I don’t even know where to begin with this one. Remember when Maximus almost died, and I was all, “Oh…that’s sad. I’m so glad he’s alive!”? So that wiped out our bank account. Yay. And then remember when my dining room looked like this? 
Welp. Now it looks like this.
I’ll give you one guess who did it. His name starts with N and ends with Emesis. Long story short, he developed a bladder infection after the surgery, I Freaked out (yup-capital F), and I tore up all the carpet. We’re talking down to the subfloor with Maximus urine. I know God is testing me with this dog. I don’t know exactly what he wants me to learn here, but it’s a test. A big one.
So now…we figure out what to do. I want wood floors to match the rest of the house. Is that possible? We’ve been here for 9 years, so I know it won’t be a perfect match. Husband wants carpet. He’s wrong. I shopped around at Mowhawk the other day–’cause that’s what you do when you don’t have the finances for all new floors–and picked out what I want. Wide plank + dark stain=yumm.
While this guy hangs his head in shame (not really–I think he actually enjoys it), we weigh our options. Wood floor, strip all our floors to get them to match, carpet (not)…all of which require money we don’t want to spend. Sounds like home ownership, doesn’t it?
I just thought I’d fill you in on things happening at the ol’ household. In the meantime, we pray no one comes to our front door!
Latest posts by Chris (see all)
- Tartan Plaid Bedroom - December 1, 2021
- Favorite Things 2021! - November 24, 2021
- Our Christmas Wishmas Tree - January 3, 2021
Oh….I feel for you! We have all wood floors, except in our kitchen & bathrooms. Original to our home, except for the kitchen floor. Anyway, I hope his problem didn’t ruin the sub floor. That wouldn’t be good! Poor thing! Love the wood floor idea!
Poor Maximus! Glad he’s feeling better! I think he ended up doing you a favor even though you don’t want to spend the money. Just look at it as a capital improvement on your house, which it is. Dining rooms should NEVER have carpet, you are correct…your husband is wrong on this one. I think you should put down the hardwoods and refinish the rest to go with it. I just had that done a month ago and both people I got quotes from said you pretty much have to refinish the rest to go with the new, you won’t be happy otherwise. Oh, and I LOVE the dark floors SO MUCH but went with a medium stain, the dark ones show scratches REALLY bad. Good luck!
Oh I’m glad I’m not alone , my dogs are testing me too. Our oldest dog has started marking the new drapes in my dining room and on the carpet also , I had to make him a belly band to cover his wee wee, oh my he hates it ….I just hopes it puts a stop to it , I will be adding pine floors in there in the spring , it can’t happen soon enough…dogs…
How does Maximus do on the hardwoods? The only thing (well, other than the money) that’s keeping me from hardwoods is my giant dog. I’m afraid he’ll ruin them. Once he’s gone, though? It. Is. ON!
And obviously, carpet is not the answer.
OH MY GOSH! How sad–for your dog and floors. I have to say there has got to be a close match for the floors. No on carpet! Why do people have carpet in a dining room–food, drink…..When I wanted a rug for under our dining table years ago (only because the floors were so bad) I thought jute. Tried it, didn’t feel good on the feet, and rolled it up. Perfect iming–that day my young daughter spilled an entire cup of apple juice. Ended up with an indoor/outdoor rug–it worked. Anyway, go for the wood floor. And things happen for a reason. My husbands toilet (for his Christms gift) led to a new bathroom (on a budget!) Why? Toilet led to new vanity top (which no “standard” ones fit our ancient vanity), which showed drip in line, which pipe line “stopper” broke and water was a pourin’. Then floor came up and MOLD around toilet and up walls in that area. SO…now we are finishing up with a brand new bathroom. It will all work out–deep breath–really it will!
It sounds like pets for you. Our dog had kidney disease for years. We were lucky at the time we had tile in the living area and kitchen. However, look at this as a fresh start to hardwood floors in your dining room. I don’t know how you managed with white carpets in there anyhow! Good luck!
I’m so sorry for your flooring woes. I am currently in the market for new floors myself, and have discovered wood look floor tiles. They come in many shades, and truly look like hardwood with the durability and “dog-proofness” of tile. Might be worth a look for your home. Good luck!
Oh, my God! I would have die, I think! But take the good side of the problem! You have another project to give us and I really love wooden floors even if they need more care! I wait to see your new dining room!!!
OHhhh… Don’t be too hard on the poor fella (just look at those sad eyes) I’m sure you’ll end up with a fabulous flooring solution.
I believe matching the existing hardwood is not that difficult. Haven’t done it myself but had friends recently change from carpet to hardwood and you cannot tell the old from the new.
Glad your fur baby is better! I would have done the same thing for my dog. He’s almost 17 now!
I feel so sorry for you sweet puppy. I am glad he is so much better. I had a Westie that in her old age, decided to pee in one area of the dining room. Drove me crazy. I was so glad to get rid of the carpet. I didn’t go with the real wood but a very pretty engineered wood and love it. I have 3 large dogs, and I am happy to say, their toe nails have made no marks on it. (this is the reason I shyed away from real wood). We can thank our dogs for letting us move forward. 🙂 Hope you get your wood!!!!
I agree totally with Gina. Do the hardwood floors and make sure you go the extra step and match your existing floors. A floor professional will not have any trouble with the match. It’s done all the time. If you don’t, you’ll never be happy with your floor. Also, don’t go too dark unless you want to be a slave to your floors. It’s going to be beautiful!
Poor doggy, and poor you!! There is a reason you were meant to become his family. A lot of people would have given up on him. Thank God he found you! 🙂 I also had a “challenging” dog. She passed away last year, but I knew I was meant to have her instead of someone else.
Hi there, awwww poor baby. I see he likes his spot with or without carpet…We also have a little bear at home. Our Newfoundland Bruce…lately he’s been having a few accidents (old age) but we purchased a Hoover Carpet Cleaner and so far everything has come out…I know it’s aweful, I feel your pain. BTW I decided to start a blog of my own, since I seem to have so much fun looking at everybody elses…lol…please stop by if you get a chance. I only started a month ago and really have no idea what in the heck I am doing. Would appreciate any input from the PRO’s..you will also find a post there on BRUCE the bear rug!!!
Greetings Christine
http:littlebrags.blogspot.com
I, too, am glad he’s doing much better… love him! I have to admit, Chris, I have wondered how you have managed to keep your home looking like it is a dog-free zone. Your carpeting is light colored, yet never saw any dirt embedded; you have hardwood floors, his nails have got to be doing a job on them, yet again, they always look beautiful. Whew, I’m tired just thinking about what it must take to keep up your gorgeous home. Annnnnd…you are a wife, mother, and teacher!?! ;D
Elaine
We dealt with this same problem a few months ago only it involved some naughty cats. We ended up saving a ton of money buying directly from the supplier. If you have one in your area I would check it out. Our new hardwood floors are gorgeous and we love how durable they are.
We simply talked to a local contractor to find out where he bought his floors. Worked out well.
http://www.ampro-online.com/default.aspx?page=customer&file=customer/amprin/customerpages/locations.htm
We’ve had wood floors in the kitchen for 8 years. Last year we tore out the carpeting in the living room and family room and put hardwood in. We bought unfinished red oak from LL and installed it ourselves. And by “ourselves” I mean my husband ;). I think we paid $1.79 a sq ft. We hired someone to do the finish work and it blends beautifully. Well worth it. Say NO to carpet!
Aw…poor baby! So glad Maximus is better though. We just lost our lab 3 weeks ago, so it’s nice to hear some good doggy news. As far as what God might be teaching you here, I’m thinking he’s trying to teach you that you need wood floors in the dining room. 😛
Maximus was actually giving you a gift – new floors! 🙂 You CAN match hardwood floors as I did it with 50+ year old floors and brand new ones. It’s best to have the existing refinished at the same time so the stain matches. That makes a terrible mess, but it’s SO worth it! Wishing you luck in your floor search…
LOL, I know your pain! Think of this as a blogging opportunity to do something new and then post about it 🙂 Hugs
Ohh – Please don’t be too upset with sweet boy Maximus ! I know how much work they can be, but they’re just like kids that don’t grow up, and they love you unconditionally ! We just lost our 12 year old lab, Bo….He weighed 100 lbs, so he was a big boy too – I can’t tell you how empty our house feels now, and how much we all miss him. I would give anything to wipe up another pee pee or sweep up more yellow hair…… I know your boy drives you crazy some times, but just remember, their lives are so short compared to ours, and time goes so quickly…Not to be morbid – just don’t want you to stress out too much….Your home is lovely , and that dark hardwood would be beautiful there !
Check w/ your insurance. They often cover this sort of flooring disaster. Know more than one family who got rooms full of flooring replaced because the continuous run of unmatchable carpet was ruined in one spot (thank you, kids and KoolAid).
We had a Rottie with bladder cancer and he was DRIBBLING PEE EVERYWHERE. I did the SAME THING but to our bedroom. And we lived liek that for almost two years. Then we got new carpet. Only to rescue another dog… who wasn’t potty trained…. and so yeah, I’m ready to rip that crap up too! I’ve been having it cleaned every other month…. just in case because the thought that I’m even remotely walking on urine grosses me out. I never want carpet in another home EVER AGAIN!