Anyone here have engineered hardwood and big dogs? How badly do their nails scratch it? We just built a new house that has engineered hardwood everywhere. Eventually we want to add a dog to our happy home…although we have different ideas on the appropriate size!
I would really love to get another German Shepherd, but wonder if something that size won’t trash the floors. Anyone have a big dog and non-scratched floors??
I think a lot depends on the quality of the floor. I put (relatively) cheap engineered hardwood downstairs. My dogs are 30-40 pounds. 9 years later and its pretty scratched in places. But I can fill in the scratches with a matching stain and they disappear.
Upstairs, I was able to put in much higher quality,but still engineered. It’s on the stairs as well. But it’s only been down a year. So far, no scratches.
Either way,I will take my hardwood over the carpet that was here,any day.
A friend used solid Walnut throughout her house (except laundry, and baths, and inside each outside door). Her daughter asked her to watch her dog for a little while (it turned out to be for over a year). The walnut faded from sun exposure (she always kept the blinds open), and even with carpet runners everywhere, it scratched very badly. The dog was an adopted mixed breed, but I thin a lot of shepherd. Within the first year the floor was faded in a lot of places, and scratched even with the carpet runners. I don’t know if engineered would work better, but definitely I would never do Walnut or other softer wood. I’ve always wanted Red oak for engineered, or hardwood floors. My friends that went with hardwoods have Red Oak, and love it.
We have an engineered hardwood for the upstairs hall floor. We have had 2 labs, 2 foxhounds and 1 Eskimo dog in the 15 years we have owned it. Not a scratch anywhere. Only mark is where the yellow lab found a battery, chewed on the battery and the acid leaked out a little bit and marked it. I think it is a maple.
We have a hardwood in family room that is faded and has lots of marks. It is a dark color. I forget what it is but it is one of those rainforest hardwoods you shouldn’t buy anymore. It needs to be refinished. Probably 16 years old.
Newer hardwood in downstairs hall, dining room and living room is 4 years old. Matt finish and looks great. It is hickory. We extended it into the mudroom 1 year ago and that looks great.
have engineered snap together flooring in the laundry room which is also the access to the garage… also have 80 pound German Shepherd Dog and a smaller Golden Retriever…both grow toe nails that can go click click on the floors… no marks what so ever.
Floor has been installed for ten years now.
Rest of house is ceramic tile or real oak
You mean actual hardwood, not laminate, right?
I have Bruce Engineered hardwood and it’s fine.
My engineered HS is tongue and groove and nailed down/to one another.
This is not a floating floor.
Looks OK at 10 years in with a handful of dogs, including a large lab and a couple older dogs who were terrible about getting their nails done.
But it can only be refinished once, maybe.
So, it’s certainly limited.
I would have not done it if I’d had a choice, largely because of the ‘groove’ where the T and G meet… and body fluids seeping down in those joints because it’s prefinished.
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