Well, DH decided that we should rip up a section of carpet to see what was underneath. Surprisingly it is nice looking tongue and groove floorboards, so they should not be drafty and DH said we good fill any gaps as we a not after a pristine look, just functional.

So looks as though the carpet will come up and I will get a nice rug or two for the area. DH is going to use it as an experiment to see about waxing the boards rather than the normal polishing.

Still need to decide whether it is worth still giving the carpet a quick once over so it is not so annoying till we get it all done.

Thanks for all the input.