Best scratch-proof flooring for pets and children

Debbie asks,

We have hardwood floors that began scratching from the first moment the dogs and children began walking on them! They are now covered with literally hundreds of thousands of scratches. They have to go!

We desperately need your advice to chose the correct wood look flooring that is the best scratch resistant out there. Would appreciate the type as well as an actual brand name if possible. We have two dogs and four grandchildren. It is an open concept floor plan so the flooring will be in the kitchen as well. Thank you so much!

Our Answer

There have been many advances in wood and wood look flooring that offer scratch resistance and moisture resistance, two factors important to consider in flooring that must stand up to pets. We’ve covered many of these in our post “Best Pet Friendly Floors: 7 Surfaces that Keep Pets and People Happy“. Since you asked specifically about wood look flooring, your choices are:

Laminate Floors: Note that the new Lumber Liquidators laminates now area available with AquaSeal technology, which can handle “spills” for 24 hours.

Engineered Vinyl Plank: Looks amazingly like wood but 100% water-proof

Engineered Hardwood: The commercial grade are especially scratch resistant

Wood-look Tile: Probably the most scratch resistant and again, 100% waterproof.

Any of these would make a good choice as they’ll stand up to pets and kids!