Wooden Floors and Nutty Spaniel

[ElleMcElle]

We are currently refurbishing our Victorian house and definitely want to keep the original wooden floorboards in the hallway and reception rooms. They will need to be sanded and restored - does anyone have any advice about what sort of treatment we should put on them to make them as dog-scratch-proof as possible?

We have free choice for flooring in the new kitchen (where the dog will spend most time) - what sort of flooring would you recommend we go for in there? Looking for something scratch resistant and easy to clean that won't send dog flying! If it's relevant, there will be underfloor heating in the kitchen.

Any tips much appreciated! Thanks!

Take a look at Karndean for the kitchen. I have slate effect on the dining room floor and Elfpup runs on it without sliding. He is all over the place on the solid wood floor in the hallway and also slides on the quarry tiles in my kitchen.

@Elphame - Ahh - thank you! Had heard of them before, but couldn't remember their name. Very helpful!

Any other suggestions from dog owners who also want a nice floor?!

I have just got Amtico on most of the downstairs. It should be the ultimate dog proof flooring, I hope. It’s only been a couple of weeks, but so far so good...

We inherited Dinisen floors when we bought the house and soon discovered it isn’t great with dogs in the house, because the wood is quite soft

We got a company in to sand and restore them, and they added 3 layers of lacquer on top, which they said is a bit like clear nail varnish (but it isn’t gloss)

It has definitely helped with the scratch marks but I can still see them if I look closely. I don’t think anyone else would notice them or think they were out of the ordinary though, and it’s worth putting up with for the convenience and look of wooden floors

@Bubble2bubble - Thank you! I've just messaged them...

@sparechange - Thank you! Alongside trying to choose something for the new kitchen, I'd also been wondering how to avoid the existing wood floors in the hall / receptions ending up wrecked. Do you happen to know what the lacquer they put on top is called? And when you say you can see the scratches, do you just mean in the lacquer under the light - or is the wood itself scratched through the lacquer?

I’ve just checked the quote we got from the floor people and it says ‘finish with 3 coats of zero gloss lacquer’ but not a specific brand or product, sorry
I can give you the name of the company if you want to speak to them?

In terms of scratches, it is just very small scratches in the wood under the lacquer. There is no flaking etc but I can see the marks rather than a granite flat surface

This is a pic of the worst marked bit and I had to shine quite a lot of light on it to get the marks to show up in the photo but might give you an idea...

We too have a nutty spaniel and a nutty terrier with wood floors. I've used Osmo Wax Oil on our wooden floors and you can't see a single scratch. The varnished floor in the lounge does show up the scratches in the light, and I so wish I'd used the Osmo in there too.

@sparechange - Thanks for taking the time to dig out the receipt and take the photo - that's really useful! We're doing a whole reno, so will be using our builder's guy for the floors. I'll talk to him about zero gloss lacquer. If the worst scratches we end up with are like those, I'd be happy with that! How many months / years worth of use is that?

We're going to have to be stricter about trimming our dog's claws - she HATES it, so we usually wait until it's really necessary, but she's just going to have to accept more frequent manicures, I think!

@GinGeum - Thank you! Is the Osmo an alternative to the zero gloss lacquer @sparechange mentioned, or is it something you can use as well? (Just tried to figure that out from their website, but I'm still not sure - never had the luxury of a proper wood floor before, so a bit clueless!). Enjoy your nutty spaniel - they're fantastic dogs!

Hi OP - I don't actually have a clue what zero gloss lacquer is! We just used the Osmo hard wax oil on its own and it's done a great job. In the lounge, I used the hard wax oil first and then finished it with varnish, but only because I changed my mind about the colour.

spare's floor looks as though the wood itself it scratched, whereas our lounge floor only has scratches in the varnish, and not the actual wood, so I do think the hard wax oil really protects the wood.

Our dogs' claws are never long though, so that may also be a factor.

I think it depends a lot on the wood

We have Dinisen floors in the kitchen (as in the photo) and they are soft wood (larch, I think)
Where as the oak floors we have in the sitting room don’t have the ‘soft’ scratches as in those pics, but have got scratches in the varnish. They are more like scratches in car paint - very superficial

I think one consideration will be how much natural grain there is in the wood, because it covers and disguises a lot of the scratches

@GinGeum & @sparechange - All good points, thank you! I don't even know what kind of wood it is in the reception rooms and hall - will investigate!