We are remodeling our home and are considering hardwood floors. We live in a rural area in northern California and have four large (smallest one weighs 45 pounds) house dogs.
What type of flooring and installation methods would cause me the least amount of headaches (after installation) given the “dirt” and heavy nails of my “puppies”?
Any guidance or assistance is greatly appreciated. The “city-dudes” at our local home improvement stores have not been too helpful with this matter.
Thank you.
Replies
Liz,
Brazillian Cherry (jatoba) is an excellent floor. 98% harder than red oak. A very beautiful floor that eventually turns a deep russet color. It goes well with most any style or decor.
Bona's Traffic system, applied by a professional, should give you as much protection from wear as you can ask for.
Ditch
How would maple or walnut compare to the cherry?
I'm asking this because I remember seeing a zebra striped kitchen floor (maple and walnut) in a velly old house built by a lumber or something type baron. The explanation given by the docent was that the servants would scrub the floors to clean them and maple/walnut hold up very well to water. Nothing was said about dents, scratches or scrapes.16 years in the Royal Shakespeare Society and here I am, reduced to acting with an oil slick. Patrick Stewart
Relative to hardness:
On a 10 scale, Jatoba ranks near 10. Maple would rank 7.5 and walnut would be in the 3 range.
Relative to stability: Maple and Jatoba will move some., maple more so. Walnut very little.
Servants generally didn't scrub floors, they waxed them, but no wood floor will hold up well to water.
Here's a different kind of floor:Ditch
maybe this is better:Ditch
Woa. Almost Escherish.16 years in the Royal Shakespeare Society and here I am, reduced to acting with an oil slick. Patrick Stewart
Just thought I would ask a quick question.What is your opinion about prefinished wood flooring like mercier brand?
Thanks Greg
Ditto on the Brazilian cherry ! Sis has 100 Lb. of GOOFY Lab & probably 2000 Sq. Ft. of cherry for 3 years now & I am impressed with how well it is holding upOn a hill by the harbour
How about soft wood floor - like in cork. I lived for a short time in an old apartment with cork floors and I like it. It was pretty discolored from spilled water and lack of maintenance, but help up surprisingly well.
http://www.healthyhomedesigns.com/articles/information11.php
http://corkandfloor.com/
At the other end of the spectrum is bamboo - which is supposedly harder than any wood (bamboo is actually a type of grass). I'm thinking about using it for a section of my counter top:
http://www.buildinggreen.com/products/bamboo.cfm
Lots of sites on-line for either.
Just for added info, don't confuse the hardness of brazilian cherry with american cherry. Not the same by a long shot.
With the exception of tile in the baths and stone in the foyer, I have brazilian cherry on both floors of my house. Muy bueno.
When I finished the attic, I put bamboo up there. Rock hard. Probably due to all the impregnated adhesive.<g> Looks great, wears like iron (it's the kids' romper room). Looks a bit slick/contemporary, but that's the look we were going for up there. Rest of the house is colonial-ish. About the only bamboo I can recommend is from TimberGrass.
You wan the look of hardwood, and (I assume) durability. And you have four large dogs.
I'm thinking concrete, painted with an epoxy coating that is done to look like wood.
Seriously -- it's possible to love both dogs and hardwood floors. But I'm not sure it's possible to have both in your house for long periods.
Hi Liz,
If available in Ca. white oak holds up very well. It's very hard and the cell structure of white oak doesn't allow water to penetrate very easily which makes cleaning up any "accidents" much easier. Also, a full 3/4" hardwood floor can be resanded many times if for whatever reason you would decide to refinish it whereas the laminated floors don't allow that leeway. It stains well or looks great with only the top coat and you can have either a very slick shine or let it age for a more natural look.
Dan
tile... ive got 2 boxers they kill my oak. door shuts in a.m. its party time