Hi folks,
I need some help. we are building a house in the low country of south carolina and we will be using all hard wood flooring.To keep cost low we were going to use red oak, but I am a wood junky and love grain and figure. Our current house has hickory floors. We are now looking at brazilian cherry.We are worried about humidity and instilation .Are there certain floors better suited to the low country?We have bird dogs so scratch resistance is important. thanks Todd

When you say "low country", what exactly do you mean? You mean building in a swamp? In a marsh? The fact is, pretty much any SOLID hardwood flooring will suffer negative effects if installed in a damp environment. It can be damp outside, just not INSIDE your home. Proper building design would dictate a house to be built to keep water and any excessive moisture away from the building to maintain normal humidity levels, which are between 40 to 60 % RH. If you build to this standard, you can install pretty much any species of solid wood flooring. If you fail to use common sense building design and do not follow industry standards for hardwood flooring installation, then any floor can fail, along with the building itself. So, in your area, I'm sure a #1 COMMON grade red oak could be purchased for very little. Plus I hear labor costs in your area are quite low as well. It wouldn't surprise me to hear that you were able to get a #1 common red oak floor installed and finished for $5 to $6 a foot, including the cost of the flooring. You could upgrade the wood if you want. Shop around with local flooring contractors who are more up on what the local costs are and what's in style in your area and what deals there are to be had. BTW, dogs WILL damage ANY floor. It is merely a matter of time. Build a kennel/run for the dogs. Large animals do not belong in a home, IMHO.

Gary, My 2 black labs, are spoiled, what can I say.

They are inside dogs. They are part of the family. I'd never keep them outside in a kennel.



Keep the nails trimmed, and use doggy boots if you must. If not just deal with the finish scratches.

Do your Labs have any back problems Austin ?
Never actually saw the booties , Do they give them traction ?

Not to get off topic, but...


I have a 65-lb. 7 year old female, black lab, that will be 8 in March. She is the smartest most loyal dog I have ever owned. She is a natural bird hunter and squirrel harasser. She knew exactly what to do, without any formal training, the first time I took her dove hunting. She put a high powered expert trained dog to shame, that day. I cannot water the yard, without her standing in the sprinkler, or in front of the hose, if I'm hand watering. No problems with her hips or back.

We got Otto as a rescue. I had to bring him back from the dead.
He is a 95-lb. black lab, that is only 9 months old and still growing.
He is slowly learning. I need to get him alone, and he would learn faster.
He hates anything that flies, and the female has him training on squirrel harassment. He was limping on his back leg for over a week, around Christmas time, and yesterday, he was limping on his front leg, but better now. He is a clumsy, big `ol boy. He is not chewing on everything he can find anymore, and knows his approved toys. Other than that, no hip or back problems.

My brother and his wife's dogs are the same. They're not labs but part of the family, like you say. I refinished the wood floors about 3 yrs. ago. Oak strip stained dark with Bona Traffic. I'm impressed on how well the Traffic has held up to these two 60 lb + rowdy dogs. The flooring is indented and scratched from the dogs. But it isn't real noticeable. I understand about folks love of their pets and wanting to keep them inside their homes. But those that choose to do that must accept the reality of the damage to their homes the pets can do. To expect a wood floor to hold up for many years without damage is unreasonable, IMO. Refinishing and repairs will be needed more often.