need flooring advice

[Teresa Pitman]

The main floor of my house has a small entry way that opens into a large open area living room/dining room/kitchen, with a smaller separate room to the right that we currently use as a library/study. There are stairs up to the second floor between the big open area and the library.

I need to redo the floors, and would like some suggestions. I know pretty much nothing about flooring (this is the first house I've ever owned).

Right now, the entry way has vinyl flooring that extends down a kind of hallway to the kitchen and dining area, along one side of the stairs. The same vinyl is in the kitchen and dining area. The living area has carpet, with a metal edging to separate it from the vinyl flooring. The library has wood floors, but these are somewhat damaged.

I'd sooner have the whole open area with the same type of flooring, rather than part carpet, part vinyl. (I figure I can put an area rug down in the living room section.) I could do the library in the same flooring, too, but wouldn't mind not doing it the same (I could just have the current floor refinished).

Whatever I use has to be sturdy and not too hard to care for because I have two large and boisterous dogs, and four very active grandkids who visit a lot. It also has to be reasonably priced.

Any suggestions? What would look good, be durable (for dogs and in a kitchen) and not break the bank?

Teresa

 

[twinboysmom]

What about one of the higher end laminates? Laminate has come such a long way.

 

[The Mystery Machine]

Flooring is expensive. Your best bet is to save up money to install something that is quality, esp. if you plan on being in the house for a long time.

If you have to go cheap, I would continue with the vinyl/carpet until the large boisterous dogs are less boisterous and kids are older.

Now I have hardwood and certainly the dogs nails scratched it. Not bad, but you can see it.

People here on these boards claim that there are hardwoods that do not scratch. I do not know what they are but if you want something like that I would save up money for that. That is your best bet long term. You do have the dog hair balls that roll around. I have to use a dust mop daily to pick up dog hair. Also the dogs slide on the hardwood and you can hear them walking on it with their nails.

Tile is cold and hard, although it is very durable. Not a great choice for a living room, unless you are in Florida or somewhere hot and sandy. If you have arthritis or joint problems it is hard on you with standing or cold.

Laminate is a faux hardwood. Supposedly you can find some that is resistant to dog nails. However the downside is that it absorbs moisture. Pergo is one example of a laminate. Your dogs nails will click click click all the time on them.

 

[AKL_Megs]

We have ceramic tile in our entry and LOVE it!

 

[Pakey]

I have porcelain tile throughout my home. I have chronic allergies and dogs so hardwood it out.

I had high end laminate before and hated it.

 

[Teresa Pitman]

I'm in Canada, so if tile is cold I'm hesitant to use it.

Pakey, what did you hate about the high end laminate?

Teresa

 

[bballmom56]

We also have a large dog and are pretty hard on floors. We started in our kitchen because that floor was so bad. I didn't want tile or stone because it is too hard and too cold. I didn't want wood because I am not good with water on the floor. Plus if your icemaker should spring a leak, it causes a problem. So we went with Allure vinyl planks from Home Depot http://www.homedepot.com/webapp/wcs..._sp=dept-_-d23-_-landing-_-hero-_-AllurePlank

We got the oak and installed it ourselves. It even fooled my very interior design conscious sister-in-law who thought it was real hardwood. It looks great.

Our house is basically one floor and we needed to do the large LR, entry foyer and hallway. I decided to continue with the same pattern of Allure and it really tied the house together beautifully. We had them install it since it was a much larger area and we were very happy with that. I love not having the carpet with the big dog and the floor has not scratched. And if there are ever any liquid spills, there is no worry it will warp (like I did to our previous laminate ).

 

[Pakey]

I'm in Canada, so if tile is cold I'm hesitant to use it.

Pakey, what did you hate about the high end laminate?

Teresa

I hated that it wasn't wood, that everyone commented on it (why didn't you get the real thing?) It looks almost like wood but not quite.

It actually hurt our resale; many potential buyers did not like it.

 

[The Mystery Machine]

Wow bballmom, that is very awesome! How long have you had it?

We are just so hard on floors and I am on the lookout for me and my sister.

 

[Teresa Pitman]

Thank you for the suggestions, everyone. I went on the Canadian Home Depot site and found some very positive reviews for the Allure, so I'll head up there and take a look at it first-hand.

Teresa

 

[bballmom56]

Wow bballmom, that is very awesome! How long have you had it?

We are just so hard on floors and I am on the lookout for me and my sister.

The kitchen floor has been down probably about 3-4 years. The rest of the flooring we just had done last summer.

We are very happy with it and that's who we have to please right now. We figure if we decide to sell, we would just price the house accordingly. The nice thing is that because it is a floating floor it would be very easy to take up.

I also love not worrying about water on the floor and with a St. Bernard who is not careful with her water bowl either, it is a wonderful thing

 

[DSNY4ever]

We have Pergo (hardwood looking laminate) in our whole house. We have two dogs and we love it. The dogs don't scratch it up, it was super easy to install ourselves, it looks great, easy to clean and not too expensive.

 

[StitchFanZ]

We have hardwood just about everywhere except for tile at our entryway and when coming in from the garage. Because of the tile pattern, those dirty paw prints from our large dogs don't show up on the tile.

If I were to do it again, I would put town more tile. It always looks great and does not show the dirt and dust like the hardwood. You can install systems underneath the tile that will heat them and make them warm. But normally we have socks on when coming in from the garage so don't notice any coldness.

 

[Disney Doll]

I have hardwood throughout my house including my kitchen and have a high traffic life and the hardwood looks great. It has a water-based acrylic finish.

I have seen slate in entry ways and it always looks nice.

If you do tile and want it warm you can always do radiant heating under the tile. We did this in our bathroom and it's great.