Landlords: To recarpet or not

[redrocker]

I'm doing some between-tenants-fixing up of a duplex. The upstairs on this side has just one room, approx 12x12. It has likely been carpeted since 2008. Had some cleanliness issues with the last tenant so I've already pulled up the carpet.

Earlier this year I addressed the upstairs of the next door unit (about 3x the floor space upstairs). It had the same carpet and it was ghastly thanks to the prior occupant. I pulled that up and the subfloor was a nightmare, clearly why they carpeted originally. A pisspoor job of leveling had been done and then plywood (rather, plywood shards) were nailed down haphazardly for the spongiest subfloor I've seen. I brought in a friend to level it, got Hardy cement board on top of it, then installed this wood grain ceramic tile.http://www.homedepot.com/p/Daltile-Parkwood-Cherry-7-in-x-20-in-Ceramic-Floor-and-Wall-Tile-10-89-sq-ft-case-PD14720HD1P2/205051799

I'm mostly happy with it, but it was time consuming and more expensive than I'd hoped. Add to that, there's an old tongue&groove wood floor (with a 14 deg angle) that I one day may want to restore if the house gets a full makeover to sell. And I realize now that old wood floor is buried and will be a pain to get to.

So back to my smaller room. I assumed that the subfloor would be in the same poor condition and that I'd re-level and then put something durable down (maybe not anything requiring mortar). However, when pulling the carpet up today, the subfloor felt significantly better. The carpet padding didn't tear up so I left it on the floor for now. Just pondering if it'd be easier to just recarpet this small of a room, especially since it would likely save me from messing with the subfloor.

Curious what other landlords would do in my position. Is carpet ever the ideal choice in a rental?
Does the carpet padding need to come up regardless due to odor/etc? Because if so I'll just pull it up and get a better idea of the subfloor.
I'm assuming there's some decent quality wood floor underneath, so if I wanted to put something on top of that, would vinyl planking (I've seen Home Depot's Allure recommened here) be a good compromise for durability, ease of install, and make future refinishing of the wood floor easier to access?

Thanks for any thoughts. I'll try to get some pictures tomorrow.

[Bearded Man]

I will be putting vinyl plank or wood laminate flooring in mine, when the time comes. All three of my houses have some wood laminate flooring, and I'm amazed at how well it holds up compared to carpet. Carpet is the worst choice for a rental property. Not only expensive, but not as durable or easy to maintain as laminate.

[Bobberth]

+1 for vinyl plank flooring. I've stayed away from wood laminate as most of the cheaper stuff has some type of MDF or particle board in it that will cause problems if it gets wet. I know likely hood of a living room floor getting wet enough, long enough to cause a problem is very low, but for about the same price, I go with vinyl.

[bacchi]

Wood laminate on the 2nd floor, stained concrete on the 1st floor, tile/vinyl plank in the wet areas. No mo' carpet!

[sstants]

As a renter, no way would I ever even consider an apartment with carpet. It's nasty!

I'm kind of a neat freak and I just know that I'd never be able to get the previous tenants' nastiness out of the rug.

[redrocker]

Decided I'd forego carpeting and tackle whatever's beneath the carpet pad. Pulled it up today and was pleasantly surprised to find hardwood floors. Albeit the boards are rough, have been painted, are slightly concave which will make sanding a pain, and I didn't have a level on hand to check if the floor is level.

With the boards not being perfectly flat, not sure about floating vinyl over them. May just take a palm sander to clean up the rougher spots and put a new coat of paint on the boards. Thanks for the input.

[MayDay]

I've seen quite a few old old old wood floors that have gaps, gouges, been painted, etc.  As a renter, that is still preferable to carpet.  Do what you can to fix the wood, as long as it isn't a high end rental I suspect the tenant will just be happy it isn't carpet.

[redrocker]

I've seen quite a few old old old wood floors that have gaps, gouges, been painted, etc.  As a renter, that is still preferable to carpet.

I appreciate that feedback. Personally I hate the feel of tile, so I'll be keeping this current floor unless I find serious problems (ie termite/rot) while cleaning it up.

[Papa bear]

I've always gone with solid hardwood on first floor and laminate in bedrooms.  However, based on pricing I've seen lately, the next time I switch something out, I'll be going with bamboo over laminate.  It might be worth pricing it to see what it is in your area.


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