Hello,

I've been in to talk to a fellow who works at a hardwood place already, so I already do have an idea. But I was just wondering if I could get others opinions based on their experiences.

I'm looking at doing my upstairs, and stair cases in hard wood, the problem is, I have 2 dogs. Both are fairly small dogs, around 30-40 pounds each. I was just wondering how badly the floors will scratch, and if it's a bad idea with dogs. One dog is young and still has a lot of energy, the other dog is old, but she has fairly long nails and wont allow me to cu them.

The other option is to do laminate flooring, but if I ever needed to get it refinished like I can hardwood, I can't. The other thing with laminate is, I've seen a lot of time laminate begins to seperate in areas. I'm not sure if that's still a problem with newer laminate. I like laminate, I have it in my basement, it's just for the upstairs in the heavy traffic areas like bedrooms, dining room and family room, I'd just prefer hardwood.

My next question is regarding a staircase. I could, if the dogs will scratch the floors up badly, just not allow them upstairs. The only thing is, they'd still be able to get onto the staircase. So I was wondering if a carpet runner would work down the middle. I know this is probably personal preference, but I don't know if it would look right. My upsatirs would be hardwood, then there is a small staircase of about 7 steps to a landing that is done in ceramic. Then another staircase of about 7 steps to the basement which is done in laminate. I just have no idea if carpet would look right, because the only place in the entire house that I'd have it, would be the steps.

Does anyone have opinions on what I should do? I have seen the newer style of laminate that comes in narrower planks, it's quite nice, but again, I couldn't get it refinished over time.


Thanks,
Grant

Dogs scratch floors.
30# to 40# Dogs?
yup, you'll have scratches in the wood surface.

For me this is a simple answer. Only Tile and Hardwood add value to your home. Newer floors add marketability but as for dollar to dollar, tile and hardwood all day long.
Go with the hardwood.
Put hardwood on the steps, have a carpet runner installed down the center. This will look nice, keep the dogs from scratching and humans from slipping. Laminate on steps doesnt ever look right IMO and most have an overlap stairnose so they are not very sturdy.
As far as the finish goes. Go with a Matte finish. This will help hide the scratches that are going to occur no matter what you do. If you notice most laminate has a matte/satin finish.
Think of it this way... The amount of money you are going to spend on wood vs laminate, you ought to go with the wood because it WILL last longer, it WILL add value to your house, and it IS fixable when a deep scratch/gouge does occur.

Glad you asked, I'm going to be doing the same thing, I have two 55 pound dogs. I already cringe when I think what they're going to do to my floor after it's installed, still better than carpet though.

I'm just hoping I can find a decent carpet runner that doesn't look like it was made in China.