Question:
Rick
We have dogs but would like to put in a hardwood floor. What type of flooring is best for dogs, scratches, etc.
Answer:
Dear Rick
No type of wood floor nor any commercial finish will resist the scratches these critters will make. But that said here are a few guidelines. Avoid the prefinished floor. The perfect factory finishes will look pretty bad with a few scratches, and it is difficult to touch up and re-coat these factory conversion finishes.
Choose a ring porous wood that is fairly hard, Hickory or pecan would be the hardest. But white oak and red oak have a more prominent grain pattern, so they will show the scratches the least. Stay away from fine grained wood like maple, or beech, the mars in these floor are visible a mile away.
Choose a finish that you feel comfortable re-coating yourself. Hire a pro to do the sanding, but do all the finishing yourself, to save money and become a floor finish expert. That way every 5 years or so you will feel more than qualified to screen and re-coat the floor yourself.
Read about how to maintain a wood floor in the Floored News section of this site.
As always your Most humble servant, Joseph, the Wood Floor Doctor.