do you think laminate flooring cheapens a house?

[Perry]

How are you caring for your dog's nails and feet? Keeping nails short and using a dremel to smooth them would help, if you aren't already doing that.

[DarlaS]

You could always just cover most of each room with some of this:

 

http://www.flor.com/

 

You can go to the walls with it if you want to, and it's in about 20" squares which easily lift up for cleaning if necessary.

[hsmom]

Now I just found this site you can get 5 free samples for each order with free shipping on different flooring. This way you can test it to scratches yourself. Now you can make more than one order, but you have to check out after 5 samples to get the free shipping each time.

[nd293]

One thing to consider is that with laminate flooring, you're "floating" the floor, so you won't be affecting the maple floor underneath. In other words, when you sell, the maple floor will still be there, intact, for anyone who prefers it to laminate.

 

Laminate flooring is very resistant, and certainly more so than timber, but it can scratch. We've just put down laminated flooring, and I dragged a mattress across the floor, without realising a screw had slipped under it - the weight of the (King sized) mattress, on top of the screw did scratch the floor.

 

Laminate flooring seems to be an acceptable option in expensive modern homes - I am not sure about in expensive older style homes, though.

 

Remember to go with the most expensive underlay you can afford. We have put down much cheaper laminate floor than a friend, but we opted for the more expensive underlay, and our floor "sounds" much better.

[Lisa R.]

If you have solid wood floors, please keep them. They add to the value and character of your home.

 

If I was in your shoes, I would talk to someone about refinishing your floors with a distressed look and 2-3 coats of good polyurethane. The distressed flooring looks great and is so forgiving. This should be cheaper than replacing or covering all the flooring, and you'll still have the real wood. Also, I don't recommend a shiny finish as they are harder to keep looking good.

 

Maybe a floor specialist could give you a sample of distressed maple boards with the polyurethane and try your dog out on it. See how it holds up.

 

*Keep your wood!*

[Spryte]

We have expensive laminate (we could have had hardwood for the price!) but we chose it for the scratching reasons... We've had it on one level for 4 years, and it looks great. We just installed it throughout the rest of the house last year. Still looks great.

 

We have 2 dogs, with chronically long toe nails. :) No scratches.

 

Our house is on the modern side, though. The style works.

 

Oh ... This might be of interest ... We had a plumbing fiasco last year, and had to replace not quite half of our living room floor (3 years old, at the time) - when the contractor finished, it was impossible to tell the old floor from the new, so it really did hold up well.

[Audrey]

 

I vacuum daily, dust mop 1 - 2 times per day, wash floors weekly. I need something to stand up to all of that AND two large dogs.

 

 

And you had the AUDACITY to mock my window cleaning?? :tongue_smilie: ;) :lol:

[KungFuPanda]

Take the price of installing laminate, moving the original floor upstairs, and replacing the downstairs wood before selling

 

and compare it to

 

The price of putting the laminate OVER the wood and installing whatever you want upstairs, and refinishing the original wood before selling.

 

 

 

Having those numbers to compare could make your decision easier.

 

I own a greyhound mix and understand that training is not an option :D

[8circles]

If you have solid wood floors, please keep them. They add to the value and character of your home.

 

If I was in your shoes, I would talk to someone about refinishing your floors with a distressed look and 2-3 coats of good polyurethane. The distressed flooring looks great and is so forgiving. This should be cheaper than replacing or covering all the flooring, and you'll still have the real wood. Also, I don't recommend a shiny finish as they are harder to keep looking good.

 

Maybe a floor specialist could give you a sample of distressed maple boards with the polyurethane and try your dog out on it. See how it holds up.

 

*Keep your wood!*

 

:iagree:I like laminate - but not if you already have good wood floors. I agree with Lisa here.

[Sandra in FL]

Don't know about the dogs scratching the floors, but I just about salivated at the bamboo laminate flooring I saw last week at Costco. 50 year life (I'd be dead by then) and soooo beautiful. I can dream, can't I?

 

We have some 25 year laminate in the bedrooms and with hardly any wear after 9 years.

[gingersmom]

I have lived in 2 homes with wood floors and dogs (german shepherd, norwegian elkhound, 60 pound mixes) and my floors looked fine. No rugs, nothing.

 

My current home is about 50 years old and I am fairly certain these are the original floors in the house. They look amazing even with my 50 pound puppy chasing toys all over the floor.

[StephanieZ]

I put in cheaper laminate (still 2k or so for two rooms) in a home (that I knew we'd only be in for a few years and is a cheap home), and they didn't hold up perfectly. The did not scratch (we had FIVE medium to large indoor dogs at the time), but some of the seams rose a bit, presumably from water that my housekeeper was mopping with. That said, we still own that home (rent it out), and the floors actually still look great when I have been in the house, so the bit of seam rising that I had seen must have been really minor. The renters have 2 large dogs, and the floors have been in for 6 years of heavy use now.

 

Our current home had brand new laminate flooring in most of the first floor when we bought it 3 years ago. With our 4 big dogs, constant traffic, shoes in the house, crazy kid antics constantly . . . the floors are PERFECT. Now, I did put the kibosh on the mopping with a wet mop when we moved in here (my housekeeper damp mops with a spray bottle only), so that presumably helps. There is NOT ONE SCRATCH or damage ANYWHERE. It is simply amazing.

 

However, when I thought about adding another room or two of that flooring, I found that it is the very high end. $4 - $5 per square foot in material alone! (Compared to around $2 for a lot of laminates, and as cheap as $1 for really cheap stuff.)

 

Soooo, I haven't yet extended the reach of the laminate, lol.

 

Contrast that to the hardwood floors we had in our prior two homes. Brand new in both cases. Prefinished oak (supposedly a harder finish than site finished). In both cases, the floors looked like cr@p within a year -- and that was when we only had two dogs and tiny kids instead of big, crazy kids and double the dogs! Yoikes. I miss wood. I love it. It is just better. But, I have accepted that it isn't practical for us until the kids leave for college and we are down to one or maybe two dogs.

[Laura Corin]

As your house has period features, could you get a flooring that is designed to look pre-aged? The reason I ask: when we moved in our house had pine boards in two of the rooms. They had previously been stained but the stain had partially rubbed off over time. They now look worn but in a 'washed jeans' kind of way. Any scratches would be absolutely invisible. We have a dog.

 

Laura

[eternalknot]

Would the laminate be out of place? Would it prevent a sale, should we need to sell? When you open our front door, most of the entire first floor is visible right at the entry. So this laminate would be a very ........... it would be everywhere.

 

If you were looking at a pretty expensive home, would the laminate flooring bother you? FWIW, we have a farm, live on a dirt road, have a dirt driveway. So having EASY flooring for anyone in this home would be important, I would imagine. I'm not sure many people would buy a farm and not have dogs. :confused:

 

I can't speak for other buyers, but laminate -if it's noticeable- would be a deal-breaker for me; at the very least, it would be something I'd factor into my offer as far as needing to replace it (even if it was new). This would especially be true in "a pretty expensive" home.

 

Not all laminate is noticeable, though. If you went with higher quality, I might be okay with that. What I don't care for is the obvious laminate look and feel.

 

Generally speaking I'm not a fan of hardwood flooring. so that bias comes into play, too. :)

[Lolly]

I would buying your home with laminate flooring only after figuring in the cost of replacing the flooring. Sil's small dog who visits has scratched the floors here much more than our large dog who lives here. Just different temperments, not a lot to do with weights. ;) I like real wood. I have yet to meet a laminate floor that I liked. Of course, I may not have realized it was laminate... They just don't look real to me. They sound hollow. I would prefer a scratched wood. If I were living in your house, I would leave it and have the floors refinished if we decided to sell. Perhaps your problem is that the floors aren't scratched enough yet.:D Once the dogs are finished with it in several years, it should have a nice distressed look that you could pay someone to put on for you now...

[Cera]

We have wood floors and a dog. I gave in and learned to cut her nails which I now do once a week or so. As long as I keep them really short she doesn't scratch the floors.

 

I wouldn't replace wood with laminate.

 

 

eta: Or you could try something like this:

 

http://www.softpaws.net/

 

My grandparents use them on their cats to prevent furniture damage.

[vettechmomof2]

consider the noise factor--I can't stand the sound of dog claws on laminate--it is LOUD!

 

then the dogs nails are too long.

 

We have laminate in the kitchen and dining room in our house, some carpet with PA bluestone in our living room.

We cannot wait to get rid of the rest of the carpet for more laminate and blue stone.

We have large dogs 100 lbs, 125 lbs and various foster dogs of 100+ lbs. There is no damage by the dogs that you can see. It is easy to clean and care for.

[Chris in VA]

I've heard a dog's nails should be kept trim so they do not contact the floor when he is standing. Are your dogs' nails that short? It might help.

 

I'd stick with the hardwood but have them redone. Enjoy it--have it redone when you want to sell, too.

 

And, although crass, I have to ask--how old are your dogs?

[LaxMom]

I'm a hardwood girl. If I were buying a house and it had carpet or laminate, I would plan on having to replace the floors, and therefore the cost of doing so would reflect on how much I was willing to pay for the home.

 

Me, too. And if it was laminate throughout - or the entire main level - it would be a complete no.

 

We have 150 year old pine floors that are original to the house, with the exception of the kitchen and laundry room. The kitchen had vinyl crap on the floor - it has been replaced by cork. There is a little wear next to the door, but that is the main door we use and we have a dog and three kids running through it with sandy shoes all day long... We did NOT finish it properly when we installed it (don't ask), and I am really not good about keeping up the floor. Re-sealing it is on my to-do list after I finish staining the front porch.

 

When we were considering cork, I was concerned about dog toenails, and other stuff. I found this, which I thought was pretty interesting:

Depending on traffic and the finish, apply a fresh coat of finish every five to 10 years. The key is to restore the finish before it wears through. Doing so will give help your floor endure — the original cork floor installed in 1890 in the First Congregational Church in Chicago is still in use today.

 

 

It is also warm, soft under foot and actually much, much quieter than wood.

[Denisemomof4]

If you have solid wood floors, please keep them. They add to the value and character of your home.

 

If I was in your shoes, I would talk to someone about refinishing your floors with a distressed look and 2-3 coats of good polyurethane. The distressed flooring looks great and is so forgiving. This should be cheaper than replacing or covering all the flooring, and you'll still have the real wood. Also, I don't recommend a shiny finish as they are harder to keep looking good.

 

Maybe a floor specialist could give you a sample of distressed maple boards with the polyurethane and try your dog out on it. See how it holds up.

 

*Keep your wood!*

 

you know, this is a very good idea. The 15k estimate we got (which I know was under priced because I got the dimensions wrong) was or a distressed floor.

 

I have decided that at a minimum we're going to resand the floors ourselves (we paid to have our floors done 5 years ago with two coats of poly, but I'm certain the guy didn't do things right because they started to chip 2 years afterwards) and I'm going to try waterlok and heavy duty waxing. That will buy me a few more years.

 

I haven't read the last three pages since I logged off last night (am going to now) but this thread has been SO helpful. Thanks everyone!!!

[Denisemomof4]

And you had the AUDACITY to mock my window cleaning??

 

WINDOW CLEANING EVERY SUNDAY? :svengo:

 

:smilielol5::smilielol5::smilielol5:

 

I assume that once people hear how many animals I have in the home, they expect smell and filth. I'm SO anal about keeping my floors clean because of this. Also, I really do love walking around with white socks and have them still white at the end of the day.:rolleyes: Well, *I* can't, I *must* wear something on my feet, but my kids can. :001_smile:

 

I'll come wash your floors every week and you come clean my windows every week. I think that's fair.;):tongue_smilie:

[DarlaS]

you know, this is a very good idea. The 15k estimate we got (which I know was under priced because I got the dimensions wrong) was or a distressed floor.

 

I have decided that at a minimum we're going to resand the floors ourselves (we paid to have our floors done 5 years ago with two coats of poly, but I'm certain the guy didn't do things right because they started to chip 2 years afterwards) and I'm going to try waterlok and heavy duty waxing. That will buy me a few more years.

 

I haven't read the last three pages since I logged off last night (am going to now) but this thread has been SO helpful. Thanks everyone!!!

 

If you do go the refinishing route, seriously look into those flor carpet tiles. They are perfect for placing just about anywhere (no adhesive, but they do not slip around), and will protect your floors. Unlike typical rugs, they can be oddly configured and still look normal.

 

Here's a pic I found of someone using them in an L shaped hallway (I would have used them two across and gotten closer to the walls):

 

 

ETA: Looks like hickory flooring. :drool5:

[Denisemomof4]

 

I own a greyhound mix and understand that training is not an option :D

 

:lol::lol::lol:Had I never owned a greyhound myself, I would NEVER understand.

 

If we did try laminate downstairs, because of this thread it would go over the maple. We'd install it ourselves. But because of this thread, I realize exactly why I've always been so undecided. I may consider distressing the floors ourselves.

 

Our kitchen cabinets will be delivered today so I'll be distracted for the next few weeks. I'll also be thankful that we have our OLD floors to care for as the workers walk all around on them, in and out, dragging in dirt and grit with them.:glare:

[Denisemomof4]

I would buying your home with laminate flooring only after figuring in the cost of replacing the flooring. Sil's small dog who visits has scratched the floors here much more than our large dog who lives here. Just different temperments, not a lot to do with weights. ;) I like real wood. I have yet to meet a laminate floor that I liked. Of course, I may not have realized it was laminate... They just don't look real to me. They sound hollow. I would prefer a scratched wood. If I were living in your house, I would leave it and have the floors refinished if we decided to sell. Perhaps your problem is that the floors aren't scratched enough yet.:D Once the dogs are finished with it in several years, it should have a nice distressed look that you could pay someone to put on for you now...

 

ok, I was going to stop replying so much, but I just HAD to reply to this. It made me:lol::lol::lol:

[Denisemomof4]

I've heard a dog's nails should be kept trim so they do not contact the floor when he is standing. Are your dogs' nails that short? It might help.

 

I'd stick with the hardwood but have them redone. Enjoy it--have it redone when you want to sell, too.

 

And, although crass, I have to ask--how old are your dogs?

 

For everyone asking, I don't keep the nails short enough. Trimmed, yes, short - no. If nails were white where I could see the quick, I'd be fine. It's the black nails that I have a problem with. I used to use a dremmel tool on them until it broke. Now dh trims them but I know they need to be shorter.

 

My dogs are 14.5, 10 and 8. Why is that crass? The greyhound, though, is VERY OCD and he truly can NOT be trained. Poor dog lived in a cage and raced at a track until 3.5 years old. He mostly relaxes here but he does run and cause damage. He gets SO excited when we have visitors or hears trucks/cars.

[Denisemomof4]

If you do go the refinishing route, seriously look into those flor carpet tiles. They are perfect for placing just about anywhere (no adhesive, but they do not slip around), and will protect your floors. Unlike typical rugs, they can be oddly configured and still look normal.

 

Here's a pic I found of someone using them in an L shaped hallway (I would have used them two across and gotten closer to the walls):

 

 

ETA: Looks like hickory flooring. :drool5:

 

ok, here is my problem. This is why you can't use those runners OR keep the dogs confined and off my wood flooring.

 

When you open the front door of my home, you see a massive space which is 36 x 25, ALL maple flooring. Towards the end of that and in the middle is the granite hearth and wood floor right in the middle. At the back of one end you see the kitchen and addition. On the other end you don't see, from the front door, the bathroom/office/pantry. Behind the granite hearth is the stairway going upstairs, and a floor to ceiling stone wall.

 

I have on both ends of the 36 foot area, large area rugs. It truly would look SO TACKY to have a HUGE rectangle, then have runners of any type between them or going around. It simply wouldn't look nice. Not to mention that ANY carpet or covering of ANY type (even transparent plastic) will make the maple flooring darker beneath it. If we moved the carpet, the floor would look bad /darker. Also, the dogs live with us. If I kept them in the back room, the addition, they'd be there with us as we school during the day. When we were in the living room to relax or watch tv, I couldn't keep them out back. I just couldn't.

 

I haven't found soft paws for LARGE dogs yet but I'm still trying.

 

So runners of any type just would not work. I have the two area rugs on either side sort of defining the space. To be honest, I totally want to do away with area rugs altogether.

[DarlaS]

I haven't found soft paws for LARGE dogs yet but I'm still trying.

 

So runners of any type just would not work. I have the two area rugs on either side sort of defining the space. To be honest, I totally want to do away with area rugs altogether.

 

I hate area rugs too. I'd do flor though if it weren't for the darkening issue. That would deter me from the product also.

 

We have it over our laminate in some areas, and I'm hoping to go almost to the walls with it when we do the master bedroom. Dh wants carpet in there. This (Flor over the laminate) is my compromise. We'll get the fluffy stuff for in there.

 

I hate carpet. The laminate in our house replaced carpet. If they had that neat engineered stuff on the market then, we would have bought that instead. I did it because it was cheap ($1.25 sf) and I figured I'd replace it eventually.

 

It would take a long time for the cost of frequent professional nail trimming to approach the cost of floors. Most vets charge $5-$10. It'd be a nuisance though. (My dogs both need theirs done right now--and they hate it!) I don't like driving around with dogs in the car. One sheds like a fiend and the other has a major licking problem. :tongue_smilie:

 

What kind cabinets did you get? Are you going to post pictures?

[Denisemomof4]

I hate area rugs too. I'd do flor though if it weren't for the darkening issue. That would deter me from the product also.

 

We have it over our laminate in some areas, and I'm hoping to go almost to the walls with it when we do the master bedroom. Dh wants carpet in there. This (Flor over the laminate) is my compromise. We'll get the fluffy stuff for in there.

 

I hate carpet. The laminate in our house replaced carpet. If they had that neat engineered stuff on the market then, we would have bought that instead. I did it because it was cheap ($1.25 sf) and I figured I'd replace it eventually.

 

It would take a long time for the cost of frequent professional nail trimming to approach the cost of floors. Most vets charge $5-$10. It'd be a nuisance though. (My dogs both need theirs done right now--and they hate it!) I don't like driving around with dogs in the car. One sheds like a fiend and the other has a major licking problem. :tongue_smilie:

 

What kind cabinets did you get? Are you going to post pictures?

 

cherry cabinets. Going to pick granite slabs out at the granite yard next week or the following. I can't wait to get that done! Once I have the granite in place, only then will I pick out tile for the back splash, hardware and lighting.

 

I'm already exhausted.:tongue_smilie: We had an addition put on last year that took 8 months. I'm thankful the remodel won't take as long!

 

I think I'll get all my dog's nails done and then keep up with the dremmel. I'll just go get another.

 

We have GOT to rip out the carpet in our bedroom. Dh is so overwhelmed with all the projects we've had to do (most dealing with our farm!) that he can't think of it right now. We have a HUGE, HEAVY armoire to move out, on top of disassembling the king sized bed and Sleep Number, not to mention the other furniture pieces. Still, I can't wait to get that carpet OUT of there! I'm with you - NO CARPETS!!!

[Perry]

 

When you open the front door of my home, you see a massive space which is 36 x 25, ALL maple flooring. Towards the end of that and in the middle is the granite hearth and wood floor right in the middle. At the back of one end you see the kitchen and addition. On the other end you don't see, from the front door, the bathroom/office/pantry. Behind the granite hearth is the stairway going upstairs, and a floor to ceiling stone wall.

Your house sounds beautiful! I'd love to see a picture. :)

[LisaKinVA]

If I had to refinish my floors, this is what I'd do. Laminate would be okay in the basement, but not throughout the house. The difference in the value for our house between carptet/vinyl/laminate vs. hardwood (finish-wise) is about $18,000.

 

In some other areas, the "hit" to the value of the house would not be as great, but where we are, it makes a difference. We opted for the hardwood... 3/4" x 5" Maple, pre-finished... $4.04/sqft. delivered (we're doing the installation). Carpet (installed) would cost us about $3.50/sqft. The difference comes in that appraisal value for the carpet is about $4/sqft. and the appraisal value for hardwood here (large planks) is usually over $8.00/sq. ft.

 

I just couldn't see replacing a high-value floor with a low-value floor (money-wise). So, since we have 5 kids... and probably a dog on the way... I've just resigned myself to re-finishing the floors using Mr. Sandless (linked above) if I need to make them "shine" to sell... and otherwise just make do.

[Amy loves Bud]

Have you considered refunishing your existing floors and having them hand scraped? Less expensive than replacing, true hardwood, and dogs can't do any visible damage.

[Happy]

In my short time as a real estate agent, I've seen both laminate and hardwood homes sell quickly. It depends on the house. In your case, I'd go hardwoods all the way. Hardwoods are almost always desired...even if they are not practical for the family moving in. :D

 

I like your idea of refinishing them yourselves. I also love the idea of adding distressing and hand scraping. If you can't beat 'em, join 'em. ;)

 

Live in your house. Do what you love. Deal with getting it ready to sell when and IF that time comes.

[Ellie]

:hurray:

 

We're going to be getting a Rhodesian Ridgeback and currently have a 70 lb greyhound. I need something to stand up to them.

We also had a greyhound and hardwood floors. The floors were just fine.

 

I'm wondering whether your floors were properly finished or not. :001_huh:

[Suzanne115]

We started out wanting to replace our carpet with hardwood floors. However, we have two standard poodles that live in the house. Getting rid of them or keeping them off the floors was not an option for us.

 

We went with a nice laminate. We have had it for about 5 years and it still looks brand new!

 

If you get the nicer laminate, I think you'll be happy. It isn't quite as pretty as real hardwood, but it is durable and long lasting.

 

Suzanne

[Denisemomof4]

Your house sounds beautiful! I'd love to see a picture. :)

 

I've tried SO MANY TIMES to link pictures here! Dh is a software engineer and HE has even tried to link them. We always get a message that the file is too large, even when we reconfigure them. I've finally given up. I will be irked once again at Christmas time when everyone posts their Christmas/family photos and I can't.:glare:

 

If I had to refinish my floors, this is what I'd do. Laminate would be okay in the basement, but not throughout the house. The difference in the value for our house between carptet/vinyl/laminate vs. hardwood (finish-wise) is about $18,000.

 

In some other areas, the "hit" to the value of the house would not be as great, but where we are, it makes a difference. We opted for the hardwood... 3/4" x 5" Maple, pre-finished... $4.04/sqft. delivered (we're doing the installation). Carpet (installed) would cost us about $3.50/sqft. The difference comes in that appraisal value for the carpet is about $4/sqft. and the appraisal value for hardwood here (large planks) is usually over $8.00/sq. ft.

 

I just couldn't see replacing a high-value floor with a low-value floor (money-wise). So, since we have 5 kids... and probably a dog on the way... I've just resigned myself to re-finishing the floors using Mr. Sandless (linked above) if I need to make them "shine" to sell... and otherwise just make do.

 

 

yeah, I've pretty much decided against laminate downstairs because of the type of house we have, and because of this thread. BUT, because of this thread, I've pretty much decided to try them in our bedroom upstairs. I'm telling you, the laminate I saw this weekend was SO beautiful. I had NO idea that it wasn't real wood!

 

Thanks for the Sandless link! I will consider that.

 

Have you considered refunishing your existing floors and having them hand scraped? Less expensive than replacing, true hardwood, and dogs can't do any visible damage.

 

Due to this thread, YES! I need to check into hand scraping/distressing. I've been looking at my wood floors all day. If the scratching didn't take off the polyeurothane, I'm wondering just how visible those scratches would be. If we refinish them, I will NOT be putting poly on them. I've been looking into sanding and refinishing them with other products for about 5 years now.

 

 

 

 

In my short time as a real estate agent, I've seen both laminate and hardwood homes sell quickly. It depends on the house. In your case, I'd go hardwoods all the way. Hardwoods are almost always desired...even if they are not practical for the family moving in. :D

 

I like your idea of refinishing them yourselves. I also love the idea of adding distressing and hand scraping. If you can't beat 'em, join 'em. ;)

 

Live in your house. Do what you love. Deal with getting it ready to sell when and IF that time comes.

 

I hate the thought of selling. I have to be prepared, because this economy is REALLY SCARY.

 

We also had a greyhound and hardwood floors. The floors were just fine.

 

I'm wondering whether your floors were properly finished or not. :001_huh:

 

they may not have been finished right. They were sanded and had 2 coats of poly, and they' should have lasted a LOT longer than they have.

 

We started out wanting to replace our carpet with hardwood floors. However, we have two standard poodles that live in the house. Getting rid of them or keeping them off the floors was not an option for us.

 

We went with a nice laminate. We have had it for about 5 years and it still looks brand new!

 

If you get the nicer laminate, I think you'll be happy. It isn't quite as pretty as real hardwood, but it is durable and long lasting.

 

Suzanne

 

Like I said, we will likely be trying laminate in the bedroom. I do believe it's just as pretty as wood! I honestly couldn't tell it WASN'T wood!

[KungFuPanda]

:lol::lol::lol:Had I never owned a greyhound myself, I would NEVER understand.

 

 

I like how all of these people suggest that you can just trim their nails . . .like they've never seen a dog who is pathologically afraid of nail clippers . . . .or dremmel tools . . . .

 

 

Or floors for that matter.

 

My dog is 'special'

[Laurie4b]

We have laminate flooring. My dad lives in a old house with the beams, etc. I think it would seriously detract from the appeal of your particular home to put laminate flooring over the wood. I am guessing most buyers would feel like they needed to tear it up and refinish what's underneath.

 

Laminate scratches you can't fix in any way that I know of.

[ktgrok]

We have laminate and big dogs. They have not scratched it, but tore the heck out of the wood floors in the last place. However, it has scratched badly where my computer chair is, so put down those plastic pads in those areas. The dog hair clogs up the wheels of the chair, so it drags instead of rolls, lol.

[Amy in NH]

Blech. I don't like laminate flooring. I would much rather buy a house with real wood floors that are all scratched up by dog claws, knowing that I can refinish them myself and make them beautiful again, than a house with laminate floors.

 

JMHO.

[DarlaS]

I like how all of these people suggest that you can just trim their nails . . .like they've never seen a dog who is pathologically afraid of nail clippers . . . .or dremmel tools . . . .

 

 

Or floors for that matter.

 

My dog is 'special'

 

 

Actually, I suggested she get someone else to do it. It kinda has to be done anyway & if they're going to be awful about it, a veterinarian or professional groomer at least knows how to do it without getting bitten.

 

My husky, at the ripe old age of 6.5, is finally improving in this area. (Her toenails are thick and hard to cut. Poor girl.) At least she has more restraint than any cat I've ever dealt with. She hasn't nipped at me. Much. :tongue_smilie: