What is the best flooring for pets? Laminate, vinyl or real wood?

23rd July 2015

If you are like many of customers who own a dog or two, then what are the best choices to go for when choosing your flooring options?

When it comes to flooring for pets, it’s essential that it’s hardwearing and durable. At First Floors we have some fantastic vinyls on offer, these are scuff resistant and will be an excellent choice if you have pets. They are also fantastic to keep clean and most house-hold cleaning products can be used. All of these factors make it a great all rounder for practicality but, if you have set your heart on a real wood floor then here are some pointers. We would say it is best to stay away from softer woods, like pine or birch.

One of the best woods to choose and is still fashionable (we think it will never go out of fashion) is oak. Oak has fantastic shock absorbency attributes, which in the long run, will serve your floor well. Scratches from dog nails and denting is greatly decreased due to the natural properties of this wood. The natural grain of the oak is very rich and with dog or cat nail scratches and everyday denting, this will really help them blend into the wood. As time goes by, it will help make these marks blend into the grain. When it comes to flooring for pets, you may be surprised as many people would avoid real wood.

A brushed surface is also a good idea when choosing your real wood floor if you have pets. It literally means that the surface of the wood has been brushed. This process brings out the fabulous grain, making it even more prominent. This is turn is extremely helpful when it comes down to the scratches that animals can leave. As mentioned before, this finish will help the marks and denting to blend into your floor and to become part of it. A matt oiled finish will also be beneficial. The board is given up to about 5 treatments of oil which really penetrates into the wood. This will bring out the natural grain especially if it has been brushed.

This board, which comes in both solid and engineered, is really one of the most beautiful floors you can choose. It is fantastically natural looking and for all the reasons mentioned above is a great choice if you are a dog owner. It is great for spot repairs, and although oiled floors are recommended to be re-oiled on average about every 2 years, it is not a hard job and can be done one person. We would always recommend a luxury vinyl such as Moduleo. This is an incredible product using cutting edge manufacturing techniques and is often used by our commercial customers due to its hardwearing nature. It’s scratch proof, waterproof, fade proof, non-slip and has a 15-year guarantee. What’s more, our customers often struggle to see the difference between this and a real wood floor such is the sophistication of the methods use to create the look and feel of wood in many species. Last week we had a customer in the showroom who was set on a solid black nut.

However, they have pets so were very concerned about marks. We believe that marks add to the character, but we could see it would bother them. They ended up opting for a laminate floor which looked exactly like a solid wood floor – so for them to choose that over a solid just goes to show how great these floors look now compared to a few years ago. Come into the showroom in Giffnock to see a range of samples, and by all means bring your dog along too!

 

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Customer Reviews

First Floors

Customer Reviews

Jim Hillier 1st June 2022

TrustPilot
Absolutely Delighted with the Conduct and Quality of Work. My Wife and I decided to replace our Bedroom Carpet and lay down wooden flooring for our Hall. We noticed that there was a possible supplier for flooring at first floors shop on Fenwick Road. We met up with David and Graham and explained that we were looking for quality products for both Items. We were shown flooring possibilities from their extensive range of designs and thicknesses and soon found a product that we were interested in. We were delighted to find out that they had carpet selections at the back of the shop which surprised us; you could not appreciate the size of the place from the shop front! We chose a carpet that we thought met our specifications and were given a reasonable sized sample to take home to see how it would look in our room taking into account of our particular lighting conditions. First Floors sent out a guy to take measurements for floor, accessory fittings and carpet.
Being very happy with the proposition given to us and estimates of work completion dates and prices we went ahead with the order. Graham kept us updated with the schedule and I am happy to say that the work was carried out on time and was completed to a very high quality with which we were both delighted with.
I would be happy to reference this company for anyone who is interested in upgrading their floors or replacing carpets.

Alastair Barrie 2nd June 2022

TrustPilot
Good selection, service and fitting.We were able to take home some samples to select the carpet that was just right for our room. There was a delay in our furniture arriving and First Floors were very accommodating in putting our fitting date back to suit. The fitting went very well indeed - couldn’t have been easier.

Olive Leitch 1st May 2022

TrustPilot
Excellent service from First Floors. All staff including fitters have been helpful and gave a friendly professional service. My new stair carpet has been fitted very well and already received many complements

Linda McBrearty 27th April 2022

TrustPilot
Excellent service with care. On our first visit to the showroom, David advised and helped us with our choice but never rushed us and gave us lots of confidence in making our final choice of engineered wooden flooring. Our new build home was delayed for a few months and during this time David and his team waited patiently with us until the flooring was able to be fitted! The fitting throughout our new house was more than excellent. The care and attention to detail was everything we could have hoped for, our thanks to the fitting team. We would have no hesitation in recommending First Floors, their professionalism and customer service was 100%.

Anna Smylie April 2021

Google
Fantastic service. David gave me great advice on which flooring would be most suitable for my business premises. Within the week Steven came to fit the flooring and, as promised, was in and out in a day. Can’t recommend this local Company enough. Anna Smylie ZuZu Giffnock.

Dawn Henry November 2021

Google
We recently purchased engineered oak flooring and carpets from First Floors. The customer service from David and team was exceptional. We had just moved home from overseas and bought a house with no floors so we did not have access to allow First Floors to measure. Theye allowed us to use our own measurements as we wanted the floors laid ASAP once we had the keys. The floor is beautiful and laid very professionally (thanks Steven). The carpets are also lovely and exactly what I wanted. The only thing I would change about the experience would be to have First Floors assess the house in advance. We have fire doors which were a problem the day the carpets were laid. This was not the issue of First Floors and it was resolved quickly. Thanks again David, we would highly recommend First Floors to anyone.

Ian and Lesley Proctor January 2022

Google
Another Great Job Done!!
Just had our third floor project in seven years completed by First Floors once again.
Great service from David and his showroom team from assisting in the selection of materials through to arranging the installation. Chris and his team worked tidily and efficiently on the hardwood flooring with great attention to detail. Gordon who fitted the stair carpet was very professional in his work and was able to resolve some problematic details to our entire satisfaction.
Would definitely recommend First Floors.

Gavin Reid 18/08/20

TrustPilot
We recently had First Floors install laminate flooring in our lounge and hallway and are absolutely delighted with the final result! It has been finished to a high standard with great attention to detail.

Having had a rough idea of what we were looking for, David helped find the perfect flooring for both rooms.

We were booked in quickly and kept informed throughout the process.

We would definitely recommend and use again.

Christine Sharp 23/08/20

TrustPilot
Wee have recently had a new laminate floor laid in our upstairs hall. We are very happy with the result and feel the level of workmanship and finishing detail was excellent

Chris Milne 30/08.20

TrustPilot
Excellent service from first point of contact. Staff took time to discuss and review options, then worked to suitable timescale based around my schedule.
Work completed on time and to a very high standard, delighted with results.
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