I recently had 3/4" pre-finished (Dura-luster Plus, 25 yr. finish) oak floors installed (~ 6 months ago). The floors have square edges and looked great when first installed. However, I am starting to notice scratches in the floor apparently coming from our dog. We have been diligent in getting her nails trimmed to minimize scratches, but, it appears that is not enough. Looking at the floor straight on from above, you can not see the scratches. However, at an angle, when the light hits it right, they are noticable. The scratches can also be felt when running your hand over them as there is a slight indentation in the boards. In our old house, we had old site-finished pine floors that seemed to hold up better to the dogs nails, so the scratches in the new floor are surprising.

Two questions: (1) Has anyone seen this type of wear from pets on oak before? (2) Once the dog has departed this earth, would screening and recoating be enough to replenish the look? (I'm not quite sure how much material the screening process will remove.)

Thanks for your help.
Dave

Dogs are hard on floors! Even my wife's little cocker left scratches in the five coats of finish of my site finished floors. When triming dog's nails, have them smoothed over with emory board or walk the dog alot on concrete. Recoating occasionally will help but to completely remove scratches, you'll probably need to resand.

25 year finish?

Thanks for the replies.

I realize that the 25 Years Mfg. finish warranty is unrealistic (unless you never walk on the floor).

Screening and recoatiing will work fine depending on the amount of overwood. Many prefinished products do not lend themselves to screeening.

Some dogs are particularily good at getting "power to ground". We had a customer's Jack Russell do a stellar amount of damage in a very short time. Lessons learned; #1 - freshly trimmed nails have a very sharp edge and/or burr, #2 - marking is often localized in a few specific areas that can be addressed with rugs (Where the dog greets you when you come home, the window he barks at the neighbor from, their launching point for jumping onto the couch, etc...), #3 - a distressed look is sometimes inevitable, #4 - Life goes on. (Just like waiting for the first scratches on your new car, the first few marks on any new floor are hard to take. Eventually you'll probably get past them and barely notice them any longer)

Andrew - You make some good points. I have strategically placed rugs to minimize the scratches in certain areas. Your fourth point is essentially the same thing that my wife keeps saying to me: "Nobody but you will notice those minor scratches on the floor, so get over it!". I guess sometimes being a perfectionist has its drawbacks! :roll:

Dave

You might also try using a flat or matte finish when you have your floor recoated. Don't wait until the floor gets really bad to do this, try to stay ahead of the curve, and keep it simple.