Need some advice on first home

I need some advice and suggestions on what to do with my first house. The house has hardwoods in the living room and all the bedrooms. The bedrooms currently have hardwood covered by carpet which needs to be replaced. The other hardwoods need to be refinished. The kitchen floor needs to be stripped and replaced and a bonus room needs carpet and a tile entry area.

Im trying to stay under 8000 for the whole project so any suggestions on whether or not I should redo all the hardwoods or just the main room and replace the carpet in the bedrooms. Also suggestions for flooring in the kitchen would be great, Im thinking of doing tile. The hardwood total square feet is around 800, the kitchen is maybe 10x15 and the new room is 24x12 I think.

If you replace the carpeting in some of the rooms, be aware that the most durable carpet you can buy would probably be a level loop solution dyed nylon carpet.

1. Solution dyed means that coloured particles were added to the molten plastic before drawing it into a fiber. That means that the particles from which the carpet gets it's colour are encased in nylon plastic, and you can use bleach straight out of the jug to bleach out otherwise impossible stains without affecting or harming the colour of the carpet.

2. Nylon is the strongest fiber used to make carpet, and so nylon fiber makes for the longest wearing carpets. Over 80 percent of commercial carpets are made from nylon.

3. A loop has a natural resilience that simply can't be matched by cut pile carpets like plushes and saxonies. If you're looking for a carpet that's super soft and warm on bare feet, then you'd probably do best with a cut pile carpet, but if you're looking for long term durability, you can't beat a level loop. A berber would still be considered a level loop, but the large size loops in a berber don't have as good natural resilience that the smaller loops in commercial carpets do.

darabbit099 said:

I need some advice and suggestions on what to do with my first house. The house has hardwoods in the living room and all the bedrooms. The bedrooms currently have hardwood covered by carpet which needs to be replaced. The other hardwoods need to be refinished. The kitchen floor needs to be stripped and replaced and a bonus room needs carpet and a tile entry area.

Im trying to stay under 8000 for the whole project so any suggestions on whether or not I should redo all the hardwoods or just the main room and replace the carpet in the bedrooms. Also suggestions for flooring in the kitchen would be great, Im thinking of doing tile. The hardwood total square feet is around 800, the kitchen is maybe 10x15 and the new room is 24x12 I think.

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You have to balance between your personal preferences and the costs for different options. Another factor is how long you intend to remain in the house or do a major remodel of an area. After living in a number of houses, I've found that it doesn't pay to do a moderate priced 'for now' remodel and then rip it out a few years later. For example, if you think you might want to change the layout of your kitchen in a few years, think about the effort to rip up the ceramic tile.

The other question is what are you capable of doing yourself?

Laying tile in the kitchen isn't too difficult a DIY job IF: (1) you do a moderate amount of research on how to do the work; (2) have or rent the right tools and (3) do a very, very, very good job of preparing the surface (you might need to put down a new base).

My personal choice would be to keep the hardwood floors. I've found that they make selling the house much easier. One of the first things I did in the first house my wife and I bought before we got married was to refinish the hardwood floors in an older house. BUT WORKING WITH A POWER SANDER IS NOT AN EASY DO IT YOURSELF PROJECT. I had had some experience with the necessary equipment on my parents' remodeling projects. Unless you have experience or know someone who does, I'd suggest that you get estimates from professionals and compare the cost to the cost of installed carpet.

The bonus room is another area that you could tackle yourself. The new prefinished flooring is fairly easy to install yourself along with a tile entry. Again, spending time up front researching the project will save you a lot of grief later.

Other than what I've said above, you need to get some cost estimates from reliable professionals to make the decisions.

darabbit099 said:

I need some advice and suggestions on what to do with my first house. The house has hardwoods in the living room and all the bedrooms. The bedrooms currently have hardwood covered by carpet which needs to be replaced. The other hardwoods need to be refinished. The kitchen floor needs to be stripped and replaced and a bonus room needs carpet and a tile entry area.

Im trying to stay under 8000 for the whole project so any suggestions on whether or not I should redo all the hardwoods or just the main room and replace the carpet in the bedrooms. Also suggestions for flooring in the kitchen would be great, Im thinking of doing tile. The hardwood total square feet is around 800, the kitchen is maybe 10x15 and the new room is 24x12 I think.

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hardwood floors are the king. everything else is queen, saying that if the hardwood floors are solid and in good enough shape for a makeover then take some pic's and head to the box stores, homedepot/lowes and get advice on doing it yourself, yes you can. make some money, save some money.

Wow those are some really helpful tips Nestor and Con65! Thumbs up for you guys!

Well, If you're looking for a carpet that's super soft and warm on bare feet, then you'd probably do best with a cut pile carpet.

Since that was your first home I think you need to decorate and remodel to looks beautiful and attractive.