

Have had them all and real hardwood in the kitchen looks and feels best IMHO.

Tile grout lines' roughness holds ordinary dirt in the pores no matter how well it is sealed off from liquid staining. Tile is "work", and it's a killer to stand on in kitchen and laundry room. (Men usually do not understand this nor do they care.)

In all other living areas, my vote is for better-quality carpeting.

Bare floors remind me of hospitals and nursing homes where they need to be able to mop up and sterilize. A home should look plush and inviting.

Yes, Habitat for Humanity is on Rt. 44. Go down Buena Vista and turn left onto 44, and it's down on the right a few miles.

Hardwood in bedrooms, living/dining.

Tile in bathrooms, kitchen, laundry.

Carpeting no where. However, rugs where appropriate! [Note the distinction, to me, between carpeting and rug!]

This decision was partly because I have always lived in a house where hardwood floors were prevalent. However, never in a kitchen! [I think my Mother would have been so scared that something messy, "toxic," or staining would happen and ruin her kitchen!]

Many of my TV friends are challenged by breathing problems, usually brought on by years and years of smoking! Some of them have ripped out all carpeting because it tends to harbor things that increase breathing problems! Worth considering!

SWR
:beer3:

I agree with the hardwood in the kitchen , also that tile is work and a killer to stand on, etc. However, dear hubby just mentioned the new bottle of Balsamic vinegar which accidently fell out of our lazy susan yesterday and ran like a dark brown river, spreading all over the tile kitchen floor.......he wiped it up, used the shop vac, etc. (wet vac) and then I sprayed Clorox on the grout which did work.........before I steam cleaned it. But all the broken glass.........yikes. So, he said, "If it was wood, it would be more of a concern".........and "If the dishwasher leaked, the floor might warp"....."nothing can hurt tile". Don't think he cares about my arthritis.
Just kidding.

Yes, I am aware of all the allergens that carpeting holds, but it is nice and comfy when new and looking good...........I know for a fact that my children, their spouses , all their friends, all our neices and nephews and the younger generation in particular DISLIKE CARPETING and prefer natural wood floors.
But our generation did use wall to wall carpeting over and over again.
Now it is known to harbor allergens, dust mites.......not mention the chemicals with which it is treated. But still lovely when new...soft and quiet.

Between tile & carpet in my living room area, I prefer the look and feel of carpet. Given the choice between wood and tile, I would prefer wood but it would have to be in the kitchen, living room and foyer. I don't like the look of tile and wood bumped up next to each other.

As far as changing your carpet choice. You can mix and match "packages" when building. I inquired on mixing and matching on the flooring package and exterior package. Was told I could do it, but the "upcharge" (as they call it) quoted was bit high to me.

I agree....would not want tile in the living room. Other than the bathrooms, I'm off tile in the kitchen too. Good to know re the options. Thankyou.

I like bedrooms and living areas in carpet, wet areas and entry, tiled. Carpet is more comfy under barefeet, and Merlin doesn't slide or click his toenails on the carpet.

flooring experience
 

We replaced carpeting with laminate and love it. Much cleaner and brighter. Wood or laminate reflects more sound and light. Our dark laminate is brighter than our white carpet.

We have tile in the kitchen and baths. Tile in the bath is great. Kitchen tile chips due to dropped knives etc. Eventually we need to get the old chipped kitchen tile replaced but tile removal is expensive and messy.

You can avoid tile grout color problems by sealing and most importantly cleaning with water only. Other cleaners leave a residue that darkens the grout.

We put tile in the lanai to avoid mold issues with wood or carpet and love the tile for this location. The carpeting was nicer on the feet in every location but the cleanliness, ease of cleaning, lack of mold and brightness out ways the foot feel.

High quality vinyl
 

Before we bought in TV we stayed at the Top Of The World. I loved the feel and look of the flooring in the model that we stayed at. I asked the realator what kind of wood it was and she said it was vinyl. Since then have looked at various styles of this vinyl- wood look, stone, tile and fell in love with a slate tile look a like 1/4" thick. Haven't purchased it yet but the best price for the kitchen, livingroom, diningroom and halls in a corpus cristie ranch will be about 1800.00. I just want to be sure before we buy. Anyone have this?

I spend alot of time in the kitchen and I love a good quality vinyl floor. It is easier on the knees and feet then tile and there is no grout to maintain. Wood floors also need to be maintained and a big problem if you have a water leak. I now have laminate floors with rugs in the rest of the house and I love it. I just use a microcloth mop to dry wipe the laminate floors and if I see a stain I use a Pledge product made for laminate floors.

I have dogs... Ripped up my carpeting when my oldest became ill and couldn't take care of his needs as he should. Tile for me in the future all the way!:thumbup: