This article will help you to determine if you want to install unfinished hardwood or pre-finished hardwood floors in your house.
Let’s discuss pros and cons from aesthetic and practical perspectives of unfinished and prefinished hardwood flooring material.
Prefinished hardwood
Prefinished hardwood is hardwood flooring which is finished by manufacturer. It goes in carton boxes, which prevent it from scratching during the transportation. Prefinished hardwood goes in different sizes and with different stain options. In general you will have limited amount of stains to choose from, but considering huge number of manufacturers, you will be able to pick the one you like. In general, prefinished hardwood has one or two options for the finish shine and in most of the cases it’s semi-gloss. Only few manufacturers will be able to provide you with an option of gloss or satin finish you might like better.
You’re also limited with the finish type, because manufacturers of prefinished hardwood use some sort of mix of water and oil based finish.
By adding oil-based finish they can add warmer color to the floor and then they apply couple more water-based coats to increase hardwood durability and add UV-protection to it. Some manufacturers use straight water-based finish. Nowadays different manufacturers try to create tons of different material options in order to eliminate these problems. Although they cannot do anything to remove tiny gaps which appear between boards whenever hardwood is installed.
You can see those gaps because all the prefinished hardwood boards have tiny beveled edges which can be removed only by sanding. Prefinished wood in general has 3/4 of an inch in height of solid wood so it can be sanded or buffed once its layer of polyurethane will worn out or if you would like to stain it. Prefinished hardwood is the best option whenever somebody is looking to finish their project right away, because it takes way less time in order to install prefinished hardwood. Another positive side of it is that you won’t need to leave the house during installation and/or wait before you can walk on the floor after it’s installed. Also, since no sanding is involved with prefinished floor installation, there will be less dust, because the only dust makers(saws) might be taken outside to cut the wood.
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Unfinished hardwood
From a flooring contractor perspective, we always recommend to install unfinished hardwood, since you get more options, better result and perfectly flat surface. If you can stay away from house for some time and don’t have issue with furniture moving – that’s a great option for you.
You can see those gaps because all the prefinished hardwood boards have tiny beveled edges which can be removed only by sanding. Prefinished wood in general has 3/4 of an inch in height of solid wood so it can be sanded or buffed once its layer of polyurethane will worn out or if you would like to stain it. Prefinished hardwood is the best option whenever somebody is looking to finish their project right away, because it takes way less time in order to install prefinished hardwood. Another positive side of it is that you won’t need to leave the house during installation and/or wait before you can walk on the floor after it’s installed. Also, since no sanding is involved with prefinished floor installation, there will be less dust, because the only dust makers(saws) might be taken outside to cut the wood.
Stains can be mixed in order to create any shade you can imagine. Once stained (or left with natural color) hardwood can be finished with layer of polyurethane or latex. There are couple differences about each one of them, please read our ARTICLE to find out more about difference in both of them. Also you can choose what shine you want to add to your floor. In general your options are: gloss, semi-gloss, satin and satin matte. Once finish is dry and cured you can walk on the floor, put all the furniture back and enjoy your new floor! As you can see unfinished hardwood involves more actions before you can walk on it, but it gives you more options to choose from. Some types of wood, like white pine, goes only in unfinished option.
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