Thanks Sophie. Looks like a helpful guide. Sounds like you believe tile is the way to go for us?

"luxury" and "vinyl plank" should never be used in the same sentence. Marketing gimmick.

No vinyl will be your last floor. It's not possible. And, obviously, if it gets damaged it can't be repaired/refinished like wood can, And nobody will be making that exact vinyl 3 years from now.

Porcelain meets your requirements, but I'd hate having tile floors throughout the house, and it would lower your sale price in the future in most parts of the country (Midwest, Northeast, Mid-Atlantic especially).

Wood is still the best choice. Refinishing a wood floor every 15-20 years is much more economical and beneficial compared to replacing a dated, damaged vinyl or tile floor. Home resale value never declines. And you are installing a renewable product with low carbon footprints.

Sophie Wheeler , always has such good ideas! :-)

Sounds like your subfloor is a concrete slab? If so, you would have to use engineered wood, not 3/4" tongue and groove, and engineered flooring cannot be refinished multiple times. I suggest LVT.

If you want to NEVER EVER do another floor, your only option is tile. But if you ever decided to change it - oh what a mess. (And it might give buyers pause when you sell.)

There is at least one engineered wood that is guaranteed durable for dogs. It's called Hardwoof flooring by Nydree. Check them out - they will send free samples too. I have samples of their other flooring and it is quite an impressive finish.

There really is nothing like wood and I am not quite understanding people's issues with dogs and wood.

Almost everyone I know with dogs has wood floors and growing up we had dogs and wood floors. Obviously if a dog isn't housebroken there are issues with urine left standing on wood but other than that dogs didn't seem to be more damaging to the floors than humans :-).

Perhaps you should go with tile in the kitchen and wood elsewhere. I wouldn't want tile in my entire home unless it was beachfront property. However, tile in bathrooms and kitchens is not generally seen as a negative.

"dogs didn't seem to be more damaging to the floors than humans"

I guess you've not been around some of the big freaking dogs that a lot of people keep inside now. I wouldn't have a dog inside...wood floors or not. I've seen what they can do. That said, the Nydree flooring is an acrylic-infused floor. It's really a whole different level of protection.

The HARDWOOF flooring sounds very interesting! Is it only sold online? Or are flooring companies selling it. I googled and had difficulty finding anything in California.

pattylnewman , Here is Jason's email. He can help you with that product jbrubaker@nydree.com

Wood scratches, gouges, and dings. Solid wood flooring can be refinished at least twice(if refinished properly). Finish is applied in place(meaning a liquid is applied and dries/cures). Can be spot repaired.

Manmade composite hardwood generally had a more durable surface(factory applied), but cannot be refinished. Can still be scratched/gouged/dented, just takes punishment better. Can be spot repaired.

Vinyl comes as a solid piece(sheets) and individual pieces(planks/tiles) and can be cut/gouged/damaged. Sheet vinyl is very difficult to repair(if possible at all), piece vinyl can be spot repaired.

Hard tile(ceramic/etc.) has the most durable surface, but can be chipped/broken. It can be the most durable for traffic, but will still wear under extreme use.

IMHO, the most durable flooring for animals is concrete. The drawback with concrete is the hardness, which is not good long term for animals or humans.

Where animals are concerned, all the above flooring has one huge drawback. Traction. None offer sure footing for dogs/etc.

However, many area rugs and similar floor coverings can be used with all the above floor products. Along with anti-slip products under the rugs, sure footing and comfort can be provided. There is a downside when using area rugs on solid wood floors. UV rays will change the color of the exposed wood, but not the wood under the coverings.

The easiest type to replace would be the composite or floating wood or vinyl plank flooring. The most expensive(not including concrete) would be solid wood(keeping in mind refinishing the solid wood is the least expensive of all).

We have had animals most of our lives. And most of the above types of flooring(except the vinyl plank type). We currently have three dogs in our current home, in which I installed solid wood. Except in the kitchen and baths(ceramic tile). We use area rugs for the living/dining rooms(and have fading situations). We live with the scratches.

Yes... two houses ago I had hardwood in the kitchen only (kind of a strange location for real wood to be placed). It was beautiful. I worked hard on it. And after 11 years when I moved, it was probably time to refinish it. It was beautiful though! The Nydree product sounds interesting to explore further.

pattylnewman,

You would need to go to the website and find the contact information. Call them to find out information on where to buy. You can order FREE samples right from the website.

https://nydreeflooring.com/about/

Oh, I see you got an email up above...so that might be even better. Good luck, let us know what you choose and how it works for you!