OES and Hardwood floors
I'm in the process of installing prefinished 3/4 in. oak flooring throughout the house. I am told that water will ruin the finish (I presume that's if left standing). 1)What do you guys do with your sheepies when they come in the house all wet from being out in the rain? 2)What do you do about them walking through the house with water dripping from their beard after they've taken a drink? Any suggestions will be greatly appreciated. Right now they pretty much have the run of the house. I have a slate floor in the large country kitchen and adjoining entry foyer, where they stay until I towel them off, but since the rest of the house is presently plywood underlayment, I don't worry about a little water. |
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| Is it solid 3/4 oak, or is it 3/4 inch wood with a thin veneer on top?
Either way, water and toenail scratches will surely ruin the finish, as will any urine accidents. With solid oak you'll be able to refinish it a couple of times; with veneer probably not at all. I think once the surface is scratched enough by the toenails, water will ruin the surface even if you get it up quickly. If you put down 7 layers of a hard polyurethane and re-coat every year maybe you've got a fighting chance. 
I suggest runners and area rugs for the sheepdog traffic areas! Runners with rubber backs for utility, and area rugs with no backing for amusement!  |
| Yep, it's the real stuff - solid oak, no veneer, parquet, etc. I'm not too worried about some scratches (that will give it character!) and I plan on putting a runner in the hall, where they typically do their running, and some rubber backed mats in the bedroom where they usually sleep. |
George other than the kitchen and hall areas I have solid oak and had them apply extra finish for protection as I had a GSD at the time and after 2 1/2 years they are still fine, as for a drippy beard I just wipe her chin for her  |
| Remember to move the rubber or latex backed rugs frequently as they can stain the floor underneath. This is an even greater concern for vinyl floors.......like kitchens, bathrooms and laundrys. |
| We chose laminate to avoid all the wood problems. I guess it's too late for that now though, huh? I do keep a dry mop at the ready for when they come in just to get the moisture off immediately. Will any moisture kill the finish or just more standing moisture/water? |
| Are you allowed to re-coat your laminate with poly?
Another layer (or 6) of protection will keep the water from getting to the wood. |
| Do you mean to fill in the cracks between the planks? I don't know. I think the wettest it gets is when I actually wash it, which is with a really dry mop, just to get the mud up. Well, except yesterday when someone sent the water bowl flying from the kitchen into the dining room, but luckily those incidents are few and far between. |
| We just put in a laminate floor in the den and I was told hot water and vinegar by the guy who sold us the floor.....(supposedly it does something to the finish itself??) We were given a 10 year scratch resistant guarantee....they aren't going to be happy when they hear us calling them back by next January... lol
We use pledge wipes on a swifter mop..... Rugs are inevitable.....(sigh) |
| We have put extra polish on the floors, and I have moved the water bowl downstairs where we have tile on the floor, Mollys nails are always really short, and I always cut the hair between her toes, and I’m really fond of doggiboots when it is wet and muddy outside, but if I could have chosen what to put on the floor all over again, I would have put tile in the whole house..
Because it will show that it’s an OES house on the floor... |
We just moved into a new house 6 months ago and our finicky builder would PASS OUT if he saw our cherry floors!!!  Our last house had oak floors, so we knew what to expect. One hundred and twelve pounds of crazy sheepdog tends to leave a few skid marks......
We have cherry for most of our main floor, including the laundry room. Rugs, rugs, rugs everywhere, including under Oscar's food and water bowls. He gets his face wiped after he drinks, but the rug under the bowl does catch some of it. He also gets a wipedown in the laundry room if it's rainy, or snowy out, and then I wipe up the floor when I'm done with him. That's about it. My floors look fine, except for all of the divots!
Oscar's Mom - Laurie |
| We're going to be building a house in the next year.
We're putting 1" oak floors throughout, which is pretty standard in our area. It already has a bit of a distressed look, so the dogs shouldn't be too hard on it. We're going with a dark stain too. |
| Thank guys for all your replies, helpful hints and warnings what to expect.
Guest wrote Quote: My floors look fine, except for all of the divots!
I'm told those add "character" to the new floors... I can't wait!
Incidentally, did I tell you all I'm planning to do the installation myself?  |
Anonymous wrote: It already has a bit of a distressed look, so the dogs shouldn't be too hard on it. ROFL
There's a difference between distressed and freaked out! LOL |
| Hi George,
My house has oak floors throughout, except in the kitchen. My family also owns a large construction company in NYC. My suggestion is to spend your money on a commercial grade polyurethane, i.e. for school gyms and high traffic commercial areas. Use a minimum of 3 to 4 coats over 3 to 4 days and better if you can do it when the humidity is low. Re-urethane the floors one coat every 18 months or so until you've got to re-sand them, because of the urethane buildup. I am in my house 15 years and just re-sanded my floors for the first time 2 years ago. I have 2 sheepies, 2 cats and a husband that does not remove his work boats (plus my high heels!!) and my floors always look great. I find that because my floors are heavily sealed that a little bit of water, i.e. from a dripping sheepie or wet feet, just sits on top until I can mop it up. I LOVE my floors!! PS You will have to go to a contractors flooring supply house to find this type of urethane. Your local specialty paint store my also be able to order it for you. |
I Dream Of Sheepie wrote: We just put in a laminate floor in the den and I was told hot water and vinegar by the guy who sold us the floor.....(supposedly it does something to the finish itself??) We were given a 10 year scratch resistant guarantee....they aren't going to be happy when they hear us calling them back by next January... lol
We use pledge wipes on a swifter mop..... Rugs are inevitable.....(sigh) Do you have scratches? Ours is seemingly indestructible, even with 3 big dogs sliding all over it all the time. It was the best home improvement we've ever made. I love it! I've found everyone has a different suggestion for how to clean laminate. Our guy told us all we needed was water but it seemed streaky to me. I looked up other ways to clean it and found all kind of suggestions, from the one you mentioned to Windex (which I tried and it worked great but Windexing a floor takes some time!) and then others say to never get them wet. Who knows? I like the Swiffer WetJet for everyday cleanups and then hot water with a few drops of PineSol for serious cleaning. |
| At least your floors are oak. We had pine wood floors we had just refinished before the sheepie pups arrived. In about six months, they looked awful. Lots of running and big nails did not do the floors any favors at all.
We did some research and were just too chicken to risk something that did not last. We put down ceramic tile. It has a nice texture so it is not slippery. We also got to put in the electric heat grids underneath which are wonderful. On a side note and someone has already mentioned it, use a good polyurethane, a two part is better according to a friend who does this more. We used Minwax polyurethane, a one step type, and it did not hold up at all. Some of the better ones are two part and harder to work with, but will protect your investment better. I would think water would not be an issue if you went that way. Good Luck! |
ButtersStotch wrote: I Dream Of Sheepie wrote: We just put in a laminate floor in the den and I was told hot water and vinegar by the guy who sold us the floor.....(supposedly it does something to the finish itself??) We were given a 10 year scratch resistant guarantee....they aren't going to be happy when they hear us calling them back by next January... lol We use pledge wipes on a swifter mop..... Rugs are inevitable.....(sigh) Do you have scratches? Ours is seemingly indestructible, even with 3 big dogs sliding all over it all the time. It was the best home improvement we've ever made. I love it! I've found everyone has a different suggestion for how to clean laminate. Our guy told us all we needed was water but it seemed streaky to me. I looked up other ways to clean it and found all kind of suggestions, from the one you mentioned to Windex (which I tried and it worked great but Windexing a floor takes some time!) and then others say to never get them wet. Who knows? I like the Swiffer WetJet for everyday cleanups and then hot water with a few drops of PineSol for serious cleaning. We have not one scratch but the floor is new. So far no complaints over here but I am worried in the long run. We swifter the floor with pledge wood cleaning wipes and I cleaned the floor with murphy oil soap two times thus far....It looks really nice with little to no streaking......I guess it depends on the company and type of laminate itself. George...you are installing it yourself??? two words.....GOOD LUCK!! |
| We have the original 125 year old maple floor boards in our downstairs. I don't worry too much about it looking perfect, because after the refinishing, we like the antique look. (Plus it's really hard to perfect bumpy 125 year old wood, underneath nasty 125 year old laquer, esp when you leave it unstained) The dogs scratch the poly, but you don't really notice, because the floor is so light, and the color is uneven. The only real issue I've had was one standing water spot but we're gonna try to sand some more this summer and stain to try to get ithe color even, so I'm not real concerned.
Otherwise, it cleans up fabulously, takes MUCH more water abuse then my kitchen laminate does (some of the boards need replacing already after 1.5 years) and is generally a great surface. in fact, I'm thinking of getting rid of all the carpeting in the house, because it is just that much easier to take care of! Good luck with your install job! I'm sure you won't regret your decision! |
| I also love my oak floors they have been though St Bernards OES Collies and tons of kids. They are solid oak the only thing that I have a problem with is if the boys drag things across them but they have outgrown that. Just wipe up the water and your done. They are wonderful and stop all allergy problems that carpeting brings. It seems like I have a lot less dust too |
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