Room flooded, need new flooring...thoughts??

[JLStorm]

Well our future dog room got flooded and the carpeting is getting ripped up. Its concrete underneath and insurance will cover the cost of the carpet and the walls, etc. I definitely do not want to put carpet down again, I want something that is dog nail resistant and also relatively slip resistant when wet. I was originally thinking of just sealing the concrete and leaving it like that since its got a nice texture and its water proof, but Im not sure if a Newf would be that crazy about a concrete floor, although it would be cold.

This room will be the first room the dog walks into from being outside, where he is groomed, and where meals will be served, where he will be crated when we are both out of the house until we can trust him, where toys will be stored, etc. So something tough and easily cleaned is a must.

I have decided to leave the "wood" paneling up though because its paneling over drywall and pretty darn strong and stain, water and nail resistant.

 

[dfwmiket]

Pergo. I did almost my whole house, and just toss down area rugs (easily replaceable) now.

 

[ina/puusty]

Ok..I have no real idea..what I am 'talking about ' here..as never faced your situation..but..here goes. (Like when have I EVER shut up..when in delicate territory..? I like that there is enough..texture..that you refer to it as such. I say paint it over with an interesting paint or painting/stain tech...when dry enough. Invest in some nice..but not too expensive rugs/throw rugs and, depending upon the room size..could create a secondary 'visual area'..for bar/library/game room/guest rm..etc...out of raised wood flooring, on a portion of it. Nothing wrong with a retro design..happening there. Is there an interesting view outside..and could you create a visual 'connection'..by the colors/plants..you use..inside..AND out? Ok..good luck..and mostly..have agreements as to what you choose..with others who may wish..to feel involved. Happy new year..and sorry about the flooding. As clean up..can 'go for'..the new, the good..out of the problem. ina n HB n Kesa

 

[cedarvalleynewfoundlands]

I dont know how they do it, but I have always be interested in having the non-slip suracing applied that they use around pool areas. We have ceramic tile, which is GREAT, except for when it is wet. Wet ceramic tile is like ice. Our ceramic tile is smooth. I dont know if there are versions of it that are more rough, maybe sort of like quarry tile. I also have a friend that is looking into Bamboo flooring. Apparently, it is very much more wear resistant than hardwood, but I dont know about the slickness factor.

Mary

 

[wrknnwf]

I have beautiful italian porcelain tile that is heavily textured, has a random pattern and colored grout to match. Love it! While it does get somewhat slick when wet, it's not at all like having smooth ceramic tile. It's so easy to clean! It's in my kitchen, foyer and hall. If you get tile, be sure to seal the grout.

My hardwood floors are a disaster as is my carpet. I would do the tile again in a heartbeat.

I do have throw rugs by the doors and one in the kitchen. The dogs can opt to sleep wherever they like. They choose the tile over everything else, but they do have beds, too, that they will sleep on occasionally.

 

[LiquidBlue]

My first thought was slate...I have hardwood...you are right to stay away....

I am also toying with the idea of stained concrete in one of our rooms, but it would actually be a no dogs allowed room, so I have not really thought about how the dogs would like it...

 

[NessaM]

You can actually have your concrete stained and cut to look like almost anything now. We're using it in the pool house, they've cut it and they're going to grout it so that it will look like a slate floor.

http://www.concretenetwork.com/concrete/decorative/

You can stain it, stamp it, cut it, polish it...it's really cool what they can do with just plain old concrete nowadays.

 

[Charlie'sMom]

My parents have natural slate, it has tons of natural texture, even when it is damaged it is impossible to tell from the natural veins, and I have never seen either of the dogs slip on it. It does need to be sealed after it is put in, and periodically from then on (every 18 months or so) but the sealer basically mops on. It never really looks dirty (even when it definitely is) because of the variation in color. My parents put a dark grey grout with theirs and the grout also stands up incredibly well. I will definitely be putting it in my future homes.

 

[KodysGrandma]

Last year we had two floods, one in my husband's studio and then one in the house. Put asphalt tile in the studio (no dogs) and porcelain in the house. So far so good, although do opt for darker grout, even with sealing it's tough to clean. Put a piece of runner carpet through the dining room from kitchen to foyer. Works great.

PirateBear had some kind of rubber tile that she put down on her floors in England that she loved. Don't know if you can get it here. You might PM her and ask.

 

[4ondafloor]

The first room any of my dogs hit is done in Brazilian Slate. Very cost effective and it covers all the bases you're looking for. It's textured which means even if wet there is no slipping when they come barreling through the door. It hides dirt well and cleans up easily. I use a floor steamer cleaner that not only gets the dirt up but also gets the grout nice and clean as well. The grout I chose was black because it compliments the rest of the room. Until I found the steamer, the grout was a nightmare. Now I can get the entire floor clean (including grout) in under 30 minutes.
It comes in a pretty good variety of colors too.
Take a look at Lowes. I think it was around 1.75 sq ft. Not too bad!

 

[JLStorm]

I looked into the acid staining that makes concrete look like marble or hardwood or whatever it is you want and its almost as expensive as the real thing, plus if you crack the concrete you have to have it professionally re-etched, which is more expensive than replacing a tile or some wood slats. Those floors are beautiful though.

I really dont care about looks because this room will only be for dog stuff, no one will be using it for anything else, so anything used will be purely for function not looks.

 

[ardeagold]

Then I guess you answered your own question. Regular unstained concrete. With a drain in the middle?

I do remember a really long thread about flooring several months ago...which you started, I think? That's where the stained concrete came into play.

I guess it's a matter of whatever works best for you and your situation. But IMO, hardwood and carpet would be seriously out of the question. We've had both. Covered the hardwood with tile, got rid of carpet except in one room...the living room where no dogs ever go.

We have Pergo type flooring upstairs, hardwood in the hall and foyer.

None, except tile and stained concrete (which my son has) is a great choice for dogs.

And BTW...bamboo will scratch (or the coating on top will). A friend has bamboo with ONE Standard Poodle, which gets groomed every 2 weeks...and the floors are a mess.

 

[mulenag]

I'd just seal/paint the concrete. Forget about flooring! Get some dog beds and then they will have an option if they want to sleep on something soft or not.
Nessa, please post pics when your floor is done! I have always been interested in the acid etched concrete!

 

[2newfs4now]

I agree with Ina and Becky...keep the concrete and put rugs/beds down for comfort when wanted; especially if it is textured.

 

[JLStorm]

Then I guess you answered your own question. Regular unstained concrete. With a drain in the middle?

I do remember a really long thread about flooring several months ago...which you started, I think? That's where the stained concrete came into play.

OMG...I completely forgot I had a whole thread about this a while back :crazy: I was so preoccupied with the flooding and the insurance adjuster today that I didnt even think before I posted this thread. OOPS! :uhoh2:

 

[enan]

What about the U-coat it epoxy flooring

http://ucoatit.com/pgs/main.htm?gallery

it cleans up easy, looks good and is not that expensive...

 

[JLStorm]

Ok, so I went back and read over that thread which revolved mostly around wood flooring and the acid staining of the concrete. I definitely dont want either of those two. I really did think the acid staining was the way to go, but after research its just not for me.

So back to flooring sans acid staining and wood. If I stick with concrete I am not sure if concrete sealant will hold up to dog paws and nails. I recently put down this great flooring in another room on our lower level that I got from home depot http://www.homedepot.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?storeId=10051&langId=-1&catalogId=10053&productId=100595258&N=+500335+4217+90068&marketID=68&locStoreNum=4122 but I found that the drawback of this resilient flooring was that its very slippery when wet This is why I find myself back at square one, only a lot sooner than expected because of the flood due to a bad pipe fitting :banghead:

 

[LiquidBlue]

The UCoat It and slate both seem like good options...what do you think about those?

 

[luvxl k 9]

We have the same problem down in the basement. It flooded from Ike a couple of months ago and since it was the second time it's happened we also pulled up all the carpeting. We are so happy with the Dura-Stone we have upstairs we went with it again. To make sure if it got wet it would be okay we soaked a piece of the tile in a pan of water for 24 hours and it didn't do a thing to it. Allen put it down himself as it goes down with adhesive directly onto the concrete. We have had our Dura-Stone upstairs now for almost 4 years and our crew hasn't done a thing to it yet. Getting ready to go to dinner so if you need the thread I can get it for you when I get back. Comes in bunches of different designs and textures.

 

[Sound Bay Newfs]

I have Terra Cotta tile in my dog/sun room. It shows no dirt and since it has a stone finish, it is not slippery at all when wet.

http://www.aldonchem.com/mt-terracotta.htm