You’d be pushed to find a owner who doesn’t want hardwood floors. Wall-to-wall carpeting is out, and hardwood floors are in. But will you get the value and the return on investment? Bottom line: at $8-$10 per square foot (installed), wood flooring is an added expense beyond carpeting or the more and more ordinary laminates that offer a comparable look.

If you’re on the railing and can’t decide whether to put in hardwood floors (or perhaps peel back your aged carpeting and refinish the wood underneath), this list may be able to be of assistance We’re going to take a look at some of the payback of hardwoods:

1. Longevity
Thanks to durable finishes that are easy to repair, solid-wood floors can last for a hundred years or more. There are very few flooring resources that have been around as lengthy as wood. Over the centuries, it has revealed itself to be a attractive and sturdy floor alternative. Other newer materials have yet to establish themselves.

2. Coziness and Warmth
Not only is hardwood more pleasing to walk on than laminate (which always feel cold and a little “plastic” underfoot), but it is of course warm. Wood is a brilliant insulator, thanks to its thousands of tiny air chambers per cubic inch, which hold in heat.

3. Hypoallergenic
Got allergies? Unlike carpets (read: reproduction grounds for mold, mildew, and dust mites, all of which can be tough on anyone with allergies), wood floors don’t give pollen, animal dander, mold, etc. any place to hide and thrive. Even when you steam clean carpets, it’s impossible to get them entirely clean. In fact, getting them wet just makes things worse. Hardwood flooring is an excellent choice for anyone with any kind of environmental allergies. (And it makes good sense for everyone else too–who wants to lie down on a floor that’s hiding mold?)

4. Easy to Clean
A little sweeping and a little mopping, and your hardwood floors will keep looking pleasant for a long time to come. Even families with dogs and kids are realizing that it’s easier to mop a hardwood floor than attempt to spray/scrub/wash grape Kool-Aid out of a carpet. Another plus side is that a cut here or a gouge there really just adds personality to wood floors (of course, you can always have them refinished if you prefer perfection).

5. Increase Home Value
Unless you’re going to be living in the same house for the rest of your existence you should think about how the flooring choices you make today will affect the price you can get for your home when you sell it. Carpet will look old and used in just a few years, whereas wood floors last a long time and add value to a home (if you’ve ever watched those house hunter shows on television, you’ve doubtlessly seen just about every potential buyer looking around hopefully for hardwood floors). Even laminate flooring, which looks like wood flooring, is a distant second choice for homebuyers. It just doesn’t have the same warmth and feel.

These are just a few of the benefits of hardwood floors. We didn’t even mention the aesthetic value: at the end of the day, they just look better than the alternatives. If you can afford to pay an extra couple dollars per square foot, go with hardwood. If you have hardwoods hiding under your existing carpets, tear those suckers up and get the wood refinished.

If you settle for laminate or just replacing the carpeting, you may regret it down the road.