You might want to visit these guys' forum. I think the only negative they had with Waterlox was the outgassing.

I was going to use it, but after reading a lot of the posts, I've decided on a different finish that will be a lot faster to apply, too.

BTW, I also have large dogs. I know the floors will get scratched, but I can live with it. And then the floors will be refinished when I put it up for sale someday.

I'm also going to use the U-sand. I read some guy used it on his white oak floor with pretty good results. He did say he saw some places he "missed", but was overall pleased. If you have dogs, your not going to have perfect floors for long, anyway.

Here is a link that might be useful: hardwood flooring talk

The U-Sand will sand off the differences in height of new flooring, but it is slower than the drum sanders that the professionals use. On the other hand, it is much easier for a newbie to use and get good results with new wood. It will produce dust that gets around the bag, so a mask and covering stuff is necessary. I have no experience with the U-Sand for removing a finish, but a friend of mine said it did not work that well. I used 40,60,80 grits in sequence with new red oak.

Waterlox will darken over time, as will all oil based poly finishes. On red oak, our floor has taken on a deep amber/orange tone with darker brown and some black streaks due to color differences in boards and mineral (#1 common wood). With white oak, Waterlox produces a golden/beige tone. For less deep color, you might want to consider Basic Coatings Emulsion, which was recently featured in Popular Mechanics for the DIY crowd.

Professional water based coatings are very good, but cure quickly and thus are not easy for newbies to get good results with. These coatings are the hardest available and thus would provide better scratch protection than a softer oil based finish. That said, the only really noticeable scratches I have seen with our Waterlox finished satin floors are from chair legs (even with sliders) and from our sons Plasma car with hard narrow plastic wheels. I don't really notice our 30 lb. dog scratches and dings because of the heavy grain of the R&Q red oak.

Waterlox does give off a lot of fumes and has a slow dry time, but it is relatively easy to recoat. I have not redone ours yet.

Oh, your living conditions sound exactly like mine!! We live in the country with lots of dirt and sand. We don't have a "shoe-free" house and we have 3 indoor/outdoor dogs, one of which weighs 70 pounds. I installed quartersawn white oak floors, sanded them myself with a U-sand and finished them with the medium gloss Waterlox (I think it's the original finish). The Usand is really really easy to use and catches almost all of the sawdust. But it also is VERY slow going. My floors were almost perfect prior to sanding and it still took forever. Things that needed to be sanded off (mfg grading marks and some machine marks) were nearly impossible to sand off. I did save a bunch of money, but I honestly do think when I get ready to install the flooring in the master bedroom, I will hire some pro's to sand it.

DIY waterlox, on the other hand, was a very positive experience. It is very easy to apply and the finish is gorgeous. It scratches....but no worse than any other finish and the scratches are easy to touch up. When applying it, use a vapor respirator. You can get one made for paint fumes at lowes for around $25. It blocked all the odor.

When I did my floors, money was really tight and hiring a sanding crew was out of the question. That's the main reason I used the U-sand. I don't regret it, but I know a pro could have gottem me a lot nicer job. Since you have 1/16" of wood to remove, I honestly think you may be better off getting a crew to come in and sand. A U-sand uses four orbital pads. The pros will use a big drum sander. If you have never used a drum sander I'll warn you....you can destroy your floors really quickly with them. It's not something that I would ever try doing, and I'll tackle almost anything!

Cindy

Thanks to each of you for your helpful replies. We are still considering our options. As with any DIY project they just seem to grow and grow...pulled up the carpet and found horrible particle board underlayment that must be pulled out be for installing any wood product. UGH!!

We plan on looking at a home that the owner installed circular sawn pine. Said they love it. We'll see if is a look we might like as it is a bit more rustic than we had originally planned. Heard it has more traction for ruffhousing dogs. LOL.

Cindy, your floors are wonderful. My husband loves R&Q white oak. Where did you get your floors? Also, do you think the Waterlox finish did enough to seal the pores and prevent dirt, etc from getting through? How long has it been since you finished your floors?

We also learned of another good water based floor finish called Bona Traffic. Anyone used or heard of this product?

Thanks, Karen

Hmm, dirt getting thru Waterlox? I haven't had that problem. We have 2,000 sq ft of 6" pine, w/4 coats of Waterlox. We also live on a farm, 5 cats, 2 dogs, mud, dirt, shoes...oy... Seriously it hasn't been a problem. Pine is soft but Waterlox tends to make it a little tougher. I dropped a can of pineapple in the kitchen, did't even dent it...dented the can though. The only scratches that I have (my floors where stained dark with tung oil so you can see it more) is my 20 pound young tomcat who likes to dig in when he shoots off to chase something. I used a hand circular sander & belt sander upstairs, the U-sand downstairs (couldn't lift it myself). It was alot of work but I like the upstairs better, I think I took more time with it, it's more evenly sanded. Please note that my floors are cheap, cheap pine. Even with the Waterlox it came out to less then 2.00 sq ft....they look 100 years old which is what we wanted.
Good luck :)
Kimberly

I found the subfloor leveling to be the hardest part of the whole hardwood flooring project. We had plywood, but it has put down for carpet and so it was far from being flat. I think I would enjoy installing some more hardwood flooring if I could start with a flat subfloor.

Waterlox does seal the wood (soaks down into it), but it also allows the grain to be seen. This is in contrast to a solid coating of polyurethane or water based product that completely covers the grain as a layer on top of it.

Bona Traffic is a professional product that I do not believe is sold to the DIY crowd. Many people on this site have used it (installed by flooring pros), and so search the forum for user reviews.

Basic Coatings Emulsion is a hybrid water-oil product that is sold to the DIY crowd. Here is the Popular Mechanics Magazine link:

Here is a link that might be useful: Baxis Coatings Emulsion

Waterlox does seal the pores, although the wood still has an "open pore" look. I love the look....instead of my floor looking like wood with a sheet of clear plastic over it, the floor looks like wood. It os really gorgeous! The rift and quartered oak was made by Taylor's Lumber inc and it was really high grade stuff!! I was so impressed with the quality of the wood. I bought it from a local guy, although for internet sources Hurst Hardwood has good pricing. You can call Taylor's and they will tell you who carries their product in your area. They wholesale only.

Here is a link that might be useful: Taylor's lumber inc

I used Waterlox on 3/4" x 3 1/4 hickory(from the Ozarks) and it looks awesome. We live in the country too, dirt, dogs, 5 cats. I do not think the smell is that bad. It is just the first couple of hours it smells, but go outside and pull some weeds for awhile. Just cross ventilate and you will be fine.