Not noisy if installed correctly. Nothing personal to you as a builder, but as you say, not a lot of people there have them. Frankly, I find that engineered concrete, colored and sculpted to look like stone, is the most efficient thing around. It's all a matter of taste. We have hardwood floors thru-out in this house for 14 years, and there's not a squeak in them. The hardwood is easy to clean and keep up and takes a lot of abuse from boots and fishing waders.
If you like walking barefoot at home, hardwood floors are your best friend. They also look wonderful and give a room a warmth that other floor coverings can't match. We have original oak floors throughout and it is something that most visitors comment on. They love them.. When sealed correctly, hardwood is easy to care for and better for allergies. Plank hardwood can have a hollow sound that I don't care for, but don't release the toxic chemicals of carpet.
It looks good, it lasts a long time, it never needs shampooing, it does not hold allergens, it can be refinished so you are never throwing it away and cluttering up the landfill. I personally find the idea of wall to wall carpet rather disgusting. It can hold all kinds of dirt and who knows what. If you have children or pets, I don't want to think about what's lurking in your carpet after 5 years, unless perhaps you are getting it professionally cleaned at least 4 times a year..
many people like the look
and
many are concerned about allergy issues associated with carpets
I rather like timber floors with rugs strewn around
perhaps ultimately the point is
when selling a property a timber floor gives the option of installing carpet easily
whereas
if carpets are installed, even if timber floors are underneath, it can be a very big expensive job to bring back the hard floor
im a builder in the uk ..over here hardwood floors are a luxury ..very few houses have them ..i try to talk my customers into buying engineered flooring ..its a plywood base with top in desired hardwood ...if laid properly it will not twist ..warp shrink or cup ...all traits of hardwoof floors ..we secret nail them ..as well as glue the tongue ...but with all hardwood floors they can easily be ruined ..spilt drinks ..wrong shoes ..central heating ..life is better with carpet
