Traditionally hardwood flooring was always installed as unfinished planks that were then stained and finished with a protective surface layer right on the worksite.
Hardwood floor prefinished vs unfinished for kitchens.
If you are considering unfinished hardwood flooring for your home or business here are some of the notable pros and cons associated with this type of flooring.
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.
A pre finished floor or an unfinished finished on site hardwood floor.
It must be installed sanded and refinished on site.
Many manufacturers now offer prefinished solid hardwood planks which take some of the extra work out of flooring installation prefinished flooring has increasingly replaced unfinished flooring as the favorite.
Which is the better hardwood flooring option for you.
Prefinished flooring often costs more than unfinished flooring about 2 per square foot more for the same wood species but you generally save that by not having to sand and finish the floor during installation.
But once you factor in finishing costs prefinished ends up.
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.
Advantages of unfinished flooring.
Even though solid prefinished flooring is real hardwood because of all the many factory sprayed on coats of polyurethane and or stain it is our opinion that prefinished flooring looks plastic y and factory made with a less noticeable grain pattern and thus less warm.
Prefinished hardwood flooring is the best option if you want an easier installation process and if you want to move furniture into your home immediately after installation.
Prefinished solid wood floors initially cost more than unfinished wood flooring about 2 per square foot for a good grade of red oak.
The pros of unfinished.
When you compare prefinished hardwood flooring vs unfinished hardwood flooring you should look at your personal time and budget constraints.
Pre finished hardwood is 7 10x more scratch resistant than unfinished hardwood.
Prefinished wood flooring is the best avenue when hardwood prices installation cost and convenience are major factors for your flooring project.
If hardwood flooring is unfinished it means that it is raw hardwood.
The planks are sanded sealed stained and finished at the factory which means the installer doesn t have to do it after installation.
That s because when it s finished on site you generally get 2 3 coats of polyurethane while when it s made in the factory you usually get at least 6 7 coats which are oven baked along w aluminum oxide the worlds 2 nd hardest substance.