What Floor Coverings Do You Have?

[Jed]

Ceramic tiles. They are non slip.

If you are going for polished timber, don't go high gloss. Low gloss is better....scratches don't show as much. And hardwood timber is more difficult to scar than softwood (ie, pine)

[Shaar]

We have that 'fake' wood flooring. Where you have a thin layer of real wood glued to a thicker layer of cheap wood. It's the best stuff ever. Doesn't scratch... we have dragged furniture all over it and the dogs enjoy doing 'skids' down the hallway and it still looks like new.

Bedrooms all have carpet but those doors stay shut until bed time so the dogs are only in there to sleep.

[Hairy Maclary]

Old timber floorboards and the odd bit of carpet.

Our last house was fully tiled - very hard underfoot, used to make my feet and legs ache.

[moosepup]

Tiles throughout, hardwood floors in the bedrooms & study. We had carpet in the bedrooms up until a month ago and I'm so glad to be rid of it!!

[boxagirl]

We have Polished Jarrah floorboards through most of the house, and carpet in bedroom and living room. Floorboards do get scratched, and Bondi slips on them when she is running around like a maniac. Carpet was never crash hot (parents parties have left more wine stains than dog stains But Bondi doesnt really dirty the carpet anyway.

Edited November 1, 2010 by boxagirl

[bedazzledx2]

Gotta love that...blame the parents :D

We have Polished Jarrah floorboards through most of the house, and carpet in bedroom and living room. Floorboards do get scratched, and Bondi slips on them when she is running around like a maniac. Carpet was never crash hot (parents parties have left more wine stains than dog stains But Bondi doesnt really dirty the carpet anyway.

[tdierikx]

Wooden floors - may have been stained/polished at one time... *grin*... currently covered by Labrador fur...

T.

[gillybob]

I bought my house from someone who had 4 dogs.

So the polished floors arnt in real good condition.

I have 3 dogs so mine have kept up the pressure on the floors.

But they are a lot easier to clean, although they show the dust and dirt.

[poodlefan]

I have that vinyl fake floorboarding in some areas - pretty hard wearing, warm, quiet and fairly non-slip.

The ancient carpeting is trashed and will be replaced by hard flooring. I'm currently tossing up between more of the vinyl, having the boards polished or some kind of tile or slate. I'm currently leaning towards more of the vinyl and if you damage a piece it can be removed and replaced and most visitors think its real wood anyway.

I'm very interested in this question too!

[Crazy Daisy]

I have laminate floorboards throughout the whole house and they are really scratch resistant, hard wearing and the dogs are used to them and don't seem to slip much.

When we were deciding on flooring I looked into bamboo. I bought a couple of boards and put them at the entrance to the house for a week. They are really soft and had huge gouges out of them. I spoke to my Mum's friend that has bamboo in her dining room and she said after 6 months they are looking at replacing it as it has scratched so much from the chairs. It also had heaps of dimples in it from peoples high heels when she had people over. Needless to say we decided against bamboo in the end.

[Bubitty]

I have given up on my battle with the dogs.

I have floorboards but I buy ugly rugs and cover up the entire floor so that they dont slip. I clean the rugs when they get grubby and will throw them out and replace with a new rug every so often. House looks like a disaster but its comfy for the dogs!

[SpotTheDog]

I have Trueloc floors which are composite hardwood floors that you can sand back, plus carpet in the lounge. The carpet is in rag order - full of stains and marks, but much of that is from us eating our dinner on the couch like slobs. However have just purchased a carpet washer - bought a vax as oposed to one with rotating brushes, because our carpet isn't great quality and the rotating brush cleaners are tough on carpet pile - good on a good quality carpet, not so good on a cheap-ass carpet like mine.

The laminate boards are good with the animals, but they do scratch. However it's not that obvious - it isn't gouges, it's more indentations in the enamel finish on the boards at key 'skidding points' in the house - corners and such like. With the laminate floors - the better ones that can be sanded back like Trueloc floors - the darker colours are harder timbers and will stand up to pets better.

[kinsella]

We have the original berber from when the house was built - roughly 20 years ago- and tiles in the kitchen. On a concrete slab in a house with cathedral ceilings, carpet muffles the sound of hounds belting around the place and is easier for puppies and old dogs to walk on without slipping.

While not fanatical about housework, carpet can be kept looking and smelling reasonable. We do want to replace it one day but I'm looking at another puppy or two in the next few years so I'll keep this old stuff for a while longer. I'd hate to start resenting the dogs messing the floor coverings, it would take away from all the fun.

[Aidan3]

My wife informs me that I began laying the vinyl tiles in the kitchen 12 months ago. I've built boats faster than that! But they are almost perfect for the dogs, the really good ones are tough as nail, non-slip, warm underfoot and the pattern looks a bit like paw prints. Grime sticks in the "grout" (actually vinyl strips) a bit, we're getting a steam mop to see if that solves the problem.

[twodoggies2001]

We have recently moved back into our fully renovated home and we opted to put tiles throughout the bottom floor, including our bedroom and carpet upstairs. The dogs choose not to go up there because we are mainly downstairs anyway. We do have rugs down and they can lie on them if they choose, but they do have their own beds. I have lived with them on carpet and polished boards and would not do so again.

Was the slipping the main reason for not wanting the floorboards?

No, the slipping was not a problem for the boys, but for me it was the scratching of the polished floorboards and when we moved out after 2 years, the entire floor had to be repolished, because the area that was mostly 'scratched' could not be successfully done without it showing up like a sore thumb. We had the open living style of house and still do in this place . Thew tiles are now so easy and the place looks fabulous.

[Niques]

Tiles + Carpet.

The poor dog can barely sit without sliding over on the tiles upstairs. And we've had some Scooby Doo type running moments where the paws are going but the dog's staying still They're pretty foul tiles anyway - I'd love large, non-slip tiles.

[poodlefan]

I think I just found my dream flooring - porcelain tile that looks like wood. I bet its $$$$

And its even called Doga

[Max#1]

We have a lot of carpet and some vinyl in the kitchen. The carpet is short though, and a dark colour! It was in the house when we bought it and looks pretty new. I don't know what I would change it to if we ever decided to - I kind of like it because it makes the house feel warm!

For those with carpet (or who like drinking red wine) I have one word: Bissel. We use it every three/four weeks and it really keeps the carpet looking good.

[D4DOGZ]

Ceramic Tiles and Carpet.

While the carpet is worse if something is spilt on it as it is harder to clean that tiles, fur is more hidden on the carpet than the ceramic tiles.

I know when we have to vacumn and mop when clumps of fur gather in the corners and along the skirting where the tiles are.

If i knew then what i know now, i would tile the whole living areas and put down nice big rugs and just change the rugs when needed, or i wanted a different look.

[Miss Danni]

We have slate throughout the whole house except the bathrooms. I would not have anything else ever again.

Unlike tiles, slate is softer, easier on feet and legs and is warm in winter and cool in summer. It is easy to clean (sweep, vacuum or mop), non-slip, non-allergenic for people like me that suffer from asthma, doesn't scratch (or if it does you just paint it with sealant and it looks like part of the stone again!) and you can give it a brand new look in one day just by resealing it.

We have mats for the dogs in the rooms and when they are hot from being on the mats, they flop onto the slate to get cool. It's brilliant in summer! And in winter I can still wander around in bare feet because the slate never gets really cold.

It is expensive, but when I bought this house almost 12 years ago, the first thing I did was rip up all of the carpet and lay slate. A decision that I have never regretted!