Should I Get Prefinished Or Real Wood Flooring

I asked an online hardwood flooring community group on linkedin which was a better floor unfinished or pre finished and it resulted in a tremendous amount of passionate responses.

Should i get prefinished or real wood flooring. Solid hardwood flooring is available in a wide array of wood species including oak maple and black walnut as well as regional specific choices like pecan mesquite and others. When you compare prefinished hardwood flooring vs unfinished hardwood flooring you should look at your personal time and budget constraints. Prefinished wood flooring is the best avenue when hardwood prices installation cost and convenience are major factors for your flooring project. With unfinished flooring planks you have to live through installation sanding and finishing.

But once you factor in finishing costs prefinished ends up. Dry mopping sweeping and or vacuuming on a weekly basis is the best way to rid hardwood floors of light dust dirt and pet hair accumulations. Prefinished floors means less mess which has obvious advantages especially if you have children or pets that you don t want exposed to fumes and other installation by products. Some pre finished engineered hardwood flooring has slightly beveled edges which creates slight grooves between boards while solid hardwood flooring generally has very tight seams between boards.

As compelling as on site finishing is pre finished hardwood floors have their advantages as well. There are valid points from each point of view both options have advantages and disadvantages. These are generally in widths of 4 or less. A prefinished plank floor over 4 is a poorly designed product and i ve been hearing all winter of these amazing shrinking floors.

Go to the plank floor section of the hardwood authority and you ll soon. This is the most appealing benefit of pre finished floors for some homeowners. But since the introduction of prefinished solid hardwood during the 1940s this newer form of flooring has become increasingly popular and today you may find that it s easier to find than traditional unfinished hardwood planks. Engineered hardwood flooring is almost always sold pre finished and there is a narrower range of available colors and species than with solid hardwood.

Traditionally hardwood flooring was always installed as unfinished planks that were then stained and finished with a protective surface layer right on the worksite. Start by busting dust. The benefits of pre finished hardwood floors.