Prefinished Flooring

From Floor Coverings

Hardwood Flooring is produced in so many distinct selections such as solid, engineered, Pre-finished, Unfinished and not to mention the massive amount of colors and shades to choose from. But one of the more popular and growing collection you should know about is pre-finished flooring.

Pre-finished Flooring is the least complex when it comes to installation. Once you have attained the pre-finished flooring it is already sanded, sealed and that needs to be done is nailing it in place. Just make sure that when you are having your flooring installed that you are being conscientious and scrupulous the reason that if by chance which frequently happens, the boards get scratched and it is very difficult, nearly impossible, to repair the scratches. Unlike unfinished flooring, all that needs to be completed is to sweep up and your ready to enjoy your remarkable new floor.

Pre-finished flooring is simply several layers of urethane coating. This coating makes the wood radiant and brings out the natural beauty of the floors. If you look at an unfinished floor that was hand sanded and sealed the marksman ship is clearly a step down from that of what the factory is capable of.

Although Pre-finished flooring sounds like the hands down way to go in choosing your floor there are some advantages and disadvantages you should know about...

The Disadvantages:

• Its is virtually impossible to repair. If a scratch or dent happens during or after installation you do not have much of a choice but to replace the entire floor board. This is because the factory urethane coating that is on the boards is not repairable and cannot be duplicated.

• The seams that are between the Pre-finished floorboard are not sealed. This does not occur when you seal your unfinished flooring on site.

• And the main disadvantage of the pre-finished flooring is the difficulty level of refinishing the floors. As you have already learned the factory puts several layers of urethane on the wood and in order for you to refinish your flooring, you must strip away all the layers approximately five or more to even touch the wood. This causes a tremendous amount of time and manual labor.

The Advantages:

• When installing your unfinished floor you encounter a great deal of mess and the smell from finishing your flooring remains around the area for a while. Not to mention the horrid mess that sanding leaves you. It creeps into every crack and hole in your home and nobody wants to breathe that material in. With already finished flooring you save on the mess and smell from your living quarters.

• Because the factory does the coating of urethane its more even and thicker than it would be if done by hand. There is no delay after installation. You do not have to wait for the floors to dry or the smell of the finish to escape from your home before you can sweep and appreciate the beauty of your floors.