Dents in maple? Maybe your kids should not be wearing their spiked sports shoes indoors. ;) The handscraped is not going to dent less, but it probably won't be as noticable due to the hand scraping. Also, remember you won't be able to screen the handscraped floors.

How long before the kids leave for college? I have dogs, crazy dogs. That's a whole nother problem.

From what I hear dogs are much worse! We actually don't wear shoes in our home, but I swear kids drop and bang everything!

If I do keep these floors, I'm planning on staining them, as we have a natural finish right now. I've heard that helps dents not be so noticeable.

I'm pregnant with our last, so we've got a long time until we're empty nesters.

"I'm wondering if those with pre-finished floor with heavy use how their floor is holding up."

The prefinished floors do not hold up well. They do not perform well under normal use. The aluminum oxides create white scratches, not wood scratches. Some are so sleek and shiny that they show grimy barefoot marks from people or pets. Google around, you will find a lot of people complaining.

Our old, real, solid wood floors might need periodic refinishing but at least they're not a rip out. And they actually still look good with wear and tear! (If you like patina, of course).

The oxide finishes are not easy to remove either. If you needed to sand the whole floor down, it might not even be possible. I've heard mixed info on that. They usually talk about only screening being needed instead. Some will say you can't sand the floor down to totally refinish. There is also a limited thickness of surface at the top of engineered wood that can be sanded down only so many times (varies).

This post was edited by snookums2 on Sat, Jul 27, 13 at 17:30

Our friends have hand scraped walnut floors. Their bearded collie's nails have scratched the you know what out of them.

We have Bellawood prefinished cherry floors and have been very happy with how they have held up (10 years). I doubt I will every need to refinish them!

one of my neighbors has bamboo and swears by them. I think she said she's had them over 5 yrs and not a scratch and she has a very large active retriever who runs wild on them everyday.

All bamboo floors are not equal and do not get good reviews. Be sure to research the specific product and variations.

I'm afraid your not comparing apples and apples. Factory finished floors normally hold up much better than site finished. That is if your comaring the finish. Since no one warrants against scratching and denting that really shouldn't be in the equation. Maple is very clear grained so that every little dent and ding and scratch is magnified. If you had installed an oak with lots of graining and character the dents and scratches may still be there but you wouldn't see them. Since you can rescreen floors vs resanding most factory finishes will outperform sige finished but there are pros and cons to each style.

I have bamboo as well. We've been in this house for about a year now and the floors have been bulletproof. I've got a crazy dog with long nails, plus an indoor cat. Nothing has dinged the floor at all. I'd definitely use this bamboo again. It's strand-woven Teregren that was glued down, purchased online and installed by my contractor's flooring sub..

Here is a link that might be useful: Teragren

If you see wear on your wood floor after two years, it's time to recoat it, not refinish it. You only get so many resandings. As your kids grow they should get a little more responsible and be easier on the floor. You should evaluate why you have so much wear so you can extend time between recoating. Sand is often the culprit. When I look at floors with wear issues I run my hand across the floor to see if it's clean. Do you have dogs that come in the house after laying in dirt? Do you have mats inside and outside each entry door? How often do you vacuum to remove sand? What do you clean the floor with?
Installing new hand scraped factory finished floor would be expensive and would only buy you a little extra time. Once it's scuffed and scratched you'll have to recoat it. Then you'll be in the same boat you're in now.
You say you got Swedish finish. Is this Swedish finish as in acid curing urethane, or as in waterborne urethane? If you got waterborne urethane (and you've been maintaining your floor correctly) you could have the floor recoated with a more durable finish like oil-modified polyurethane. You could possibly do one room as a test first.
Refinishing your existing floor and staining it dark will not lessen the appearance of dings and dents.
For people in your situation I usually recommend they soldier through, maintain their existing floor until the kids get to a certain age (like college age) then have the floors done the way YOU want them.