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About a year ago, my husband and I bought and moved into a fixer-upper house built in 1928. The living and dining room have hardwood floors that have probably never been refinished. The kitchen and bathroom have tile floors, and we had new carpet installed in the rest of the house before we moved in.
We foster dogs from puppies that are too young to have bladder control to 70+ pound adult dogs that like to run around and drop their toys on the floor (that describes our current foster). We also have a cat and a household member with allergies.
My husband would like to carpet the living and dining room because he prefers carpet and because he's concerned that dogs would damage a refinished hardwood floor. (It was already in bad shape when we moved in, so it hasn't been a concern yet.) I prefer hardwood, especially as the upstairs is carpeted, and I think that it could work with dogs although there is some risk of damage. When we had a litter of foster puppies here last spring, we turned them loose in the dining room for play time because it was a lot easier to clean up their messes there than on carpet. Also, carpet and allergies aren't a good combination. My husband likes to walk around without shoes on, so he notices more what the floor or floor covering feels like.
We both work from home, so we're usually able to clean up messes when they happen. As long as we see them, that is.
Questions
- In the above situation, would you refinish the hardwood floors or put down carpet over them?
- If you refinish hardwood floors, is there a recommended type of finish to use when you have dogs? I'd like to use an eco-friendly finish, but I don't know if it would hold up to our needs.
- What products have you found to work best to remove dog urine and its odor from hardwood and carpet?
Thanks for all your help. I hope the answers will be useful to other people as well.
I will never have carpet again. No. No. No. Not when you have dogs going in and out (fosters). I laid down laminate and it's much better than carpet (wood flooring was out of my budget) because you clean the mess and the smell goes with it. Go with the hardwood, you'll just end up replacing the carpet way before it's life expectancy.
Can't advise you on finishes, but I'll express again... no, no, no, on carpet.
I don't want to get off track with your post, but what about the possibility of having the hardwoods but making the kitchen or dining area tile that could be used to block the pooches in for play time without worry of damage? My husband and I have had this discussion several times as we are building a new home and I really want the hardwoods. We have decided to go with hardwood everywhere except bathrooms, kitchen and dining areas which will be tile, and we have come to terms with the fact that the wood will end up scratched etc. I dremel my dogs' nails regularly to keep them as short as they can be without getting the quicks so hopefully that will help a little, but I don't want to give up the hardwoods, and I am definitely not giving up my dogs so que sera sera
I would call a hardwood floor company and ask for a suggestion. We put down White Oak with a clear coat satin finish in a house we built a couple years ago. We told our floor guys what we wanted out of the floor and they suggested based on professional knowledge. It held up great, we have since moved on, but I have no doubt that it's still in good shape. You may also have the option of not stripping your floors down to perfect but keeping them more rustic and clear coating them so you could still have a nice but not perfect finish.
Throw rugs yes, wall to wall, not a chance. Synthetic rugs, rather than wool and sisel clean up easier.
Carpeting will be a nightmare with all the dog hair. You'll regret it.
As for hardwood finishes, it's the multple layers of clear coat that protects your hardwood floors. How many layers depends on the type of finish. For example, the minimum number of layers for water borne urethane is 2-4. With hardwood floors that have lots of wear and tear, you'd want to have even more layers. One of the most durable new prefinished hardwood floors with the longest warranty is Bellawood because it has 8 layers of finish. I'd use that as a guide for how many layers to put on a floor when refinishing if you want durability.
The actual wood will still be protected if only the top coat is scratched. As a result, no matter how many layers you apply, make sure you go with a flat or matt finish instead of a semi-gloss or high gloss finish. The reason is because scratches in the top coat will be more noticeable on a shiney finish.
I agree that you should install a tile floor in the kitchen. You can't get dog pee out of hardwood flooring---and you can't get it out of carpeting either. Carpeting is even worse for this because the pee gets into the carpet, into the padding and into the hardwood or sub flooring below the carpet.
Make sure you keep all of the dogs' nails clipped. When they walk across the floor, you shouldn't be able to hear their nails when they walk. Most people aren't aware of just how short dog nails should be. Here's a picture for you to get an idea of how you can better protect your floors:
some dogs cannot have thier claws that short due to a "hare foot" which gives them a natrually longer claw, ALWAYS go by your dogs natural claw, with regular trimming the quick will receed, but it will only receed so far. dogs with a relitivly small "tight" foot can typically have their nails over time shortend considerable, while dogs with a longer "hare" foot (longer toes) naturally have a longer quick.
but i HIGHLY suggest the dremmel just like in that picture, keeping the nails neatly trimed and then finnishing off with the dremel to avoid rough/sharp edges will be huge to protect flooring. (we have hardwood and laminate and dremmel weekly, never a scratch and i have harefooted breeds)
id personally go with anything BUT carpet, given you foster animals, and housebreaking is always an issue with new dogs even if they were previously housebroken accidents happen and carpet just cannot be completly cleaned.
we had carpet before the hardwood and would steam clean it weekly, and our dogs are all reliably housebroken...and the very rare accident is cleaned with natures miracle...even with that when we ripped those carpets out we were discusted by the state of how it looked underneath...
Nails can be a problem because dogs might come to us with long nails and we might not be able to get them to their optimal length right away. And with a litter of puppies, there sometimes isn't time to keep every puppy's nails perfectly trimmed. If we have lots of coats for the finish and the finish gets scratched, is it easy to redo those spots? Not that we need a perfect floor, but we'd like to keep it looking presentable once it's refinished.
Also, there shouldn't be any concern about urine seeping through the floor with lots of coats of finish. When accidents happen on finished hardwood floors, do we just need to wipe them up, or is there a product to use for dog urine on hardwood floors?
Quote:
Originally Posted by Turtle
...what about the possibility of having the hardwoods but making the kitchen or dining area tile that could be used to block the pooches in for play time without worry of damage?
That could work with a young litter of puppies, but our kitchen has 4 entrances, including a door to outside. Even with 4 entrances, it's quite small. Our dining room is larger and has only 2 entrances, so it's easier to block off for puppies. But depending on your layout, that might work well for you.
If we have lots of coats for the finish and the finish gets scratched, is it easy to redo those spots? Not that we need a perfect floor, but we'd like to keep it looking presentable once it's refinished.
You woudn't be able to patch areas, but you can reapply a top coat periodically---every few years---without having to completely refinish the floors.
If I were you, I'd go with a distressed finish instead of a perfect finish when refinishing the floors. That way little scratches won't be a big deal. For example, some distressed finishes are achieved via pounding the floor with chains and gouging wood with tools prior to applying top coats! Distressed finishes are meant to look worn. They have lots of character.
Refinish your flooring to match your lifestyle (dog rescuers!). It makes no sense to fight your lifestyle and try to have perfectly manicured interior decorating. Your lifestyle is your identity. Celebrate it! Embrace it! Be proud of it!
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so que sera sera
