Oak Flooring and Pets
16th Sep 2015
Inside most homes is a four-legged friend, there to add yet another consideration when building or renovating. We are regularly asked whether oak flooring is suitable for pets and what our thoughts are on the matter. One of the most important points is this:
Oak Flooring Will Scratch
There is no getting away from the fact that oak flooring, or indeed wooden flooring in general, will scratch. No matter how delicately you treat your floor there is always a chance of scratching - whether you have pets or not! To help minimise the risk of your dog or cat scratching the floor, keep their paws trimmed down. Felt pads can also be used underneath sharp furniture legs.
If you are worried in how these scratches will look, a good way to combat this is through the grade of timber chosen. A grade with more "character", such as the barn or character grades, will generally hide away these scratches. This is because they tend to blend into the rest of the board. When scratching cleaner grades, such as the select and prime grades, the marks can often be more visible.
A hardwearing finish will help to protect your oak flooring from the wear and tear of pets. When finishing oak flooring, we normally recommend a hard wax oil product such as the Morrells Induro or Blanchon Hard Waxoil. These products provide a hard wearing, natural finish. As an alternative to oiled finishes, some choose to finish their flooring with a lacquer. It is worth noting that as lacquers tend to sit on top of the timber more than oils, they are more prone to scratching - you are effectively scratching the finish rather than the timber.
To help preserve the life of your oak floor, any dirt or mess should be swept away. Wet footprints or “accidents” should be cleaned up immediately. Leaving these for prolonged periods of time could cause discolouration to the timber.
Despite a few things to consider, don't let this make you think wooden flooring is not suitable for your home. When compared to carpets which will stain and mark easily, oak flooring is a great option.
We regularly have customers visiting our showroom with pets, and we encourage them to test out the floor for themselves - it's for the pets home too! During our recent weekend at Chatsworth Country Fair, we had all manner of dogs visiting our stand, some of which can be seen in the image above.
Do you have any images of your pet on our oak flooring? We would love to see them! You can send them through to our email by Clicking Here.
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