Hardwood floors

Okay my dad wants hard maple hardwood floors for the house except for in the bathroom, kitchen, laundryroom, basement and maybe the bedrooms. And I was wondering is there some kind of finish that helps it be more resistant to claws from cats and dogs and from scratches from peoples shoes, we live in the country and my dad nor my uncle know how to wipe their feet or take their shoes off. I want our house to look really nice.

I would suggest not getting harwoods at all. Instead get a laminate flooring like Pergo. It looks like wood but is impervious to anything but water damage. Its cheaper too.

Here's my problem unless we can change dad's mind he wants hardwood and he won't budge he is stubborn as an ox

Originally Posted by Tavia'smom

Here's my problem unless we can change dad's mind he wants hardwood

and he won't budge he is stubborn as an ox

Click to expand...

Well it takes alot to keep real wood looking good, if it gets bad then you have to sand it, restain it buff it, wow it's alot of work,they have so many now that look just like wood and they do hold up great.

Even without pets it'll need periodic sanding/refinishing and waxing, that's one heck of a lot of work.
More money too if you don't own the floor sander/buffer

Get bamboo flooring!! I'm not kidding... it's probably about the same price... looks really pretty... and might be easier to take care of.

Originally Posted by Kaleetha

Get bamboo flooring!! I'm not kidding... it's probably about the same price... looks really pretty... and might be easier to take care of.

Click to expand...

I was thinking of bamboo too. Has the look of hardwood floors, but it's a renewable crop so it's better for the environment too.

Originally Posted by Tavia'smom

Here's my problem unless we can change dad's mind he wants hardwood

and he won't budge he is stubborn as an ox

Click to expand...

My sister had Pergo in her condo in Orange County, CA. But now she's had hardwood floors installed in her house in Tennessee. I actually found the hardwood floors easier to keep clean. I am renting a house that has Pergo, and am using Orange Glo products only as Murphy's Oil Soap made them dull. Of course, the original owners caused a lot of damage with Swiffer WetJet Bleach At my sister's, we use Murphys (lots cheaper) for wet cleaning and Orange Glo polish - the hardwood floors seem to be much more forgiving; they can be given a polishing with a duster, and just shine & shine.
The floors aren't very good for cats to get traction, though.
AFter you see how much gunk you sweep up from the hard floors, you will realize how much gunk is in carpets

I think hardwood is easier to keep than laminate. The slightest spill on laminate damages it permanently. And you cannot ever sand it or restain it, whereas with hardwood you at least can bring it back to it original state. There are many hard varnishes, matt, silk or gloss depending on your taste, that help to keep hardwood floors looking good.

I've got hardwood floors throughout the downstairs of my house and i've had no problem, it's got a few coats of varnish on as well so that probably helps.

About 10 yrs ago we had hardwood maple floors installed in kitche/dining area. foyer and living room. This was no ordinary flooring but maple flooring we removed from a one room schoolhouse. The flooring installer actually installs maple gym floorin for a living and that is the finish their used. Do not used a water based sealer as that will not stand up as well. We have not had refinished yet. Out flooring in places does not fit as tightly together as the new stuff but no problems. I do use vinegar and water to shine it up!!

Originally Posted by Kaleetha

Get bamboo flooring!! I'm not kidding... it's probably about the same price... looks really pretty... and might be easier to take care of.

Click to expand...

I have bamboo in my house. I LOVE it! Its very pretty and it was reasonably priced. I haven't had any problems keeping it scratch free. Well except in the spare room where I slid the christmas tree box across it! I would choose Bamboo again if I were given the option.

We used to have pinewood floors at our old house. Pine is very soft compared to maple, but we used the same type of finish that is used on gym floors and bowling alleys. Our 90 pound dogs couldn't scratch it.

In our new place, we will be replacing the floors eventually and have already decided on bamboo. It does grow very fast and is highly renewable, therefore more environmentally friendly than hard woods.

And we will have the bowling alley/gym finish put over it. The real trick to using any type of top finish is to make sure you aren't walking on it until it has fully cured. Most varnished take about 30 days to fully cure. If I remember, the bowling alley finish takes 2 weeks. If you walk on it before then, you can leave blemishes.

Everyone that I know that is hard on floors that have put in a laminate were replacing it after 5 years. With both dogs and cats, and a husband who has the dropsies, I would never consider a laminate.

Oh thank you so much I told my dad what you all said and he likes Rosiemacs floors he said that's what he wants. He just doesn't want to go broke building a house. Wow we will have to wait 2 weeks to move into our house cause I believe he said he's doing the floors the very last. He's putting tile in the kitchen and since he is taking my cousins blueprint to her house but switching where the master bedrooms and others are, he wants his room facing the road because he has access to our guns and we live so far out if we called the cops any crimminals could have us hung from a tree by the time the cops got here. And he wants the laundryroom in the basement because my cousin has hers upstairs and he doesn't like that. He said with those adjustments he can make the kitchen and my bedroom bigger. But the spareroom which has been deemed my nieces room will remain a bit small. And we have decided to put her riding toys in the basement. I am going to try and find two twin sized beds that have trundle units under them for the spare bedroom because I have two step nieces and I think that will allow for it to look nice and still look like a spare room my sister wanted us to put in bunk beds and I hate them.

I also have the timber floors, they are Tassie Oak and the colour is just fantastic, you can get some really good sealers today for your timber floors so get your Dad to ask, i think i did a good job on mine
http://i74.photobucket.com/albums/i271/cataholic59/2006_0915thursday0161.jpg
http://i74.photobucket.com/albums/i271/cataholic59/2006_0915thursday0162.jpg
http://i74.photobucket.com/albums/i271/cataholic59/2006_0915thursday0166.jpg

it really highlites the decore and two pic's that look the same are to show you the change the light make to the colour

I just got Laminate installed in my new apartment but it doesnt look like the kind that will get ruined quickly?
When i had a look at the apartment the last laminate was really rotten, now i will have to be really careful with the new stuff!
I dont want them to take my money away for cat scratches!

So whats the best way to wash the floors? With in no time its going to get dirty with kitty paws and foot prints!

I'll just share my experience with you. We put laminate in our old house just before selling and the problem I found with it was that if it was in an area where light shone on it, you could see every wipe mark when I finished wiping it down. I would have to take a dry cloth and go over the whole thing to keep it streak-free.

Then we moved to this house and before moving in replaced all the old maple hardwood floor with bamboo. It claims to be harder than oak - I disagree. We already have a couple of bad marks in it from things dropping and one from the cat's claws. The surface finishing isn't the problem, the problem is that it isn't standing up to the day-to-day bumps and lumps that we expected of it.

The other thing is that now you can get pre-finished hardwood flooring that has at least 5 layers of pre-baked finish on them which will stand up to most anything for years. (That's the only part I like about the bamboo.)

We have now decided that when we re-do the kitchen we are going to put down a cork floor. There are some beautiful patterns and they are easy on the feet and back. Apparently there is a museum somewhere in the US that has the original cork floor from the late 1800's. The cork flooring also have several layers of pre-finishing.

I've always lived in trailors and we couldn't afford anything but the cheap linoleum and rescently in the last 5 years or so we have had carpet so that's all I know how to clean. But I am a quick study so I know I can learn.

I dont know. I have all hardwood floors. But I live in a rental and my landlord doesnt do anything with them. They arent scratched up or anything though. And I have 2 dogs and 4 cats running around on it.

The installers recommended vinegar/water (a mix 1:4) applied with a very wrung out mop. Howver I feel that it gives a good shine but I need to add a bit of murhpy's oil soap to get the floor more clean in the kitchen area so I had a bit to my vinegar water mix.