Prefinished Flooring: What You Need to Know

Pre-finished wood flooring is becoming increasingly popular and with more options than ever,  it's not hard to see why.  If you're trying to decide on pre-finished wood flooring versus wood flooring that is finished on-site, here is some information to consider:

Advantages:  The main reason for making this type of hardwood floor product so popular is the tough factory finishes.  Multiple coats of finish are applied at the factory and the finish itself is under warranty by the manufacturer.  Since the finish is applied at the factory, it does not have to be sanded and finished on-site, which eliminates dusty sanding procedures.  Depending on the size of the space, some installations may only take one day to complete.

Disadvantages: If the flooring does happen to get damaged, it means ripping out a whole section of flooring and completely replacing it, whereas site-finished flooring can in most cases, be easily fixed with a quick sanding and finish.  Pre-finished flooring also can be difficult to clean between the cracks are since they are not sealed at the jobsite.  The appearance of pre-finished flooring is also different from site-finished flooring in that it has a beveled edge on the wood strips.