# What is the best flooring to get if you have dogs?



## Pianolady

We have laminate floors and hardwood floors, and if you can swing the cost, go for the hardwood floors. The laminate is much louder than the hardwood with the tick tick tick of the dog's claws.


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## creeper

Since you are asking for opinions I will offer mine. As a Realtor I see tons of homes. 

Hardwood will take a beating from dog`s nails, in particularly big dogs. Its to be expected. I have a big dog and he has marked up the floor in spots where he mostly hangs out. But it takes a while and it can be refinished. 

Laminate will always be ...welll...laminate.

I would rather see, in a clients home, and would place more value in, scratched hardwood then perfect condition laminate.


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## ToolSeeker

Creeper when you walk into a house as a realtor are laminate floors a plus or minus. I know this is a subjective question but I was just curious and a pretty general answer will be fine if any. Don't want to put you on the spot, not my intent.


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## rusty baker

ToolSeeker said:


> Creeper when you walk into a house as a realtor are laminate floors a plus or minus. I know this is a subjective question but I was just curious and a pretty general answer will be fine if any. Don't want to put you on the spot, not my intent.


 Probably depends on your area. Here, most people don't like them. Some areas I have worked, people are still buying that crap.


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## ToolSeeker

rusty baker said:


> Probably depends on your area. Here, most people don't like them. Some areas I have worked, people are still buying that crap.


If you follow on here I lot of people are still buying it.


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## rusty baker

ToolSeeker said:


> If you follow on here I lot of people are still buying it.


 Don't know why either. That thin finish doesn't last long and it looks cheap.


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## ToolSeeker

rusty baker said:


> Don't know why either. That thin finish doesn't last long and it looks cheap.


I think you just answered your own question CHEAP. IMHO looks cheap, feels cheap when you walk on it, sounds cheap when walked on.


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## oh'mike

I'm with Creeper on this---Laminate is a negative when valuing a home---I have ripped out and thrown away hundred of square feet of new laminate---

Homeowners add it when attempting to sell a house---then upgrade to hardwood or good carpeting when buyers turn their noses up at the laminate----


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## user1007

With dogs, I would climb as far up the hardness scale of hardwood or even bamboo which is harder than domestic hardwoods. And look for warranty on the finish although nothing will hold up to unfinished dog nails forever.

Some on this site if put in wood grain tile floors and they seem happy. Laminate is what it is and as mentioned, even with top of the line material you are talking a very thin layer you cannot refinish. 

That said, there is a lot of crappy hardwood out there too with certain liquidating companies and box stores selling weird lengths. Buy your flooring from a real flooring store or from the internet.


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## Pianolady

I'd have to agree with hardwood over laminate any day as long as it doesn't over improve the house, but I do think there is a place for laminate. That being said, I put laminate in my 600 sq. foot piano studio. Reason we did laminate instead was the cost for such a large space, the lack of traffic the space really gets, we don't "live" in the space, and it does actually look pretty good on such a large scale. But it's "extra" space in a walkout basement, the rest of the house/living space is hardwood or tile. There is a place for laminate, we've been pleased where we used it and it has held up well. 

I've also owned starter homes in rural areas where I'd never put the expense of hardwood into them unless I was planning to live there a long time (which we never were). You'd never recoup the cost upon resale. We put vinyl planks in one of the kitchens, lol, it was all we could afford and an upgrade over what was there when we bought the house. I think that was a craze in the early 90's.


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## mobiledynamics

I have to say.....my dentist office, which I presume sees quite a bit of traffic - has some sorta of walnut looking laminate. The wear looks nil to none and IMO looks great. I always look at it when I'm there just to see how well or not it wears...


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## Awoodfloorguy

Go with real hardwood. Maybe even consider doing a site finished wood floor. Most prefinished products have a semi gloss finish which shows more as the floors wear. By finishing them on site you could do a satin finish and add several coatings of a super durable finish. 

Plus once a site finished floor has been installed it is easier to maintain than a prefinished wood floor. Why? Aluminum oxide finishes can be a pain to recoat. So once the floors begin to wear you usually need to refinish them rather than recoat, which is 3x the price and it eats away at the life of the floor. Site finished floors can be buffed at anytime which removes surface scratches and allow you to add a protective coating whenever it may need it. This process is much easier, less mess, and cheaper than a full refinishing. 

Also, unfinished flooring is cheaper to buy, has more size options, more grade options, can be stained any color you may want, it don't have a micro bevel around every board (so it looks better).


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## creeper

ToolSeeker said:


> Creeper when you walk into a house as a realtor are laminate floors a plus or minus. I know this is a subjective question but I was just curious and a pretty general answer will be fine if any. Don't want to put you on the spot, not my intent.


My favourite is rich hardwood with tumbled travertine in all wet areas. 

Please no offense to anyone else's choices, but laminate is normal in lower end areas and is quite preferable to seeing a well worn carpet. At least then laminate is considered clean and liveable until the flooring resources can be saved up for.

These days mid to higher end homes have hardwood and maybe a high quality carpet in the bedrooms. But even then who wants to live with somebone else's carpet and all the yuck that lives in it.

In all cases not only does hardwood add monetary value it also adds saleablity...meaning the listing will sell faster


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## Elkypro

I installed HD's Pergo XP (similar to Lowes Pergo Max I assume) in a room in my small house and have had no issues other than stupid me dropping an item a couple times and chipped it. I have a 75 and 60 pound golden and have not had any scratches come up or wear issues from them in the 9 months I have had the flooring in. I am not concerned with resale value of the home as I plan on being here for many more years so I am going to put in more in the other bedroom in a couple weeks.


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## retired guy 60

As a homeowner with both hardwood and laminate flooring, I will add my 2 cents. Let me preface this by emphasizing that it is only one person's opinion based upon use of both materials. Laminate has a harder finish than hardwood which usually has polyurehane. The prefinished hardwood (the only way I would buy it) may have a different finish. Neither finish can hold up indefinitely to the nails of a dog, however hardwood can be refinished and laminate can not. In terms of adding value to a home, hardwood is the better bet. If you were going to do the install yourself laminate would be much easier to install. One of the biggest factors in the deterioration of each is the presence of abrasive particles such as sand inadvertently brought in and ground into the floor by one's shoes. Water is another cause of damage as well. Should the dog urinate on either (not a concern based upon your question) there could be stains or other damage.
Finally, in terms of durability, I believe ceramic tiles would offer a harder surface than either laminate or hardwood even though you have not indicated any interest in ceramic.


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## RicardoRoman

*Flooring options*

Real hardwood will give you a stylish look for sure. But with dogs in place, you will have to take extra precautions about it. They can get scratched pretty easily by the nails of the dogs. So I would recommend going for laminated floors. You might feel a bit apprehensive about going for laminated floors due to them being easy to get spoiled by water. But if your lamination is full-proof and non-permeable then you will have excellent and durable flooring.


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## puttster

Animal urine is very tough on hardwoods, Maybe not now but one day when he's old he will find a secret place. By the time you find it the boards will be blackened halfway through and wil need to be replaced.

puttster


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## RicardoRoman

*flooring solutions*

Real hardwood will give you a stylish look for sure. But with dogs in place, you will have to take extra precautions about it. They can get scratched pretty easily by the nails of the dogs. So I would recommend going for laminated floors. You might feel a bit apprehensive about going for laminated floors due to them being easy to get spoiled by water. But if your lamination is full-proof and non-permeable then you will have excellent and durable flooring.


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