When it comes to installing wood floors in your home, one of the first decisions you’ll need to make is whether to go with unfinished or pre-finished flooring. The choice you make will not only affect the final look of your floors but also the time and effort required to get them installed. If you’re in a hurry, pre-finished wood floors can be the fastest way to go.
Unfinished vs. Pre-Finished Wood Flooring
There are different types of hardwood floors. First, let’s understand the difference between unfinished and pre-finished flooring. While both will make a beautiful floor that will last for decades, there are some distinct differences. These differences have to do with the finish on the flooring.
Unfinished Wood Flooring
Unfinished wood flooring is exactly what it sounds like – raw wood that needs to be finished on-site after installation. This traditional approach allows for a high level of customization. You can choose the stain color and finish to perfectly match your home’s aesthetic. However, the process of sanding, staining, and sealing the wood is labor-intensive and time-consuming. At SVB Wood Floors, we offer dustless sanding, so there’s no mess, but we still have to do the sanding on site.
Pre-Finished Wood Flooring
Pre-finished wood flooring, on the other hand, comes ready to install straight from the factory. They are sanded, stained, and sealed in a controlled environment, which results in a more consistent and durable finish. You simply choose the color and finish you like. Once the flooring is laid, your floor is essentially done – no additional work is required.
Solid Wood Vs. Engineered Wood Floors
Before diving deeper into why pre-finished flooring is the fastest way to get your wood floors installed, there’s one more distinction we have to make. There are two types of flooring you can use for wood floors – solid wood and engineered wood floors. It’s important to understand the difference between the two. While the difference between unfinished (sometimes called site-finished) and pre-finished has to do with the top of the board (the part you see once it is installed), the difference between solid and engineered flooring has to do with how the flooring is made. Pre-finished flooring can be either solid wood or engineered wood.
Solid Wood Floors
Solid wood floors are made from a single piece of hardwood. They are known for their longevity and the ability to be sanded and refinished multiple times. Solid wood flooring is often favored for its classic look and feel, as well as its potential to add value to a home.
Engineered Wood Floors
Engineered wood floors consist of a thin layer of hardwood on top of a core made from layers of plywood or high-density fiberboard. This construction makes them more stable and less prone to warping compared to solid wood, especially in areas with fluctuating humidity levels. While they can also be sanded and refinished, it can be done fewer times compared to solid wood.
Why Pre-Finished Flooring Is Faster
No matter if you choose solid wood or engineered wood flooring, one of the biggest advantages of pre-finished flooring is the time saved during installation. Since the flooring is already sanded, stained, and sealed in the factory, you avoid what can be a messy and time-consuming process of doing it on-site. There’s no need to wait for stain and sealer to dry, which can take several days, especially if multiple coats are required. With pre-finished flooring, once it’s installed, your floor is ready to walk on immediately.
A Perfect and Durable Finish
Another significant benefit of pre-finished wood floors is the quality of the finish. Since the flooring is finished in a factory, they are subject to a controlled environment that allows for a much more consistent and durable finish than what can typically be achieved on-site. Factory-applied finishes often include multiple layers of protective coating, making the floors more resistant to scratches, moisture, and general wear and tear.
What You See Is What You Get
Additionally, with pre-finished flooring, you get to see exactly what your floors will look like before it’s installed. There are no surprises, as the color, sheen, and texture are already set. This is a huge advantage if you’re trying to match your floors to existing décor or if you have a specific vision in mind.
Speedy Wood Floor Installation
Perhaps the biggest advantage of pre-finished wood flooring is the speed of installation. Because the flooring is ready to go as soon as they arrive, the installation process is quick and straightforward. There’s no need for extensive prep work, and the time-consuming tasks of sanding, staining, and sealing are eliminated. This means that what would normally take weeks with unfinished planks can be completed in just a few days with pre-finished flooring.
Hardwood Floors in a Hurry
If you’re looking for the fastest way to get beautiful, durable wood floors installed in your home, pre-finished wood flooring is the ideal choice. They offer a perfect factory finish, allow you to see the final look before installation, and, most importantly, save you a significant amount of time during the installation process. With some projects, time is of the essence. Let’s say you decide to host the holidays and want your floor installed in time for Thanksgiving or Christmas. Choosing pre-finished wood floors over site-finished wood floors may make it possible to fit into your schedule. Either way, when you choose SVB Wood Floors to install your new hardwood floors, you’re going to love the way they look!
