Dogs and Hardwood Floors

One of the phone calls I got this week was from a contractor who's client is accusing his crew of scratching their new hardwood floors. But, what we know is the homeowner has a small dog and the scratch marks are most decidedly the same pattern a small dog would make on a floor.

Item of note: if you have dogs, (what do we know from dogs? We're cat people!) So we went to the hardwood experts for advise. So before banishing the poor pooch to the pound we suggest you do modify the stain color for your floors. Avoid dark hardwood floors. Why? Their claw marks will show up more on a darker wood. Opt for lighter honey tones and choose a hand scraped plank that will lesson the appearance of scratches a dog will make.

And then there is this: SoftPaws.Net

Nail Caps as a preventive measure: Damage to Household Surfaces: Hardwood Floors - Doors - Walls - Screens - Furniture - Carpets. The nail caps effectively blunt your dog’s nails so their ability to scratch surfaces is significantly reduced.

Also, for more info on hardwood floors go to:
HARDWOOD FLOORING GUIDE
HARDWOOD FLOOR CARE.
HARDWOOD INSTALLER.COM
Image from the Hardwood Floor Nut, a great resource for useful information for anyone interested in hardwood floors.

More to know about when working with hardwood floors:

1. Place Ram Board down for protection over hardwood. It's temporary floor protection, thicker than Rosen paper.
2. Appliance Dollies and Hand Trucks. Be sure the contractor who is wheeling in your refrigerator or other heavy items is using the right one for the job. A smaller dolly with wheels not equipped to handle the weight of a refrigerator can wreak havoc with track marks on newly finished hardwood floors.