Pre-finished Flooring Installation

Traditional hardwood floors are usually installed as unfinished planks that, after being installed, are sanded, stained and treated to give them a desired color and a protective layer. However, the newer style of these floors is pre-finished hardwood. Because pre-finished hardwood comes stained and treated, it makes installation easier and less labor intensive. And, while there are some good pros for this type of flooring, there are also a few cons. It’s important to know both if you are looking at pre-finished floors.
 
Easy Installation
One of the huge pros for pre-finished hardwood flooring is that it is much easier to install. While the actual laying of the floor is relatively the same as with unfinished hardwood, pre-finished hardwood flooring gets rid of several steps that can put strains on time and budget. Because pore-finished hardwood is stained and treated, commercially, before it arrives at your home, this means that the final step in the installation process is installing trim. There is no need to sand, stain or apply a protective coat because these things have already been done before you even get the flooring.
 
Easy Maintenance
Another benefit of pre-finished flooring is that maintenance on it is very easy. Because this type of flooring has a commercial stain and protective sealant placed on it, it is much more resistant to certain things such as staining. These types of floors also resist moisture better and they typically discolor much less than unfinished hardwood floors that you have installed and stained yourself. This also means that pre-finished hardwood floors typically hold up better and eliminates the need for you to go through floor refinishing every few years going in to the future.
 
Complicated Repairs
One of the major drawbacks of pre-finished floors is that they are not easy to repair. In unfinished hardwood floors, if a plank of wood starts to become dinged or scratched, you can usually sand out the imperfection and then apply stain to just that one part; blending in to the rest of the floor. With pre-finished flooring though, if a plank becomes scratched or dented, it’s not as easy as just sanding one plank down and restraining. Usually, to match the color correctly, the entire section of wood needs to be taken out and replaced, so as to match it perfectly.
 
Hardwood Vs Engineered
If you are looking to install pre-finished flooring, another option that you will have is to choose between pre-finished hardwood and engineered hardwood. These two types of flooring both offer different benefits. Pre-finished hardwood flooring is durable and and can be refinished (although this is a hard process), while pre-finished engineered flooring cannot be refinished. Because hardwood is a single piece of wood, layers can be stripped to remove imperfections. Engineered hardwood only has a layer of wood on top, and then plywood underneath; meaning that to get rid of imperfections, the engineered wood needs to be completely replaced.