Log Homes

I wanted to give you all a heads up about Bolivian (not Brazilian) Rosewood a breed of cherry wood) It's the most beautiful flooring I've ever seen BUT it's also the biggest nightmare of my life! I have 1 45lb lazy basset mix and we've been in my home about 2 years now. Long story short he's not active in the house and my flooring is destroyed! I knocked my keys of the countertop and they stuck straight in to the floors leaving a big gash.
I sell new homes for a living and love cherry wood, but have never seen anyone happy with it, even if they don't have pets. There is a new laminate composite flooring that I swear to you looks and feels exactly like 5" Plank Hardwood, and it's totally scratch resistant!!! You can take knives to it and it still doesn't scratch! It cost a little more than an engineered hardwood floor but totally worth it. Next time I build that's what I'll be using. GOOD LUCK

My dogs wear dog booties called "hot doggers" with a thin rubber sole. They stay on good and are very easy to get on and off. It only took a few days for my dogs to get used to wearing them and they have saved my floors from any scratches. The dog nail caps "Soft Paws" look interesting too. Here is a link to the boots I use http://www.canvasbackpets.com/ShopSite/product245.html

By now your house is probably built and done. I have an old, old house with maple in the kitchen and oak in the living and dining room. I had a dog for ten years. Yes, there
are some scratches on the refinished polyurethine floor, but it still looks good after seven years. My oak floor is dull and
does have scratches from the dog's nails but
it is not that obvious. Maybe the OLD wood is
more durable?

Consider wide plank flooring with an oil wax finish it will age gracefully and fit in with the log home style. If you are concerned about wood density there are many exotic hardwood species like ipe, brazilian cherry, canary wood, bubinga, sucupira and cumaru as well as the massaranduba (brazilian redwood) stated in the earlier blog. Some of these woods are 3 times harder than oak. This type of wood in a wide plank with a easy repairable natural oil finish will out perform any hard poly finished floor.

Great information here. I very much want a dog now that the remodel of my 1913 Craftsman is complete. I had 1600 SF of fir and oak flooring sanded and finished with three coats of Swedish, and I am nervous about destroying it. The warm, golden color is beautiful.

I must chime in on the gentleman recommending fir flooring. I'm sure he knows his stuff, BUT, fir flooring is very soft. A dropped wood coat hanger left a good sized dent on my fir. I'm fairly confident a heavy dog would quickly destroy fir, regardless of finish.

In contrast, the quarter-sawn white oak is incredibly hard. I accidentally dropped a thermos from shoulder height and it smashed on the oak, denting the thermos. I could not detect the slightest nick in the oak, even with a flashlight!

Good luck. I'm interested to hear what you decide on!

Lynnette, I was reading the your article on the damage that dogs do to hardwood floors. We operate a small sawmill in Clancy, MT and we manufacture a circle sawn Tongue and Groove Douglas Fir flooring that many of our local home owners and contractors are installing in their homes and cabins. We produce using local logs and we use SAF certified loggers that use the highest level of light on land harvesting. Because of the depth and character of the circle sawn design, dog marks and scratches are not as noticable as they are on smooth hardwood flooring. We have had many of our customers also tell us how it causes less slippage for pets. You can use your favorite floor sealers and finishes and pre-stain any shade to finish your floor. It looks great and can be used on cabins and high end homes. Thanks

Lynette,
I have been browsing through your post for some time and decided to comment : ) My husband and I are redoing our hardwood floors within the next week (due to frozen pipe disaster, unfortunately) and have been researching and researching... We currently have engineered wood floors (maple, I think) that literally, were scratched and dented within a week of moving into our home this past June. We have a 2 yr. 80 lb. pit bull mix, as well as a 7 yr old jack russell mix, both inside dogs. This go 'round, we are considering Brazilian Redwood floor made by Bellawood... it has 8 coats of aluminum oxide, which I think "trumps" the fact that it's a softer wood (or so I hope!). This prefinished 3 1/4" hardwood is not stained, but natural through and through which really helps with scratches. And, since it's "real" hardwood, we will be able to refinish it, if need be, if the scratches get to bad or before we sell the home down the road (which we could not do with our current engineered floor--we would have had to replace it). We LOVE the rich, dark color of this exotic redwood. Our final deciding factor was personal experience, however: My aunt has this same floor and after a 2+ years with 2 small dogs and a 120 lb doberman in the house, hers look FABULOUS. Good luck with your choice!

I have been a wood finisher for many years. The problems stated in the earlier blogs are some of the most common in the industry. Large dogs will damage just about all hardwood floor finishes. Poly finishes are hard shell coatings that will scratch, peal, and crack leaving marks that look unnatural to wood surfaces. The old country floors that Carol talks about are most likely finished with oils and waxes. Finishes that are natural to the woods in the first place. These floors have a natural patina due to the scratches and dents and natural wear they have received over the years. The oils and waxes are natural to the wood and do not crack peal and leave unnatural plastic like scratches. My advice is if you like the warmth of a hard wood floor use a natural finish made of botanical ingredients that nature intended to protect the wood in the first place. Your floor will last the life of the home and will age gracefully much like a fine wine. Look at this company's site www.morganteach.com .They make prefinished wide plank flooring that uses this philosophy, and their floors can be repaired with a rag and a simple wipe on wipe off of their Morgan & Teach Plank Oil. You will never need to re-sand one of these floors if properly maintained.

hello to all,
I install hardwood flooring , and have installed prefinished and raw hardwood, my brother and I have this on going discussion on quality and what manufature is right because we all know we get different stories from place to place, along with outragous prices. I installed br111 brazilian teak in my personal home, its a very hard wood with the aluminum oxide finish and the whole deal and was told it was top of the line. well I have a 75lb boxer and a 90 lb argentine mastiff and within months I had scratches, cupping, opening and closing.To be honest, Im just not so sure on prefinished, everywhere you get a story, whether you go to lumber liquidators, a hardwood flooring outfit that carriers numerous brands or a installer that only uses raw hardwood and finishes it himself. My personal opinion is doing raw hardwood, sand, stain and urethane it. Do the gymnasium finish, in fact Im not sure the company but there is finishes that are excellent and durable. When I started doing hardwood, we used cleat nails and I used to push prefinished, and now I use bostitch floor staples which are 100% better and we are leaning towards unfinished hardwood. Hope I helped in any way.

We built a beautiful home with shiny wood floors, and then I got a 75 lb lab mix. My floors are ruined. Friends of ours who have a lab have ceramic tile floors -- They look great. I'm thinking about slate for my next house. I haven't checked prices yet.

We have a 80 lb lab and had Anderson wood floors through out the house and in the kitchen where the dog stayed after 8 yrs of running, drooling and scratching it did not look good at all. We are in the process of building again and at the point of deceiding what to put down. I was wondering does anyone know what kind of floor they have in old country stores they seem to hold up good!

I would not get bamboo. We got bamboo floors and our dogs ruined them within one month. They are scratched to no end and look horrible. I would not recommend getting bamboo, even if it is green, if you have dogs.

We have a 1.5 yr old active yellow lab. My carpet is terrible even after I cleaned it. I want to get wood floors in the next year so I am doing some research. My sister is advising me not to get wood with the dog but she is very picky about her house. It is sounding like a hardwood with a gymnasium finish is the best. Please help. Thanks

i have 2 80lb dogs who have been trained not to run on the red oak wood floor. but alas, within a week there were scrathces all over it !! their nails are clipped short and are blunt. i am installing more wood floors , but in areas that the dogs don't go. i think the finish is very important. i would choose a very hard wood if you are concerned about dents. i heard a horror story about a soft wood floor(can't remember the type) and denting. someone had a cocktail party shortly after installing their brand new floor. at the end of the party there were dents all over it from high heels.
i am considering putting bamboo in my bedroom. any one with any experience. i like the fact that the bamboo regrows after being cut so it is a very"green" product.

I saw your advice on wood floors but didn't see what you finally put in your house. We are military, just moved to Colorado Springs, and I'm needing a floor that the golden retriever can't scratch too much, not to mention, us. It's amazing how much time I devote to thinking about this! Any help would be apprciated.

I had engineered pecan in the last house and it scratched terribly.

I am thinking of putting down Australian Cypress hardwood floors BUT I have 2 70lb golden retrievers that are turning 2 and they run through the house. Any suggestions? My significant other tells me to not do it and wait a year or 2. I'd love any thoughts you might have. It is factory finished with aluminum oxide. It is a harder wood - harder than red oak by 7%. Thanks!

My husband and I love the look of dark floors and recently got new acid stained concrete floors. In pictures, they look like dark wood floors, but NOTHING messes them up. They're extrememly easy to clean, don't show dirty paw prints or fur and best of all... no clicking noise. We're loving them! We're considering getting hardwood in our bedrooms, but I worry about the damage from the dogs. My question is...what's best...hardwood or engineered wood?

More then the wood, the finish is what is the most important. Aluminun Oxide and the thickness. The wood is the underside of this tough coating. So, a soft wood may dent more, but they will scratch equally.

My in-laws have a mirage engineered floor, and I am amazed, even with our Chocolate labs appearances at how great their floor has held up.

So, get the look you want, but choose a tough finish that was done at the factory, not onsite sealed.

Annette

Ann,
We had red oak hardwood in our previous home that we had refinished by a professional who used what he called a 'gymnasium finish'. When we moved out 8 or 9 years later, the floors still looked beautiful and had only minor surface scratches, even with large, active dogs living in the house.

I am really stressing over getting oak hardwood flooring or strand bamboo. The installer I have said he installed red oak and in 6 months hated it. His dogs scratched it. He said after 9 years he is installing strand bamboo. I am afraid it will be something I might be sorry for if I chose bamboo because I wanted hardwood. I went with red oak laminate in my other house (it wasn't cheap either) I hated it. Anyone have any suggestions?

Hi Lynette,

What was the finish on the 'natural, unretouched pine floors' you mentioned? We currently have wide plank flooring that needs to be sanded down as it is very badly worn and pitted in places (from previous owners), have 5 large dogs and want to know what would be the best finish??

Lynette,

Again, thank you so much! We've been 50/50 for quite some time now and it's come down to decision time. I just truly don't want to settle for pergo (even though it is beatuiful and of good quality) because we just think the look of hardwood is second to none!

So, with that being said, I will hopefully use your post and comment to influence my Wife and obviously me to move forward with Hardwood floors!

Thank you!!!

Walt

Hi Walt -
From everyone I've talked to, hard wood floors do in fact hold up well -- even with big dogs (like yours & mine).

I've also learned (and seen firsthand) that some softwoods actually hold up better than I initially thought they would -- even with big dogs.

Case in point: Some friends of ours have had 3 indoor/outdoor dogs running through their log home for years (a jack russell terrier, and 2 black labs). Their floors are 6 years old and they're solid pine. The floors look GREAT. Not perfect... it's not a glossy smooth finish. Just natural, unretouched pine floors. I couldn't believe how great they look.

We're okay with this type of look... because we don't mind a few surface-area dents & scratches. We aren't going for a hardwood floor that looks brand spanking new year-round or floors that have that perfectly smooth finish all the time.

We think that smaller dents & scratches all add character. It's just the deeper ones we're trying to avoid. And we don't want every little thing (furniture, dog toenails, etc.) leaving obvious marks on our floors.

So, hickory is still our first choice, but the softwoods are no longer completely out of the question for us.

Lynnette, first what a great and helpful post you have here! Second, my wife and I are also in love with hardwood floors. The catch is that we know we won't be in our house forever. However, it's a defininte advantage when attempting to sell a house. I just wanted to clarify with the hard/soft wood comparision. Will "hard" wood floors seriusly hold up to a large dog (we have a 70lb black lab as well)? Just curious if you've heard or know from other's experiences. Thank you kindly, Walt

We're thinking about Cork flooring...
While it will not be completely impervious to my GIANT dogs....seems like the best choice. Have you loked into that...or bamboo?

Thanks for all who have posted. Has anyone discovered a hardwood floor that can take the patter of little paws without the stratches?

Lynnette,
Exactly, the dogs do the damage as, for lack of a better analogy, a result of taking off and stopping, . The stairs are void of those variables. Well, very good then.

Keith -
Yeah, I was afraid of that. I wasn't crazy about that kind of look either.

I got an update from Pamela regarding stairs...
"I have to say, my wood stairs are hardly scratched. It seems the dogs get their momentum on flat surfaces better than stairs. I love not vacuuming stair runners. And man do they get hairy!"

Tiled stairs is a very cold look and slippery. Also, the bull nose trim loosens a lot and starts the grout cracking. Had a friend try it, they were not happy with it, we then pulled it out.

Regarding stairs, we have a yellow lab and have decided to carpet the stair and nose and install hardwood on the risers. A friend did this and it looks great.

Pamela -

In answer to your question...
We haven't put the floors in our new house yet, so we're still keeping our options open at this point -- with regard to floors. I'll post here when we make our final decision -- to go with hickory or not.

Thanks for sharing your experience with the eastern white pine floors. We too are considering the Carlisle wide plank flooring. We'll probably go with something harder than pine for the living & dining room & our master bedroom, but we're just not sure yet.

One thing's for sure, we will have tile floors near each of the back doors, so that should help with the most popular entry & exit points that our dog uses. The foyer/entry near the front door will still be hardwood, but we seldom use that door.

My biggest concern at this point is the stairs! I don't want to carpet the stairs (it's one of the biggest places that dog fur gathers!), but I don't want the dog's nails permanently scratching the steps either. I guess we'll look into a compromise like a stair runner -- but that doesn't appeal much to me either.

The most practical choice: tile the steps! But I'm not so sure how that would look... Anyone tried that?

While people choose wood because they favor the look over perhaps, ceramic. Why not consider finding a ceramic tile that compliments the wood choice and use that in front of entry ways and outside access doors. It will tolerate the elements better than wood, also, the dropping of heavy bones;and will avoid the, throw rug all over the place look. Definitely a plus during rain and most definitely snow times. Also, if broken a tile is easily replaced.

Somehow just ran across your note on dogs and wood floors. Wondering if you did indeed use hickory in your new cabin and how it's held up against your dogs? I'm in the process of deciding whether to refinish or replace my wide plank eastern white pine floors from Carlisle because my dogs are leaving deep deep scratches. Thanks for sharing your experience so we can learn from you!

i have a bit of a different problem. i have two dogs and hardwood floors, although the "clicking" is reassurance that they are alive..........at 3 am .........im ready to scream! isnt there anything that u can put on a dogs nail that will make them stop clicking????

its worse than my godfather clock that i wont get rid of coz of family! i need help! i love my dogs dearly and its not their fault they are drivin me to madness!

Gosh, that's hard to say.

I think for your Adirondack style, you made a great choice!

Of course, it all comes down to personal preference -- light or dark.

We tend to lean toward the darker floors. Right now, I have my heart set on Carlisle Wide Plank Flooring (...especially the Rustic, and Grandpa's Floor!)