Often, pre-finished planks have beveled edges unlike site-finished which are square and make edges less visible. But you do end up saving money on labor with a pre-finished floor by not having to sand and finish the floors. Some businesses refuse to invest in dustless vacuums and still use dust spewing bags and dont tape up plastic around the work area. When a piece of site-finished wood flooring becomes damaged, you can usually repair it by sanding smooth the imperfection. I heard about them from a co-worker. They answered questions and got me in and out quickly as I was in a bit of a hurry. Absorbing the moisture ASAP is important not just for preventing warping, but to remove odor, too. 1) The biggest benefit is that because the finish is already on the flooring, you can use the floor as soon as its installed, no waiting a few days for the finish to dry. caught in the finish. People forget who the original manufacturers was (if they even knew in the first place), or your particular line of flooring may be out of production as is often the case many years later. Does the article answer all your questions? Because of the factory finish, these types of floors obviously cannot be sanded flat on site. 5) Applying maintenance coats is also much easier with site finished floors, this is especially the case if you use hardwax oils like we talk about here and here. Pads also come in handy when rearranging furniture, as some pieces can glide instead of being lifted. Ive seen very durable pre-finished floor finishes and stuff that scratches just by looking at it. Do you have any suggestions of getting the dirt out of the wood grains??? Another great option is plastic carpeted bottom caster cups for couches and beds. This will take a LOT of wood from your floor and wipe years off the overall life of your floor. Joanne A. But if you choose a professional company that uses high-end low VOC water based finish systems, then you wont have this issue to deal with. Privacy Policy, Rescuing a Botched Rubio Monocoat Fumed Floor, Hardwood Floors After a Clean, Screen and Recoat, Hardwax Oil Experiment Part 1 OSMO Polyx Oil [2022 UPDATE], Hardwax Oil Experiment Part 2 Rubio Monocoat [2022 UPDATE], The Hardwax Oil Experiment Part 3 Bona Indoor Oil, The Hardwax Oil Experiment Part 4 Pallmann Magic Oil, The Hardwax Oil Experiment The Winner, How to Choose a Hardwood Floor Finish Part 1, How to Choose a Hardwood Floor Finish Part 2, How to Choose a Hardwood Floor Finish Part 3, How to Choose a Hardwood Floor Finish Part 4. Prefinished hardwoods are also known as factory finished because they are finished at the mill rather than at your home making for a quick install and a tougher finished product. Why not refinish it? This was my first time using them. Spacious Store, Many Products, Helpful Customer Service. Rub the eraser vigorously over the scuff mark until it disappears. If not then. The installation of a pre-finished floor will take a little more labor initially than an unfinished floor as the installer will need to take a little more care and time with the flooring. They were knowledgeable and informative. Ok, lets go on to the next type of hardwood floors. You can minimize the expansion and contraction by using a humidifier in the cold months and a dehumidifier in the hot months. It has an opposite look to crowning, appearing to concave. To clean pet urine from hardwood floors, blot it up as soon as possible. Do you have hardwood floors that are over 100 years old? It can be tricky working with 100 year old hardwoods. It's tricky trying to color match the newly repaired/replacement boards. Want to lace new hardwoods into 100 year old hardwood? You'll want to read this before making that decision. Any cities outside of our service area may incur a $50 bid charge. A good hardwood flooring company should have one. The best way to clean hardwood floors is to use the right tools and supplies so you don't ruin the finish. Some people actually like the beveled look, others hate it. This greatly speeds up the entire process. Above you read how involved on-site finished flooring installation is. This is definitely not the case. Plus its much more difficult to make custom inlays, borders and complicated patterns look good compared to site-finished floors. pre-finished hardwood products are manufactured in a controlled environment, less can go wrong. Yes you wont have the added dust from the sanding process to deal with but again most advanced hardwood floor refinishing companies will have high tech dustless vacuum systems that will again make this a moot point. Common causes are humidity and moisture from areas of the home that are not sufficiently insulated, such as crawlspaces, garages, or basements. Mainly because its definitely a faster and more convenient way to get hardwood flooring into your home. Many of us professional companies use state-of-the-art dustless vacuum equipment that contains pretty much all of the dust and then thoroughly clean up any remaining dust. Once the floor is has been stained then its ready for sealer and finish coats. Pre-finished hardwoods are identical to site-finished hardwoods once its sanded down to raw wood. The same process from here forward as site-finished flooring. One coat of sealer is applied. This protects your color layer and gives the color its ultimate shine. When the sealer is dry, then two coats of finish is applied. The result is a very tough and smooth coating. North to Edgerton MO, East to Higginsville MO, South to Louisburg KS, & West to Lawrence KS. Glad to be of help, even if its from a distance. DIY cleaning paste: Mix baking soda and vinegar together until it forms a thick paste. Whatever you decide for your hardwood floors, if youre in our Naperville, Glen Ellyn, La Grange Park and other parts of Dupage County service area, well be here to help you get the hardwood floors you want. The floorboards are particularly durable as a result of the aluminum oxide finish and the newly introduced Diamond 10 finish from Armstrong. One handy trick if you dont want to scrub on your hands and knees is to cut an x shaped opening in the top of the tennis ball and then adhering it to the top of a broomstick or mop. Well, each has its benefits. Usually this occurs when small dust particles settles on the finish as its drying. In a perfect world that would be true, however, wood is a natural living product and will expand and contract during the different seasons. Avoid the more abrasive side of the sponge since this may be too abrasive for the wood flooring. Here's more detail on the different floor finishing methods you have available with site finished hardwood floors: One of the myths of unfinished hardwood is that the entire floor gets coated with one smooth coating of finish leaving no spaces between the boards. 816-765-7777 WHICH HARDWOOD Finish DO YOU THINK IS BEST FOR YOUR HOME? caught in the finish. You can even make them look like pre-finished floors with bevels if you like, but with far more customization options (like the image below). Lets have a look at the pros, cons and some misconceptions of these types of wood floors. Pre-finished hardwood flooring has grown considerably over the last fifteen years as hardwood manufacturing has become more technical and delivers more style, design, and performance options. They helped me locate the materials and pick what would work best for me. In the end its completely up to you. So this one isnt as big an issue as the pro pre-finished crowd like to make out. Thinking of Staining Your Hardwood Floors a Dark Color? The sanding process is very similar to site-finished flooring. Theres just a few extra things that must be done. Generally, we like to cross cut on the first few rips. This helps get the floor flatter and gets all of the oxide finish off. Using HEPA filters on vacuums is recommended so that you dont inhale aluminum airborne particles. Usually after 4 passes the hardwood is ready for buffing. We spray the entire floor with water to check for missed spots that are not detected otherwise. This process is called water-popping and it also allows the stain to penetrate deeper into the grains of the wood flooring. When you see crowning in your floors, it means that there is more moisture on the surface of the floor than there is on the bottom in the subfloor. You cant always choose custom stain colors and sheens or certain board widths. Lets have a look a bit closer in to the pros, cons and then some misunderstandings of these types of wood floors. >> Explore Floor Decor's Guide to Custom Flooring Installations. I went to the store to purchase some materials. With a site-finished floor, the hardwood flooring material will be installed and then sanded flat. Im currently in the middle of choosing what to do with my floors. Impossible to do with bulk factory manufactured flooring. The moisture created by pet stains can cause warping, especially if its not cleaned up immediately. Cupping is caused by water or water vapor that is below the flooring planks. Now to choose between all the different types of wood. We have a solution for those pet stains in hardwood floors. Yes, that's correct! Now, we can provide a cheaper solution for our clients. Replacing those damaged boards has been the only solution for over 100 years. The Dangers of Hardwood Floor Refinishing, A Blast from the Past: Wood Floors in the 1800s, A Blast from the Past: Wood Floors in the 1920s. If you hire an inexperienced contractor to sand your floors, they might over sand through the wear-layer; now you will have to replace the floors anyways. The problem is that when you read all the fine print (which nobody ever seems to do) you soon see that theyre full of restrictive clauses that render them basically useless and impossible to redeem. Sorry to say, but anytime an existing floor is ripped up and removed (which is usually the case) and a new floor is installed, there will be a big mess to clean up, either by you, or if you hire a good company, by the crew. If some water damage does occur, a dehumidifier can be used to pull the excess moisture out from the air and wood. Hardwood can make cleaning up spills and scrubbing off dirt easy, so its a great option for families with kids and pets. The durable finish on pre-finished flooring means that it's often easier to maintain your floors as they'll be better able to withstand stains, scratches, and the general abuse of daily living. What Customers Like You Say About Buying from Floor Decor Design Center in Connecticut: choose between solid and engineered hardwood, Hardwood Flooring that's Scratch-Resistant From Armstrong, Explore Floor Decor's Guide to Custom Flooring Installations, two showroom locations in Middletown or Orange, The choice of finish water-based polyurethane, oil base polyurethane, or natural oil finish (more detail on these choices below), Sheen level high gloss, semi-gloss, matte, Custom installation patterns such as herringbone, borders, inlays, and medallions, Trying to match exactly an existing wood floor. Unfinished floors provide a blank canvas for any color of stain, inlays, borders, custom medallions, custom patterns, finish sheen levels plus grades and species of wood. Perhaps you recently purchased a home and it has old golden oak hardwood floors underneath the carpet. 3) Unlike pre-finished floors, you wont be able to walk on your floors right away. Color Matching New Hardwood To Old Hardwood Lacing & Blending Kansas City, MO, Staining Red Oak Floors White Kansas City, Spot Treating Pet Stains on Hardwood Floors, Color Matching New Hardwood To Old Hardwood Lacing[]>, Staining Red Oak Floors White Kansas City>, Spot Treating Pet Stains on Hardwood Floors>, Staining Maple Hardwood Floors Oil vs Water-Based Polyurethane>, Pre-Finished Hardwood Cost vs Site-Finished Hardwood Cost>. Youll find that the long-term benefits, value, and beauty of a finished on site floor out weights the perceived benefits of prefinished hardwood flooring. The faster your floor is finished the faster your home gets back to normal. Wood flooring is a beautiful addition to any home, and its functional, too. Hope that helps and you can find someone. For example, you won't find foreign particles, hair, dust, etc. Here are two you can DIY: White vinegar and grapefruit oil: White vinegar is a multipurpose home cleaner and odor remover, and grapefruit oil adds a fresh citrus scent. When you opt for site-finished hardwood, you are purchasing wood flooring that will be shipped to your home unfinished to be sanded, possibly stained, and then sealed and finished with a protective layer on the job site in your home. Placing plants and flowers in front of windows can also help offset some of the sunlight from shining directly onto the floors. Your email address will not be published. For the best experience on our site, be sure to turn on Javascript in your browser. In the case of pre-finished, you need to ensure that your subfloor is perfectly flat since you don't have the option to sand on-site. For example, you won't find foreign particles, hair, dust, . When done, dry thoroughly with a paper towel. The best way to remove stubborn dirt in the grains is get a deep cleaning done with a power floor scrubber and a deep cleaning solution. Ive heard all the pros listed above for choosing on-site finish vs pre-finished. Youll also need to keep an eye on your homes humidity and temperature. The pricing was very fair. Cupping, while similar to crowning, occurs when the border of the wooden plank gets raised. Hardwood can last a long time, but that doesnt mean its indestructible. If a floor needs to be refinished every 3-4 years then they either have a tribe of cleat wearing football layers living there or have used a really low quality finish :). system should you choose for your floors? They had a wide selection of products which made it a great shopping experience. To prevent crowning, dont mop your hardwood floors, as this provides too much moisture for your floor to handle. A lot of manufacturers use ultra-tough aluminum oxide finishes that are applied in numerous thin coats and cured by UV lights. But why isnt there ever a simple answer for anything! 2022 RippnFinish LLC. Unfortunately Im nowhere near Chicago so I cant hire you. But if you should find some, there are some painless solutions to removing them. Either way it is a high price to pay. The finish lasts considerably longer and carries a better warranty for the homeowner (e.g., 5 to 25 years vs. 3 to 5 years for site-applied finishes). 1) The biggest benefit with these floors is that because theyre sanded on-site before the finish is applied, they are smooth and table-top flat across the surface without any bevels and grooves. You can use a store-bought hardwood cleaner or make a homemade odor-absorbing cleaning solution. When it comes to choosing hardwood floors, not only can you choose between solid and engineered hardwood, but there are also pre-finished and site finished options. Since 2013, we've been refinishing and installing hardwood floors in homes and businesses throughout the Kansas City area with an unmatched level of service and quality. One is using a rubber eraser, either one found on a pencil top or a school eraser. Once dried you can wipe it away and the stain should be lifted. Resanding your old wood floor may not be the best way to save money after factoring in the additional labor costs. On the other hand, if you dont want to go all out and crazy with your floor and want something more mainstream that could be achieved with either option, then you need to ask yourself what your preference is when it comes to bevels and grooves. Pre-Finished vs. Site Finished Hardwood: Which is Better? Another solution is rubbing a tennis ball over the marks. Required fields are marked *, Please answer the question below before submitting your comment: one four = .hide-if-no-js{display:none!important}. If not, let me know in the comments orcontact us. I dont necessarily believe that based on their other horrible sales tactics, but is there any merit to how prefinished vs on site need to be cared for or resealed in the future?? As you might imagine, i. The staff was very friendly and helpful. Whats the Best Way to Clean Hardwood Flooring? Takeaway: Your worn down pre-finished hardwood flooring can be refinished up to 5 times. You can change the color of the entire floor each time that its completely refinished. Leave the bevel in the floor and DO NOT have the bevel filled. Pre-finished hardwoods show scratches more than site-finished hardwoods. Subfloor preparation is something we consider important to bring up before any kind of flooring installation whether site finished or pre-finished. If you are a consumer looking to purchase hard surface flooring, please consider putting down raw site-finished hardwoods. Its cheaper and you can have it refinished up to 5 times throughout the lifetime of the flooring. Pre-finished hardwoods can be sanded and refinished. We do it all the time! Most of the pre-finished flooring has a bevel in between each board. That bevel can be sanded flat, if you choose. However, it requires additional sanding. Thus, reduces the number of times that your floor can be refinished throughout the lifetime of your pre-finished hardwoods. If you choose to leave the bevel in the floor then you will still have the opportunity to refinish your floors many more times afterwards. Thanks for this article, it helped a lot. New Haven, CT - 3/12/19. All Rights Reserved. In fact, there are some problems with hardwood floors that can pop up from time to time. Same for site finished finishes. Pre-finished floors have become extremely popular in the last decade or so. You dont have to chase down the exact company that manufactured that specific line of flooring and hope they still produce it or are still in business. Our clients refer us to their friends and family because of how well we communicate throughout the entirety of your refinishing, installation, or repair project; because we go above and beyond in trying to make things as convenient as possible for you while we're in your home or business; and, because of the top-notch quality of our work and attention to detail. If you want your site-finished floor guy to go on a half hour rant, just mention how excited you are about the 30 year warranty you saw on the pre-finished hardwood floors at your local big box store and prepare to be educated. Remember that, during this time, you can't walk on the floors or put furniture on them and the smell of the finishing products may be unpleasant. You'll also have many more layers of finish than are possible to add to an unfinished hardwood floor. Unfortunately there are so many variables to each option. Do you want a completely unique, custom floor? Finally, the prefinished hardwood manufacturers offer a warranty on the finish that carries value for the consumer. Over sanding a wood floor will lead to the exposure of nail heads, which can be dangerous, especially for children and pets. 3) You have much more freedom to customize these floors any way you like. You may need to have experts find the source if you cannot determine it on your own, as this is a serious and urgent issue. But that doesnt mean hardwood is totally indestructible. That bevel we were just talking about above.ya, make sure that it never gets filled with wood putty (wood filler). Why? Because in a matter of 6 months, the filler will be cracking and peeling right out of it. Then, you will have to have your floors refinished again. Not a lot of people are aware of this trade secret. The rule of thumb, do not fill any gap or crack in the floor that is larger than a quarter (coin). If you can fit a quarter (coin) in the gap then it should not be filled. This is an industry standard set by the National Wood Flooring Association (NWFA). Be worried, if a contractor says that they can fill those big gaps and consider just doing board repairs or replacements. Traditionally, you choose on-site finishing for a new construction project when time isn't as critical a factor as when you've already occupied the space. These are the most common misconceptions we hear about site finished floors. Whatever you can think of you can do with a site-finished floor subject to time and money of course. Factory prefinished hardwood flooring usually has beveled, slightly rounded edges. Some new hardwax oil finish systems (like Rubio Monocoat) have hardly any smell to them at all. , you'll be able to discuss both types of finish in greater detail. A completely smooth and flat site finished oak floor with a custom hardwax oil finish in Naperville, Illinois. cyrus@armstrong-citywide.com, Common Prefinished Hardwood Flooring Problems. Prefinished hardwood flooring may seem like a great alternative to traditional installation, however, there are many prefinished hardwood flooring problems you should be aware of before choosing to go that route. On a prefinished floor, however, the thick seal layer means that when a section of flooring becomes damaged, the only way to repair it is to either sand the finish off the entire flooror remove and replace the broken section. 5) You also dont have much choice when it comes to customizing your floor with pre-finished floors. If a flooring is being sanded and finished at your home, it would be best to move in with your in-laws for a few days to allow the house to air out. Installing a new hardwood floor costs between $2,500 and $6,800 on average. This is one of the most common misconceptions between these types of flooring. Thankfully these are conditions humans feel comfortable as well. What is your reaction to this article? But with the right know-how, you can know just what to do. Do Hardwood Floors Keep Homes Cool in the Summer. Pre-finished flooring of comparable quality is always much more expensive to buy than its unfinished equal. What is your reaction to this article? 4) Years down the road, if there is major damage done to your floors, or if you want to add the same flooring to a joining room, it may be impossible to find the exact same flooring to match your original floor boards. The choice of pre-finished vs. site-finished has more to do with your own preferences and goals than whether one is truly better than the other. So to compensate for any milling discrepancies, the boards are milled with bevels to make the thickness inconsistencies blend in across the installed floor. Other homemade cleaning solutions include using a soft wet sponge and water to remove the scuffs. Thankfully these mostly go away after walking on the floors for a few weeks, but they will never be as perfect as boards sprayed in a booth. These warranties have obviously worked extremely well for them and they without a doubt help to sell these types of floors very well. This is one of the biggest well I wont call it an outright scam but genius marketing moves that the pre-finished wood flooring manufacturers have pulled off. But not all hardwood floor sanding businesses are stuck in the dark ages. If the floor does get wet, wipe it up immediately with a paper towel. Which is better? Lets have a look at the pros and cons of each below so you can make up your own mind. I had one company try to intimidate me by saying that on-site finished wood flooring needs to be refinished every 3-4 years vs their pre-finished wood. We use the Bona PowerScrubber for our deep cleans. To get the pinkish tint out of red oak, use double staining techniques and special sealers and finishes. You should do a post on that to help me out :). That's not the case with pre-finished flooring which requires no sanding and staining. They offer crazy 20 to 30 year warranties that sound great to a consumer. Its either that or they will need to send hours upon hours hand-scraping the finish from the bevels. It could also be due to a leaky pipe. Please leave us a review by clicking here. Adhesive felt pads come in a variety of sizes to match leg size. With a site-finished floor, unfinished wood is installed and then sanded and the finish is applied on-site. This allows your installer to remove any irregularities which may exist due to an uneven subfloor. When the flooring manufacturer finishes wood, it uses commercial processes in a controlled environment to apply powerful chemical sealers such as aluminum, titanium or other oxides embedded in a UV-cured urethane coat which adds the equivalent of the second hardest surface known to man (i.e., diamond) to the finish. My answer to people when they ask me this always comes back to two issues: To have complete control over a unique custom stained/colored, custom patterned or custom shaped floor then the only choice is to install unfinished wood and site-finish the floor.