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Dogs and Brazilian cherry hardwood floors - problem?


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We have a rough collie. If we live in a house which has Brazilian cherry hardwood floors, will he be likely to scratch them?

 

The rental house we are considering in PA has these floors, and I don't want to rent it if the dog will scratch up the floor -- boy would that be expensive to fix.

 

Thanks,

Aileen

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We have a rough collie. If we live in a house which has Brazilian cherry hardwood floors, will he be likely to scratch them?

 

The rental house we are considering in PA has these floors, and I don't want to rent it if the dog will scratch up the floor -- boy would that be expensive to fix.

 

Thanks,

Aileen

We have oak floors throughout the house. They are ones we have put in and finished ourselves. Like it or not they scratch. I have not seen where the dogs scratch them though. it is more a wear thing where chairs are slid in and out and walking areas.

I do know that the floors we have that are finished with water base is much more scratch resistant but not as resistant to water.

I love my hard wood floors.

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Hardwood floors since 1986. Dogs (including a greyhound), cats, children, miscellaneous people of all ages...generally, it's furniture that scratches the floors. Except for the little girl who came to visit and was enthralled by the way the heels of her dressy shoes felt when she walked on them...little half-moon-shaped gouges left behind.:glare:

 

I wouldn't worry about the dogs. Real hardwood floors are beautiful and, well, *hard.*

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The homeowner told me that he asked the current tenants to put felt pads on their chair legs. They didn't. Pulling in and out the chairs scratched the floor some. He said it didn't look bad, but he doesn't want his floors scratched up.

 

That makes me wonder what my dogs claws would do to it.

 

We would have large area rugs in the dining room and living room.

 

The kitchen floor is also the Brazilian cherry, and I would not have a rug in the center of it, where the dog would spend a lot of time lying around.

 

I did find a product that claims to prevent dog's claws from scratching floors. It is a plastic sheath that is glued over the dog's nails.

 

http://www.softclaws.net/default.asp

Edited by RoughCollie
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Well, I sent an email to the homeowner and told him my concerns about the floor.

 

I said if we moved there we would pay to fix any damage we did to the floors to his satisfaction. I asked him what it would cost to replace it, if it came to that. We would rent the house for 4 years, if he will rent it to us.

 

I asked him if there is some extra-resilient coating on it.

 

All I know is he made a big deal about the floor and there is no way I can guarantee that one of us won't scratch it. The floor is throughout the entire house, except the basement t.v. room.

 

I also wonder, but did not mention it to the man, what normal wear and tear is on a floor, from a landlord's perspective.

 

Gee, I can't go around every day freaking out about a floor.

 

The house is great though. Here's the craigslist ad:

 

http://pittsburgh.craigslist.org/apa/1174854117.html

 

The rent is affordable due to the remote location and the house is so pretty it would be a pleasure to live in it.

 

Well, we'll see what the man says. I talked to him for a long time this morning, and he really had a lot to say about that floor. He lives in another state now, and I wish he had taken his floor with him or put Pergo on top of it for renters (Pergo floats above existing floors). Hmmm... maybe I'll suggest that to him. It would save him a lot of anxiety. :D We have Pergo in our house and the type we bought doesn't have a scratch or dent on it after 2 years. It's durability is why we chose it.

 

We could have the dog, even though the ad says no pets, as long as the floor isn't scratched.

Edited by RoughCollie
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If you are willing to pay to repair/refinish the floors, are you willing to put down carpet and then remove it when move out? even the chapest carpet will last 4-5 years. I have no idea, though, if carpet and collies go together, so forgive me if this is a dumb suggestion.

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If you are willing to pay to repair/refinish the floors, are you willing to put down carpet and then remove it when move out? even the chapest carpet will last 4-5 years. I have no idea, though, if carpet and collies go together, so forgive me if this is a dumb suggestion.

 

That's a great idea!

 

Carpets and collies go together just fine. Except for berber -- he learned when he was a puppy that if he pulls a loose end of berber carpet, he can unravel it across the entire room.

 

After that, he used his teeth to pull out his own loose ends.

 

I don't know the room sizes, but we already have a 9 x 12 area rug we can use in the living room. The house doesn't look all that big to me.

 

I could also put lay-in floor tile in the kitchen. It just sits on top of the existing floor. Really, I would not want to spill something on those floors.

 

This is if I can afford to do all that.

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That's a great idea!

 

Carpets and collies go together just fine. Except for berber -- he learned when he was a puppy that if he pulls a loose end of berber carpet, he can unravel it across the entire room.

 

After that, he used his teeth to pull out his own loose ends.

 

I don't know the room sizes, but we already have a 9 x 12 area rug we can use in the living room. The house doesn't look all that big to me.

 

I could also put lay-in floor tile in the kitchen. It just sits on top of the existing floor. Really, I would not want to spill something on those floors.

 

This is if I can afford to do all that.

 

For your dog, would the new grinders that shorten claws reduce the scratching potential by rounding them instead of leaving sharp edges? Alternatively, you could try booties for your dog if he does scratch the floor until you can get rugs for all the floors.

 

Also I remember that my mom used to wax and polish our wood floors twice a year to protect the surface. If the cherry doesn't have the "new" polyurathane finish, which is more durable, waxing may be the way to go.

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Cherry is actually one of the harder woods, but it depends on the quality of the flooring. My dh installed an expensive hardwood laminate and it scratched and dented when the furniture was moved back onto it. :glare: Neither he nor the clients were happy.

 

I think the person who suggested carpet has the best bed. Get some pad and carpet and lay it over the floor, just don't put down tack strips. When you move, pull up the carpet and pad and the floors should be in good shape.

 

That's an expensive floor for a rental, and I would be leery of renting myself with that kind of restriction.

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From your other threads, it sounds like you need a rental lined up and NOW, right? And you're having a hard time finding something? If the guy is willing to ignore his own 'no pets' thing, and you can afford this, I'd snatch it up. Throw down some carpets, stick fuzzy socks on the dog, whatever you have to do. For that matter - does he want a year lease? (nobody did leases where we used to live, but seems everyone does here) if he doesn't have you stuck in a lease, you could take it but keep an eye out for something else, that kinda thing.

 

It's a risk, damage, but it's more of a risk to not have a place to live, right?

 

We have four cats with us right now, so I know all about trying to rent with kids & pets and keeping them (both LOL) from damaging things. Not easy! ;)

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The homeowner told me that he asked the current tenants to put felt pads on their chair legs. They didn't. Pulling in and out the chairs scratched the floor some. He said it didn't look bad, but he doesn't want his floors scratched up.

I should have stock in the company that makes those felt pads. Every leg of every piece of furniture in my house has felt pads. :-)

 

That makes me wonder what my dogs claws would do to it.

 

We would have large area rugs in the dining room and living room.

Well, seems as if there would be a difference between a dog walking around and a furniture leg being dragged across the floor, KWIM?

 

The kitchen floor is also the Brazilian cherry, and I would not have a rug in the center of it, where the dog would spend a lot of time lying around.

If he's lying around, he's not walking, yes? And you could put a rug there.

 

I did find a product that claims to prevent dog's claws from scratching floors. It is a plastic sheath that is glued over the dog's nails.

 

http://www.softclaws.net/default.asp

Looks interesting.

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We have oak harwoods and we have a had a dog for about 4 months now and you can definitely tell where the dog spends the majority of his time. These are not deep scratches that break the surface of the stain and they could easily be buffed out. If I was you, I would take the house (it looks lovely) and put down cheap carpet. You can buy fairly large remnants (10 X 12) relatively cheaply. This would protect the surface of the floor and allow you to relax SOmewhat. All rentals are going to have you worrying about damage somewhat.

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I grind my dog's nails and he still manages to scratch my hardwood floors. We've lived here a little over a year and the floors are horrible. Luckily, we only have hardwood in the foyer, but that's exactly where he's the most excited (when the bell rings, he takes off running into the foyer). We have the majority of the floor covered with rugs, but he still manages to scratch the portions which aren't covered.

Val

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We have a rough collie. If we live in a house which has Brazilian cherry hardwood floors, will he be likely to scratch them?

 

The rental house we are considering in PA has these floors, and I don't want to rent it if the dog will scratch up the floor -- boy would that be expensive to fix.

 

Thanks,

Aileen

 

Brazilian cherry (different from other cherry) is actually one of the hardest woods floors are made of these days. We chose this specifically for our home because of our dogs. Our Border Collie manages to "dent" the floors in her excitement despite the fact that we try to keep her nails pedicured. That said, I cannot imagine what our floors would look like if they were NOT brazilian cherry! :tongue_smilie: (They actually look great. We just know what we're looking for and, therefore, see some consequence to her presence in the house....).

 

Cheap carpet coating, I think, is probably your best option in your particular situation. Happy decision making....

Edited by Sharon in SC
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I'm really sorry you're under all this stress right now. If I had a house in PA, I'd rent it to you with no qualms, dogs, hardwood floors, whatever. :grouphug:

 

I do wonder what kind of landlord puts expensive hardwood in a rental? If I ever rented out a place, I'd put the most durable flooring in as I could then not worry about it. Seems silly to me to put in expensive flooring in a rental property and then get all dithered up about it. It almost seems like a self-fulfilling prophecy that it's not going to be in the condition he wants it in, no matter what.

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RC - you might consider doing things in stages. At first, invest in the tiles for the kitchen and keep the dog in there. Put a baby gate at the door(s) to keep him in there. As you have time and money, invest in inexpensive carpeting for other areas of the house.

 

Is there a fenced yard? Could he spend some of his time in the yard?

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I'm really sorry you're under all this stress right now. If I had a house in PA, I'd rent it to you with no qualms, dogs, hardwood floors, whatever. :grouphug:

 

I do wonder what kind of landlord puts expensive hardwood in a rental? If I ever rented out a place, I'd put the most durable flooring in as I could then not worry about it. Seems silly to me to put in expensive flooring in a rental property and then get all dithered up about it. It almost seems like a self-fulfilling prophecy that it's not going to be in the condition he wants it in, no matter what.

 

My guess is that it was his home and he's had to move. He may also hoping to move back in a few years. This is a very common occurance here and one we went through.

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Well, I sent an email to the homeowner and told him my concerns about the floor.

 

I said if we moved there we would pay to fix any damage we did to the floors to his satisfaction. I asked him what it would cost to replace it, if it came to that. We would rent the house for 4 years, if he will rent it to us.

 

I asked him if there is some extra-resilient coating on it.

 

All I know is he made a big deal about the floor and there is no way I can guarantee that one of us won't scratch it. The floor is throughout the entire house, except the basement t.v. room.

 

I also wonder, but did not mention it to the man, what normal wear and tear is on a floor, from a landlord's perspective.

 

Gee, I can't go around every day freaking out about a floor.

 

The house is great though. Here's the craigslist ad:

 

http://pittsburgh.craigslist.org/apa/1174854117.html

 

The rent is affordable due to the remote location and the house is so pretty it would be a pleasure to live in it.

 

Well, we'll see what the man says. I talked to him for a long time this morning, and he really had a lot to say about that floor. He lives in another state now, and I wish he had taken his floor with him or put Pergo on top of it for renters (Pergo floats above existing floors). Hmmm... maybe I'll suggest that to him. It would save him a lot of anxiety. :D We have Pergo in our house and the type we bought doesn't have a scratch or dent on it after 2 years. It's durability is why we chose it.

 

We could have the dog, even though the ad says no pets, as long as the floor isn't scratched.

 

Just thought... if you do take this house, no matter what you do about the dog's nails, take pictures of ALL the flooring before you move anything at all into the house.

 

Your post makes me think that this guy might be super fussy about the floor no matter what you do, so document it's move-in condition just to be safe.

 

P.S. I'd do the carpet thing.

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We have a rough collie. If we live in a house which has Brazilian cherry hardwood floors, will he be likely to scratch them?

 

The rental house we are considering in PA has these floors, and I don't want to rent it if the dog will scratch up the floor -- boy would that be expensive to fix.

 

Thanks,

Aileen

 

Just curious - the may have been addressed in another response - but I noticed the craigslist post mentioned No Pets. Obviously, he is willing to make a concession????

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why can't the dog stay out side all the time?

 

I have never been able to understand people having animals in their house. If I had a rental house I would not allow pets, just because of the mess they do to a house.

 

He is a house dog. He has never done anything to my house in 6.5 years. This is a well-trained pedigreed collie, mild tempered, smart as a whip, a lovely animal.

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Just thought... if you do take this house, no matter what you do about the dog's nails, take pictures of ALL the flooring before you move anything at all into the house.

 

Your post makes me think that this guy might be super fussy about the floor no matter what you do, so document it's move-in condition just to be safe.

 

P.S. I'd do the carpet thing.

 

We have large area rugs (9 x 12), so I'd definitely use those. I am going to document how the floor looks with my video camera. This guy is a lawyer, so I can't be too careful. :D

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I do wonder what kind of landlord puts expensive hardwood in a rental? If I ever rented out a place, I'd put the most durable flooring in as I could then not worry about it. Seems silly to me to put in expensive flooring in a rental property and then get all dithered up about it. It almost seems like a self-fulfilling prophecy that it's not going to be in the condition he wants it in, no matter what.

 

This was his family's home, not an investor-owned property. He & his family moved to another state.

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RC - you might consider doing things in stages. At first, invest in the tiles for the kitchen and keep the dog in there. Put a baby gate at the door(s) to keep him in there. As you have time and money, invest in inexpensive carpeting for other areas of the house.

 

Is there a fenced yard? Could he spend some of his time in the yard?

 

No fence; 2 acre yard with stream and woods. Kitchen and dining room areas are combined into one large room. I'm not sure how the floor plan is because I've never seen the house.

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We have a rough collie. If we live in a house which has Brazilian cherry hardwood floors, will he be likely to scratch them?

 

The rental house we are considering in PA has these floors, and I don't want to rent it if the dog will scratch up the floor -- boy would that be expensive to fix.

 

Thanks,

Aileen

 

Are you still actively selling books or are you on hold? I'd love to add to our own library.

Maybe you could post the link for your bookstore.

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