June 28, 2019
Small children and pets at home? Here’s the hardwood flooring for you.
How hardwood floors will hold up to energetic, young children and pets can be of concern to hardwood floor shoppers. Everyone wants to keep that new floor look!
Durability, or how the surface of a floor will survive the day-to-day trials of family living depends on a combination of factors including the hardwood species, finish quality, surface texture, stain colour and then ultimately how the floors are treated over the years.
Choose a species with a high Janka hardness rating (a measure which ranks the relative hardness of each wood species). JANKA gives a good indication of how likely a wood species is to dent or show other wear. The higher the ranking, the harder the wood species. No hardwood floor is bullet proof though! Over time, any floor subjected to heavy or sharp objects will eventually show surface scratches and dents.
Your flooring colour and finish factor into how much surface wear you notice when damage occurs. Surface wear may be less evident on woods with open or pronounced grains (like ash and oak) and on low sheen finishes (matte and ultra-matte). Surface wear, dust and dirt may be more accentuated on closed grain woods (hard maple), high sheen finishes (semi-gloss) and very dark hardwood finishes. A quality top coat is an important factor in durability. Choose a quality, durable finish like BreezeWood Floors’ Nano finish, a 7 layer UV-cured finish offering superior durability and clarity. Or, select BreezeWood’s almost care-free Pioneer Oil finish which allows you to spot-repair scratches and worn areas yourself!
And what about solid versus engineered flooring? Which is more durable? It is a common misconception that engineered hardwood floors are more durable than solid wood flooring! Engineered floors offer greater stability against expansion/contraction in fluctuating humidity and temperature situations however engineered floors offer no advantage over solid hardwood floors in terms of durability. In fact, the surface of solid and engineered floors are made of the same material – these floors only differ in construction and total thickness of the hardwood material below the surface.
Pets
Yes, you can have hardwood floors when you have pets! Consider this further advice:
- Keep your pet’s nails trim and blunt or use nail caps
- Use area rugs and mats in areas of concern
- Avoid allowing water to sit around your pet’s bowl. Clean water off pre-finished flooring immediately or use pet trays
Overall, we highly recommend hardwood flooring for homes with children and pets. Solid wood flooring is durable, non-toxic, and easy to clean. If you are considering changing the floors in your home, have a look at our species and finishes online, order free samples and visit us at our mill showrooms located in New Dundee, Tillsonburg and Orillia.