Prefinished Oak hardwood versus Unfinished Oak

Prefinished Oak hardwood flooring vs Unfinished Oak flooring. It's a difference that consumers deal with when considering installing a hardwood floor in their new or existing home.

More often than not, the appeal of having a custom floor is alluring to the consumer. If you're dead set on having the wood have a perfect match to your custom stained cabinets, and you can't find a prefinished floor that goes with them, then looking at unfinished is probably an option for you. However, that it about the only reason an unfinished floor should be considered, when color is the only factor.

A few things to note when deciding between prefinished and unfinished wood floors:

1. The quality of the actual finish will be far greater on a prefinished. Prefinished wood floors will usually have between 4-7 coats of Aluminum Oxide and or Polyurethane applied at the factory using several treatments that include heating and pressure. Not only will the finish be incomparably better on a prefinished wood, but the process also rids the wood of any excess moisture. There are some great custom wood flooring installers out there. Don't get me wrong! They just can't give you them same finish quality due to good ol' physics and chemistry.
2. Manufacturer's give between a 5 and 25 year wear warranty and 5 and 15 years on the finish itself. If you go with a custom stained unfinished floor you will get a 1 year warranty at best.
3. A custom prefinished floor will take a lot longer to install. The floor has the be "aired out" longer before the job, it has to be nailed down, then sanded, then stained, then finished, and then sometimes another finish is applied. It can be a week process sometimes. Prefinished oak floors are installed in less than half the time.
4. Installing a prefinished hardwood floor produces less off gassing and VOC's than a custom unfinished version.
5. Unfinished hardwood will have to be refinished much quicker than factory prefinished versions. Refinishing a floor is not an inexpensive project.

Don't get me wrong on this! It may seem like I'm knocking unfinished, custom wood flooring. If you want to have a custom floor that's great. However, you need to know the right flooring information so you can decide if it's really the right choice for you.

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