Scratch Resistant Hardwood Flooring: Best Types Of Hardwood Flooring That Are Scratch Resistant

Best Types Of The Scratch Resistant Hardwood Flooring

No wood flooring is completely scratch resistant, but some can handle pet claws as well as the furniture scrapes much better than the others. It is not just the differences between the wood species, but also the finish material that is used. In general, the hardest wooden flooring usually comes from the tropics as is prefinished with a baked-on polyurethane or the aluminum-oxide finish at the factory. The most less durable flooring materials are softwoods. Some of the best scratch-resistant hardwood floorings are as follows:

Use Solid Hardwood

It is a good idea to use the solid hardwood rather than the Engineered hardwood and this is because the solid hardwood flooring often has better quality and most of the engineered hardwood floors have a limited number of sandings.

Consider Distressed Hardwoods

This has a stylized look that most of the customers love while some others hate. It is most popular in the South, certain areas in the west, and it looks very nice in the rustic homes. This look is liked by everyone. But, it is good for pets and also shows the scratches, as well as dents very less & this is because of how the wood is designed. It is just like the hardwood, that has more knots as well as a character marks will hide the dent and the scratches more.

Woods With Stronger Graining Are Better

The Oak is regarded as a great example of this, especially the red oak that has a stronger graining than white oak one. While red oak is at 1290 on the Janka hardness scale, still it does the excellent job of hiding the dents as well as the scratches due to the strong graining. In fact, the oak usually hides the scratches better than Brazilian Cherry and Brazilian Walnut because they have less and smoother graining. The Hickory is another example of a hardwood that has strong graining, and it is also harder than oak.

Lighter Colors Are Better For Pets And Show Scratches Less

The darker colors usually seem to show the scratches as well as the dirt more. The oak is regarded as the most common type of hardwood that is naturally light. So, if there is a scratch that penetrates the stain color, then they will show less on lighter colors since what is exposed under is similar in color.

Avoid The Soft Woods

The softwoods like American Walnut Pine, fir, cedar, American Cherry, American Walnut, Carbonized bamboo are softer and will also dent very easily even without a dog or kids. They look attractive, but they are not very practical.