Flooring Installation Day and Pets

Pets are important members of the family for so many of our flooring clients. And, if we’re being completely honest, pets are often the reason that our clients call us to get new floors in the first place. Choosing the right flooring material for a home with pets is a whole other conversation to have. In this article, we’ll discuss how to have the best possible flooring installation when pets are in the home.  

Bonus tip - most of this applies to small children as well. 

We realize that as contractors, we’re invited guests in your home. Our goal is always to provide great results as safely and efficiently as possible while respecting your house and all those that call it home.

Whenever possible, we advise our clients to make arrangements for the pets to be anywhere other than your home during the flooring project. A friend or family member’s house, or a local pet daycare facility might be the best option to remove this potential stress from the project.  We know this isn’t always an option so if pets must remain in the home, we want to share a few important things to consider. 

Safety is the TOP concern
Like many home improvement projects, flooring installation can have a lot of obvious hazards, but also some that you may not think of. 

Sharp! 
Exposed tackstrips for a carpet installation are no place for snouts, tongues or paws.  They may be especially tempting if they’ve been “marked” while the carpet was in place. Trust me, these things are wicked sharp.   Then there’s the razors and nails and saws, oh my!  Flooring has to be cut to be installed and the toils do get set down during the installation process.  

Escape Artist
During a flooring project, the installers may go in and out of your home more in one day than you do in a week or maybe even a month.  Many of those trips will involve carrying large items such as tools, debris or the flooring material. To facilitate this, they may need to leave a door propped open which can be very tempting for pets that may be considered flight risks. 

Excuse Me
While some pets may run out the door to get away from the chaos of the construction and the strange worker’s that are disrupting their home, others may LOVE the strangers and will spend every possible moment near the installers.  This can be dangerous creating a trip hazard. Plus, a shockingly cold nose touching the installer's arm while operating a power tool isn’t safe for anyone. 

Stop, that’s wet!
Pets may be great at a lot of things, but respecting boundaries isn’t at the top of the list. Some flooring installations involve the spreading of wet stuff (leveling material, patches, adhesives, stain, finish, etc.). While a simple warning works for people. It may take an actual barrier for dogs. And then cats seem to always find a way to find the wet stuff.   Most of the materials used are not dangerous to people or animals if touched when wet, but they sure can stick to paws and then get transferred all over the house. 

Stop Thief
While not that risky, we’ve had more than one screwdriver go missing thanks to curious 4-legged friends looking to cause some mischief. 

Managing Stress
Beyond the more obvious dangers, a flooring project can be stressful for pets. Heck, it can be stressful for people which is actually a popular reason people put off getting new floors, often even ahead of the cost. 

Shhhhh
Many flooring types are very noisy to install. A hardwood floor for example can have thousands of nails, each driven in with a loud bang from a pneumatic nailer.  That nailer is attached to an air compressor that turns on randomly.  Add in the whirring of a variety of saws and it’s can be quite noisy and disruptive. 

That’s my spot
Pets can be territorial. Installers are different than other house visitors. Installers can spend hours or days in the home without the owners being immediately present. On top of that, installers may be removing items or old flooring that has been “marked” by the pets or at the very least has their natural scents and are being replaced with a whole bunch of new smells. 

Who moved my cheese?
Installation day can also mean that the usual spot for the litter box, or the regular window ledge where afternoon naps happen, or the door where potty breaks happen won’t be available. 

Where will they go?
We’ve seen quite the spectrum when it comes to how clients manage their pets in the home during flooring installations. Pet parents tend to know their pets best, and for most of them, flooring day isn’t the first time they’ve had to deal with the chaos of a home improvement project with a pet in the home. 

Outside - if weather allows, some pets may love to spend the entire day in the yard. This may be a great option if you’re having the bedrooms carpeted, but may not be possible if say the kitchen is getting new flooring and the installers will be using the area just outside the kitchen door. 

Basement or a dedicated room - Please be sure to warn the installers that a particular door isn’t to be opened.  Also, communicate with the installers if there are any planned times we can make sure the coast is clear for the pets to get a potty break, or be transferred to other areas.

Kennel - some pets are already used to being in a kennel for extended periods of time.  This can be a great option for relatively short installation. Don’t forget that the pet may react differently to kennel time on a day when they’re in a quiet house compared to the chaos and noise of installation day. 

How Long will the pets be inconvenienced?
The type and duration of project could definitely impact your pet-care decisions. The impact of a project on pets can be different than on humans.  Your pets may be fine being “locked up” one day, but some projects will mean the areas of the house they are used to having free access to may be unavailable not only while the work is happening during the day, but also after the workers leave each day.  For example a kitchen project can last several days. That may mean some dinners out or extra take out meals, but for your pet, the kitchen is also the room they pass through to get to the backyard, or where they are used to seeing their water bowl, or where the kennel is kept.  

Most of this is for dogs and cats, but there are certainly points that are applicable to bunnies, birds and other critters we choose to share our homes with.