hardwood floors

I am getting ready to decide on hardwood flooring for a new house, Might have some dogs in the house, so my thoughts are which hardwood flooring is more durable, the prefinished type or the hardwood that gets stained and cleared on the job site? Which would hold better with dogs nails...? the hardwood I am considering is white oak... not sure on the prefinished yet..many choices... but I know I want the floors to be dark stain...

I am getting ready to decide on hardwood flooring for a new house, Might have some dogs in the house, so my thoughts are which hardwood flooring is more durable, the prefinished type or the hardwood that gets stained and cleared on the job site? Which would hold better with dogs nails...? the hardwood I am considering is white oak... not sure on the prefinished yet..many choices... but I know I want the floors to be dark stain...

 

Brazilian hardwood is supposedly the hardest. We have that in a lot of high traffic area and they hold up well to foot traffic, but moving furniture on it can scratch easily (in my opinion).

 

What kind of dogs? Do they shed? The dark stain will show shedding hair fair easier. Also consider what kind of finish you want. Glossy or matte? That will make a difference as well. I've has both refinished and new put in. Both were great.

Depends on what look you are going for. If your dogs have any weight to them they will certainly make some marks on any wood floor. If I were to to again I would do a wide plank kind of "weathered" look but that only works for certain types of houses. They also now make tile floors that look just like wood and will wear much better which is another good option.

You want the hardest wood material. The traditional floor can be refinished many times where engineered is usually once or twice.

 

Engineered is much faster to install.

Brazilian cherry was installed about 15 years and the floors appear as new. The Rotts have not damaged the finish or wood. In my opinion, this would be an excellent choice although some bamboos may be harder. I believe there is a rating scale for hardness which may be worth investigating.

I am getting ready to decide on hardwood flooring for a new house, Might have some dogs in the house, so my thoughts are which hardwood flooring is more durable, the prefinished type or the hardwood that gets stained and cleared on the job site? Which would hold better with dogs nails...? the hardwood I am considering is white oak... not sure on the prefinished yet..many choices... but I know I want the floors to be dark stain...

 

 

There is a company that makes silicone covers for dogs' nails. Check it out.

thanks guys, I will also look into the tile floors that look like hardwood, but I would think for the tile thickness, mud etc... it will be higher then a 3/4" hardwood floor... I want all the floors no matter what materials to be flush with each other.. trying to avoid saddles...etc

I wouldn't do a dark floor, shows any dirt kinda like a black car. Dark floors can make rooms look smaller. I also think they will look dated in 10 or 20 years.

 

I have had white oak in 2 houses, it is very durable. Currently we have a red/white 7 inch wide combo.

 

I had a bamboo floor on the 1st floor of our old house, would not recommend it. Can't be refinished and even though I was told it was very hard, my wife couldn't walk on it in high heels.

 

http://www.heidelbergflooring.com/hardwood...es-of-wood-cuts

I have Brazilian cherry and it's been pretty tough

 

I have wide plank french oak stained almost black throughout my entire house, just had it installed a few months ago.

 

The only way to get away with any sort pet in the house is to get wood that has been wire brushed to (show a bit of grain) and invest in a roomba. Floors get dirty SO fast but they look stellar so it evens out.

I installed Brazilian Cherry in my house about 3 yrs ago very durable. holds up to the husky nails well.

 

I wouldn't do a dark floor, shows any dirt kinda like a black car. Dark floors can make rooms look smaller. I also think they will look dated in 10 or 20 years.

 

I have had white oak in 2 houses, it is very durable. Currently we have a red/white 7 inch wide combo.

 

I had a bamboo floor on the 1st floor of our old house, would not recommend it. Can't be refinished and even though I was told it was very hard, my wife couldn't walk on it in high heels.

 

http://www.heidelbergflooring.com/hardwood...es-of-wood-cuts

 

 

These are good points. Hmm.

 

I myself was thinking a grey/black look. So Sexxy and we have greys and whites to match.

I agree with kinnsella. Bamboo is often touted as some of the hardest available, but the finishes fall victim to big-time scratching, especially from a dog. It looks good to start with, but it's hard to live with...like walking on eggshells trying to keep it nice. Really dark finishes with little grain get tortured by dog nails. Medium to lighter finishes in more common/popular woods with visible tree ring grain tend to hide scratches until you look at them from a slant with light reflecting off it in the right way; i.e. you've got to actually work to find the scratches.

3/4 inch Brazilian Koa in the bedroom, and no scratches at all. One of the hardest woods on that chart so very durable and stable (stability being how much the wood expands and contracts with different levels of humidity...something to consider in high humidity areas). The hardness can affect the installation as well, depending on what method you use; floating versus, glue, versus nail.

 

In the living room we replaced a worn out engineered oak, with 3/4 inch ash, 5" wide flooring. Gorgeous floor, BUT, slightly softer than oak. Scratches like crazy. Not a huge problem with a 12 lb coton de tulear and yorkie, but became a bigger problem when we got Bosco (140 lb Landseer Newf ). Still looks ok but looks lived on. Not too stable either. Once Bosco crosses the rainbow bridge, I plan on replacing it.

 

My buddy in Houston has a hand scraped oak with a darker finish and it looks phenomenal. Hand scraped is a nice way to go, imo, lots of character.

 

As important as the type of wood you select, I think you need to look at brands of wood or where it's milled. Discount places may be cheaper but nothing pisses you off more than laying down a beautiful floor and finding wood that's "off" on width by a millimeter or two in width or height!

Pic of my kitchen floor...

I would go with Brazilian. It has very nice sound to it.

Go to your hardwood floor supplier/ store.

 

Utilizing a house key, try to scratch the floor samples that interest you.

Some bamboo products are very scratch resistant, others not so much.

Also do not forget to acclimate the product.

 

+1 for cheap price vs quality and higher the best installer.

 

Good luck in your decision.