Home Repair forum - Best dog and water resistant flooring?

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Best dog and water resistant flooring?

Harry Muscle

2006-08-29, 1:25 pm

I'm looking for opinions on what kind of floor to install in our new
place. We have a dog and a fish tank, so I'm looking for options that
would stand up to dog claws, possible dog mistakes, and minor
(sometimes major) spilling of water from the fish tank.

We've had real hardwood before (finished onsite), but the dog scratched
it up real good with his nails. We've had laminate before also,
however, any water left standing for any significant amount of time
caused the seams to swell. Now I know in a perfect world I shouldn't
have to worry about standing water, however, I don't wanna have to deal
with replacing parts of the floor in case one of these days there is a
puddle of water that sits there for a day or two.

I'm currently looking at vinyl plank flooring. It's like vinyl tiles,
however, it's made to look like wood. One company that makes it is
www.karndean.com . Anyone have any experience with this kind of
flooring? I'm guessing it totally water proof, how about scratches
though?

Any other suggestions I should look at?

Thanks,
Harry

limeylew@gmail.com

2006-08-29, 1:25 pm

Harry Muscle wrote:
> I'm looking for opinions on what kind of floor to install in our new
> place. We have a dog and a fish tank, so I'm looking for options that
> would stand up to dog claws, possible dog mistakes, and minor
> (sometimes major) spilling of water from the fish tank.
>
> We've had real hardwood before (finished onsite), but the dog scratched
> it up real good with his nails. We've had laminate before also,
> however, any water left standing for any significant amount of time
> caused the seams to swell. Now I know in a perfect world I shouldn't
> have to worry about standing water, however, I don't wanna have to deal
> with replacing parts of the floor in case one of these days there is a
> puddle of water that sits there for a day or two.
>
> I'm currently looking at vinyl plank flooring. It's like vinyl tiles,
> however, it's made to look like wood. One company that makes it is
> www.karndean.com . Anyone have any experience with this kind of
> flooring? I'm guessing it totally water proof, how about scratches
> though?
>

I have a friend with _several_ Dobermans who used to have a fully
carpeted house and did a lot of searching before deciding to go with
full ceramic tile.

It has turned out to be an excellent choice, as the very occasional
messes that they make are _easy_ to clean up.

Lewis.

******
> Any other suggestions I should look at?
>
> Thanks,
> Harry

Rich Greenberg

2006-08-29, 1:25 pm

In article <1156874190.368267.299880@m79g2000cwm.googlegroups.com>,
<limeylew@gmail.com> wrote:
>
>Harry Muscle wrote:

[...]
[color=darkred]
>I have a friend with _several_ Dobermans who used to have a fully
>carpeted house and did a lot of searching before deciding to go with
>full ceramic tile.
>
>It has turned out to be an excellent choice, as the very occasional
>messes that they make are _easy_ to clean up.

There is a downside here if any of your dogs are aged or infirm (or are
likely to become such). One of my dogs has degenerative disk disease
and sometimes can't keep his footing well on the tile.

--
Rich Greenberg N Ft Myers, FL, USA richgr atsign panix.com + 1 239 543 1353
Eastern time. N6LRT I speak for myself & my dogs only. VM'er since CP-67
Canines:Val, Red & Shasta (RIP),Red, Zero & Casey, Siberians Owner:Chinook-L
Retired at the beach Asst Owner:Sibernet-L

gregoc@rcn.com

2006-08-29, 1:25 pm

Pergo or any other laminate flooring is practically indestructible when
it comes to dogs and if you don't allow water to pool on the floor for
long periods it is OK.

Harry Muscle wrote:
> I'm looking for opinions on what kind of floor to install in our new
> place. We have a dog and a fish tank, so I'm looking for options that
> would stand up to dog claws, possible dog mistakes, and minor
> (sometimes major) spilling of water from the fish tank.
>
> We've had real hardwood before (finished onsite), but the dog scratched
> it up real good with his nails. We've had laminate before also,
> however, any water left standing for any significant amount of time
> caused the seams to swell. Now I know in a perfect world I shouldn't
> have to worry about standing water, however, I don't wanna have to deal
> with replacing parts of the floor in case one of these days there is a
> puddle of water that sits there for a day or two.
>
> I'm currently looking at vinyl plank flooring. It's like vinyl tiles,
> however, it's made to look like wood. One company that makes it is
> www.karndean.com . Anyone have any experience with this kind of
> flooring? I'm guessing it totally water proof, how about scratches
> though?
>
> Any other suggestions I should look at?
>
> Thanks,
> Harry

Goedjn

2006-08-29, 5:25 pm

On 29 Aug 2006 10:31:52 -0700, "Harry Muscle" <fake.e-mail@stonyx.com>
wrote:

>I'm looking for opinions on what kind of floor to install in our new
>place. We have a dog and a fish tank, so I'm looking for options that
>would stand up to dog claws, possible dog mistakes, and minor
>(sometimes major) spilling of water from the fish tank.
>
>We've had real hardwood before (finished onsite), but the dog scratched
>it up real good with his nails. We've had laminate before also,
>however, any water left standing for any significant amount of time
>caused the seams to swell. Now I know in a perfect world I shouldn't
>have to worry about standing water, however, I don't wanna have to deal
>with replacing parts of the floor in case one of these days there is a
>puddle of water that sits there for a day or two.
>
>I'm currently looking at vinyl plank flooring. It's like vinyl tiles,
>however, it's made to look like wood. One company that makes it is
>www.karndean.com . Anyone have any experience with this kind of
>flooring? I'm guessing it totally water proof, how about scratches
>though?
>
>Any other suggestions I should look at?

http://www.laminam.it/Edilizia_e.asp

Toni

2006-08-29, 5:25 pm

"Rich Greenberg" <richgr@panix.com> wrote in message
news:ed1vmr$rq9$1@reader2.panix.com...
>
> There is a downside here if any of your dogs are aged or infirm (or are
> likely to become such). One of my dogs has degenerative disk disease
> and sometimes can't keep his footing well on the tile.

I have a fully ceramic tiled house and many aquariums.
It is imperative that you keep the floor free of water, drool, slobber, and
anything else even halfway liquid, or you will fall flat on your XXX- hard.
And going barefoot in any of the above listed situation will guarantee you a
serious fall.

And yes, the old dogs object strenuously and you end up filling the house
with room sized rugs, which isn't half bad. I always considered them semi
disposable.

If I had it to do over again I would get the roughest slate I could find.

--
Toni
http://www.cearbhaill.com/rules.htm

yourname

2006-08-29, 5:25 pm

Rich Greenberg wrote:
> In article <1156874190.368267.299880@m79g2000cwm.googlegroups.com>,
> <limeylew@gmail.com> wrote:
>
>
>
> [...]
>
>
>
>
> There is a downside here if any of your dogs are aged or infirm (or are
> likely to become such). One of my dogs has degenerative disk disease
> and sometimes can't keep his footing well on the tile.
>

'the wobbles'

fake.e-mail@stonyx.com

2006-08-29, 5:25 pm

Toni wrote:
> "Rich Greenberg" <richgr@panix.com> wrote in message
> news:ed1vmr$rq9$1@reader2.panix.com...
>
>
> I have a fully ceramic tiled house and many aquariums.
> It is imperative that you keep the floor free of water, drool, slobber, and
> anything else even halfway liquid, or you will fall flat on your XXX- hard.
> And going barefoot in any of the above listed situation will guarantee you a
> serious fall.
>
> And yes, the old dogs object strenuously and you end up filling the house
> with room sized rugs, which isn't half bad. I always considered them semi
> disposable.
>
> If I had it to do over again I would get the roughest slate I could find.
>
>
> --
> Toni
> http://www.cearbhaill.com/rules.htm

I'm located in Ontario, Canada, which means it's cold for a good part
of the year, so tile in the whole house wouldn't be a good thing ...
plus I don't think my wife would like the look of a tiled living room
and bedrooms. Whatever we pick I think it's gonna have to look like
wood.

Thanks,
Harry

P.S. Anyone ever heard of waterproof laminate? Seems to exist in the
UK, but can't find anything in Canada.

John Weiss

2006-08-29, 5:25 pm

"Harry Muscle" <fake.e-mail@stonyx.com> wrote...
> I'm looking for opinions on what kind of floor to install in our new
> place. We have a dog and a fish tank, so I'm looking for options that
> would stand up to dog claws, possible dog mistakes, and minor
> (sometimes major) spilling of water from the fish tank.

Ceramic tile. The bonus is that the dog will learn very quickly he can't
turn or stop very well on it when he's running...

Edwin Pawlowski

2006-08-29, 5:25 pm

<fake.e-mail@stonyx.com> wrote in message
> I'm located in Ontario, Canada, which means it's cold for a good part
> of the year, so tile in the whole house wouldn't be a good thing ...
> plus I don't think my wife would like the look of a tiled living room
> and bedrooms. Whatever we pick I think it's gonna have to look like
> wood.
>
> Thanks,
> Harry
>
> P.S. Anyone ever heard of waterproof laminate? Seems to exist in the
> UK, but can't find anything in Canada.

How about some combination of products? Ceramic tile in parts of a room,
wood or carpet in the rest.

Take a look at Wilsonart.com They have some of the best around.

Goedjn

2006-08-29, 5:25 pm

>
>I'm located in Ontario, Canada, which means it's cold for a good part
>of the year, so tile in the whole house wouldn't be a good thing ...
>plus I don't think my wife would like the look of a tiled living room
>and bedrooms. Whatever we pick I think it's gonna have to look like
>wood.

If you want it to look like wood, you should use actual wood.
Then put down about 9 coats of poly, and add mats of various
materials in high-traffic areas.

Marcel Beaudoin

2006-08-29, 5:25 pm

Harry Muscle wrote:
> I'm looking for opinions on what kind of floor to install in our new
> place. We have a dog and a fish tank, so I'm looking for options that
> would stand up to dog claws, possible dog mistakes, and minor
> (sometimes major) spilling of water from the fish tank.
>
> We've had real hardwood before (finished onsite), but the dog scratched
> it up real good with his nails. We've had laminate before also,
> however, any water left standing for any significant amount of time
> caused the seams to swell. Now I know in a perfect world I shouldn't
> have to worry about standing water, however, I don't wanna have to deal
> with replacing parts of the floor in case one of these days there is a
> puddle of water that sits there for a day or two.
>
> I'm currently looking at vinyl plank flooring. It's like vinyl tiles,
> however, it's made to look like wood. One company that makes it is
> www.karndean.com . Anyone have any experience with this kind of
> flooring? I'm guessing it totally water proof, how about scratches
> though?
>
> Any other suggestions I should look at?
>
> Thanks,
> Harry
>
I cant believe no one has said vinyl or linoleum sheet goods. Minimal
seams, easy to clean and stand up well to all sorts of abuse.
Softer than tile, no grout joints (which are harder to clean). And not
too expensive.

limeylew@gmail.com

2006-08-29, 9:25 pm

fake.e-mail@stonyx.com wrote:
> Toni wrote:
>
> I'm located in Ontario, Canada, which means it's cold for a good part
> of the year, so tile in the whole house wouldn't be a good thing ...
> plus I don't think my wife would like the look of a tiled living room
> and bedrooms. Whatever we pick I think it's gonna have to look like
> wood.
>
> Thanks,
> Harry
>
> P.S. Anyone ever heard of waterproof laminate? Seems to exist in the
> UK, but can't find anything in Canada.

I've heard this argument before about tile not being good in the winter
but I don't buy it.

My logic tells me that the tile would be the same temp. as what you've
set your thermostat to, just like the rest of the house.

Lewis.

******

Edwin Pawlowski

2006-08-30, 3:25 am

<limeylew@gmail.com> wrote in message
> I've heard this argument before about tile not being good in the winter
> but I don't buy it.
>
> My logic tells me that the tile would be the same temp. as what you've
> set your thermostat to, just like the rest of the house.

Logic and perception collide.

You are correct, they will be the same temperature. The problem is that you
body is about 97 degrees and the floor is much less. Put your foot on
carpet and you feel no temperature change. Put your foot on tile and if
feels cold. Why?

On the carpet your foot is supported be a series of fiber and lots of air
spaces between them. Your senses do not notice the temperature difference as
there is little heat transfer. Put your foot on that smooth tile and you
have a lot more surface contact with the skin. Since heat always transfer
to the colder spots, the greater contact and material that acts like a
heatsink, makes your body feel cold.

FurPaw

2006-08-30, 9:25 am

Rich Greenberg wrote:

> There is a downside here if any of your dogs are aged or infirm (or are
> likely to become such). One of my dogs has degenerative disk disease
> and sometimes can't keep his footing well on the tile.

"Slick" tile comprises only a small fraction of the ceramic and
porcelain tiles now available. We found a huge selection of
tiles that have textures rough enough to overcome this problem,
even when wet.

That said, footing-wise for dogs and humans, carpeting is the
best choice. But it's not water-friendly.

Maybe a combo of tile and area rugs?

FurPaw

Shelly

2006-08-30, 9:25 am

On Wed, 30 Aug 2006 07:42:41 -0600, FurPaw <furrealpawdog@gmail.com>
wrote:

>That said, footing-wise for dogs and humans, carpeting is the
>best choice. But it's not water-friendly.

As someone who has wiped out on carpet, I can testify that it can be
surprisingly slick and dangerous. I cannot think of one positive thing
to say about carpet.

>Maybe a combo of tile and area rugs?

My all-time favorite flooring is wood, with area rugs for the dogs (or,
as I used to refer to them: wrestlemania mats).

--
Shelly
http://www.cat-sidh.net (the Mother Ship)
http://esther.cat-sidh.net (Letters to Esther)

Colour is my day-long obsession, joy and torment.
-- Claude Monet

Shelly

2006-08-30, 9:25 am

On 29 Aug 2006 10:31:52 -0700, "Harry Muscle" <fake.e-mail@stonyx.com>
wrote:

>We've had real hardwood before (finished onsite), but the dog scratched
>it up real good with his nails.

I think wood is about the best flooring surface for both humans and
dogs. I have not found it to be particularly scratch-prone. What
scratches *do* happen can be easily buffed out with a little
stain-varnish combo.

As for the dog's nails, if they are clicking on the floor, they are too
long and ought to be trimmed. Keeping the dog's nails short will go a
long way toward keeping your floor scratch-free.

--
Shelly
http://www.cat-sidh.net (the Mother Ship)
http://esther.cat-sidh.net (Letters to Esther)

I would prefer not to.
-- Bartleby the Scrivener

Suja

2006-08-30, 9:25 am

"Shelly" <shelly@cat-sidh.net> wrote in message:

> I think wood is about the best flooring surface for both humans and
> dogs. I have not found it to be particularly scratch-prone.

Every home I've visited that had a combination of large dogs and wood floor,
I've found to be scratched up. A friend of mine hasn't had a dog in years,
but the gouges left by her Lab is still there on the floor.

> As for the dog's nails, if they are clicking on the floor, they are too
> long and ought to be trimmed.

So, when are you taking delivery of Pan? I've tried all sorts of things,
including daily Dremeling, but that's one dog whose quick just refuses to
shrink back. I've finally resigned myself to living with it instead of
driving myself crazy over it. One of these days, I'll take pictures of her
nails; they're mostly white and you can see the quick really well - promise
they'll make you want to cry.

Suja

Shelly

2006-08-30, 9:25 am

On Wed, 30 Aug 2006 10:21:14 -0400, "Suja" <spanaval@scs.gmu.edu> wrote:

>
>"Shelly" <shelly@cat-sidh.net> wrote in message:
>
>
>Every home I've visited that had a combination of large dogs and wood floor,
>I've found to be scratched up. A friend of mine hasn't had a dog in years,
>but the gouges left by her Lab is still there on the floor.

Well, there *is* a certain amount of upkeep with wood floors, if you
want them to look nice.

>So, when are you taking delivery of Pan? I've tried all sorts of things,
>including daily Dremeling, but that's one dog whose quick just refuses to
>shrink back. I've finally resigned myself to living with it instead of
>driving myself crazy over it.

That may well be what's going on with the OP's dog, but my experience
has been that people just don't trim their dogs' nails frequently
enough. It mostly seems to be a matter of ignorance and not of the dog
having Bizarro Miracle Gro Nails[tm].

>One of these days, I'll take pictures of her
>nails; they're mostly white and you can see the quick really well - promise
>they'll make you want to cry.

Do they bother her? Harriet had a couple of problem nails that bothered
her. On one of her vet visits, I had them trimmed while she was under.
From then on, I've shaved micro bits off with a trimmer, then used a
rough emery board to finish them off.

--
Shelly
http://www.cat-sidh.net (the Mother Ship)
http://esther.cat-sidh.net (Letters to Esther)

My spelling is Wobbly. It's good spelling but it Wobbles, and the
letters get in the wrong places.
-- A.A. Milne, Winnie the Pooh

Suja

2006-08-30, 1:25 pm

"Shelly" <shelly@cat-sidh.net> wrote in message:

> Do they bother her?

No. It's not one or two odd nails (although some are worse than others),
it's pretty much all the ones on her front feet, and a few on the back ones.

>Harriet had a couple of problem nails that bothered
> her. On one of her vet visits, I had them trimmed while she was under.

I've talked to the vet about what if anything we can do about it. She was
of the opinion that trimming them back to where they need to be (we're not
talking a few millimeters here) would require basically cutting way into the
quick. That sort of unnecessary pain and suffering, we could do without.

While we're on the subject. Someone who comes to the dog park left their
dog at the vet for his neuter. Picked him up later in the day, only to find
out that the vet has trimmed the nails WAAAAY back, to the point where the
dog was not willing to put his feet on the ground. This was without their
permission, and they had the audacity to charge them for it. Ever since
then he pitches a huge fit when his nails need to be trimmed. They can
manage because he's a Min Pin, but a tantrum throwing Dane, I can do
without.

> From then on, I've shaved micro bits off with a trimmer, then used a
> rough emery board to finish them off.

I wish it were that easy.

Suja

ranck@vt.edu

2006-08-30, 1:25 pm

In misc.consumers.house Harry Muscle <fake.e-mail@stonyx.com> wrote:
> I'm looking for opinions on what kind of floor to install in our new
> place. We have a dog and a fish tank, so I'm looking for options that
> would stand up to dog claws, possible dog mistakes, and minor
> (sometimes major) spilling of water from the fish tank.

There is some bamboo flooring that is supposedly very tough.
It looks like, and installs like, regular wood flooring.

Bill Ranck
Blacksburg, Va.

Keith Williams

2006-08-30, 1:25 pm

In article <ed4ds6$7nf$2@solaris.cc.vt.edu>, ranck@vt.edu says...
> In misc.consumers.house Harry Muscle <fake.e-mail@stonyx.com> wrote:
>
> There is some bamboo flooring that is supposedly very tough.
> It looks like, and installs like, regular wood flooring.

Bamboo is cheaper and much easier to install than wood flooring. I
don't think I'd use it (or hardwood) in high traffic areas if I had
a large dog though. It will scratch, just like hardwood.

--
Keith

lgohring

2006-08-30, 1:25 pm

Even after my vet trims Molly nails they still click on the floor.
I have lament (sp?) flooring I love it. Nothing seems to hurt these
floors except excess water. I'm talking sitting water and a large
amount.

I have dropped can goods on it and nothing. No scratches from her nails
either.

Rocky

2006-08-30, 5:25 pm

FurPaw <furrealpawdog@gmail.com> said in rec.pets.dogs.behavior:

> That said, footing-wise for dogs and humans, carpeting is the
> best choice. But it's not water-friendly.

Good ol' Murphy was diagnosed with osteosarcoma shortly after
I'd pulled up the carpets, not timely on my part.

Other than that, the playful bunches of dogs I get here deal
well with not-so-good footing - in fact, I'd consider that
they're careful while playing a boon.

--
--Matt. Rocky's a Dog.

FurPaw

2006-08-30, 5:25 pm

Shelly wrote:
> On 29 Aug 2006 10:31:52 -0700, "Harry Muscle" <fake.e-mail@stonyx.com>
> wrote:
>
>
> I think wood is about the best flooring surface for both humans and
> dogs. I have not found it to be particularly scratch-prone. What
> scratches *do* happen can be easily buffed out with a little
> stain-varnish combo.

Unless your dog has things like spinal problems or hip dysplasia.
We had wood floors in a hall and one room in our old house, and
after Dylan's back and hips started giving her problems, it
became painful for her to walk on the floors because she'd slip
and slide easily. We ended up putting down runners for her comfort.

FurPaw

D. Gerasimatos

2006-08-30, 8:25 pm

I think the best dog is probably a German Sheperd.

Glad I could help!

Dimitri

Les Hilliard

2006-08-31, 3:25 am

"Harry Muscle" <fake.e-mail@stonyx.com> wrote in
news:1156872712.482680.121760@i42g2000cwa.googlegroups.com:

> I'm looking for opinions on what kind of floor to install in our new
> place. We have a dog and a fish tank, so I'm looking for options that
> would stand up to dog claws, possible dog mistakes, and minor
> (sometimes major) spilling of water from the fish tank.
>
> We've had real hardwood before (finished onsite), but the dog scratched
> it up real good with his nails. We've had laminate before also,
> however, any water left standing for any significant amount of time
> caused the seams to swell. Now I know in a perfect world I shouldn't
> have to worry about standing water, however, I don't wanna have to deal
> with replacing parts of the floor in case one of these days there is a
> puddle of water that sits there for a day or two.
>
> I'm currently looking at vinyl plank flooring. It's like vinyl tiles,
> however, it's made to look like wood. One company that makes it is
> www.karndean.com . Anyone have any experience with this kind of
> flooring? I'm guessing it totally water proof, how about scratches
> though?
>
> Any other suggestions I should look at?
>
> Thanks,
> Harry
>

I used to have several aquariums including a 55 gal and several 20
gals. Before I set them up, on the carpet, I took those inexpensive vinyl
runners and placed them under the stands and made sure they extended out
from the bottom of the stand a good 6-8 inches all around. The edges of the
vinyl runners stuck up a little bit but it was nothing a few well placed
staples didn't fix.
In effect I had a waterproof surface 6-8 inches around the aquarium
which was easily cleaned. I had quite large fish in the 55 gal and they
occasionally splashed so hard that they'd knock the lid up a little bit and
some water would run down the outside of the tank. Add to that my
occassional overslop while cleaning and/or filling the tank. I have had
water leak down the back of the tank in the past, down the stand into the
carpet and underneath the stand without leaving a visable puddle so I've
learned this little trick from experience. The runners also helped with
this because the water never had a chance to soak into the carpet. With the
runners underneath and around the stand, the carpet was well protected and
my dog could enjoy watching the fish from the comfort of a carpeted floor.
Even with wood, tile, or vinyl flooring, the runners can help protect the
surface.
If you go with carpet, all you have to worry about is the dog soiling
it once in a while which if you have him/her housetrained well shouldn't be
much of an issue.
If you go with hardwood, tile, or vinyl laminate you have to look at
upkeep, slipping and sliding around, and constant waxing and/or sealing but
it is much easier to clean little messes.
I have even seen new houses, while being built, the owners planned
where they wanted to put their aquariums, had tile laid there with a
generous border, and carpeted around the rest. Mind you, this is a spendy
way to do it and unless you plan on keeping the home for a long time, it
detracts from the resale value a little bit since prospective buyers might
not want areas of tile here and there mixed in with the carpeting.
Personally I prefer carpeting. It's easier to walk on, comfortatble
to sit or lay on while playing with the dog. and warmer in the winter.
But, it's your house so you get to decide your preferance. I just wanted
to add a couple of suggestions that I've used and seen used. Ultimately, I
suppose you will have to go with what you and your wife can live with
asthetically. Hope my suggestions help.

--
Les Hilliard & Nikki the Super Shih-Tzu

Les Hilliard

2006-08-31, 3:25 am

Shelly <shelly@cat-sidh.net> wrote in
news:vn6bf2hnk4uns2iqbkcv3qgd6k82ctf27s@4ax.com:

> On Wed, 30 Aug 2006 10:21:14 -0400, "Suja" <spanaval@scs.gmu.edu>
> Do they bother her? Harriet had a couple of problem nails that
> bothered her. On one of her vet visits, I had them trimmed while she
> was under. From then on, I've shaved micro bits off with a trimmer,
> then used a rough emery board to finish them off.
>

This is what I use to do Nikki's nails. I'm always afraid of cutting
too much and hurting her so I trim as much as I dare with the clipper and
use an emery board to file and smooth them down to where they should be.
Nikki likes this way better because I have accidently clipped a little too
far a couple of times and she much prefers that I file them down with the
emery board. I even think the filing might feel relaxing to her because
she lays on her back snorking her approval to me.

--
Les Hilliard & Nikki the Super Shih-Tzu

Harry Muscle

2006-08-31, 9:25 am

Thank you for all the responses, suggestions, etc. so far.

I know laminate stands up to dogs claws very well but generally not
water. However, I came across a really good article yesterday that
compares all the different brands of laminate flooring, including how
they stand up to water
(http://www.ifloor.com/articles/lam/lamwars2.html). So I'm leaning
towards getting laminate, one of the brands that scores a 4 out of 5 in
water resistance. It would be almost impossible for the dog to scratch
it, most water spills should be fine, and if I do get water damage it
would be possible to fix since the floors click together (ie: no glue).
Plus the one I'm eying seems to be cheaper than the vinyl stuff which
was my other possible choice.

Thanks,
Harry

TaraG

2006-08-31, 9:25 am

"Harry Muscle" <fake.e-mail@stonyx.com> wrote in message
news:1157030867.565284.109950@e3g2000cwe.googlegroups.com...
> Thank you for all the responses, suggestions, etc. so far.
>
> I know laminate stands up to dogs claws very well but generally not
> water. However, I came across a really good article yesterday that
> compares all the different brands of laminate flooring, including how
> they stand up to water
> (http://www.ifloor.com/articles/lam/lamwars2.html). So I'm leaning
> towards getting laminate, one of the brands that scores a 4 out of 5 in
> water resistance. It would be almost impossible for the dog to scratch
> it, most water spills should be fine, and if I do get water damage it
> would be possible to fix since the floors click together (ie: no glue).
> Plus the one I'm eying seems to be cheaper than the vinyl stuff which
> was my other possible choice.

Keep in mind that how the flooring is installed is as important as which
laminate you get. A friend spent a few grand on Laminate flooring. It was
almost 1500 more than I had been quoted for a similar space (I ended up not
getting it done until recently, though). There was a fire in the apartment
directly across the hall from hers, and in the process of putting it out,
her apartment was completely flooded.An inch of water completely covered her
brand new flooring. She was crushed thinking she'd have to replace it. Her
next door neighbors had gotten very expensive engineered flooring installed,
but had skimped on the installation costs. They ended up having to replace
*all* of their flooring as it was buckling within a month. My friends floor
is, surprisingly, still fine....and its now almost 2 years later! Her
flooring guy was amazing though. He did a great job insuring that everything
was installed as tightly as possible. When her neighbors had their floors
replaced, they went with this same guy....and can't believe the difference
it makes.

Also, laminate flooring, while it *will* stand up to pet claws a lot better,
will also echo those same claws in ways you just wont believe. I just had my
floors done a few months ago, and while I love the my new floors (wanted
hardwood, but my subfloor is concrete), it definitely took me a while to get
used to hearing even my 7 pound cat walk across the floor. Now that I'm used
to it, it doesn't bother me so much, but it was a side effect I hadn't
banked on.

Tara

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