Prefinished Hardwood Flooring Vs Unfinished Hardwood Flooring – Understanding Both
Hardwood flooring is an extremely popular option, especially amongst homeowners looking to beautify their homes and add some classic touches to them. Wooden flooring definitely has an aesthetic appeal that no other form can provide. Plus, it offers many different options to consider which allow you to experiment and create unique looks and designs for your space. There are different types of woods, different qualities to consider as well as different ways and finishes with which you can install them in your home. Plus hardwood flooring really does add some interesting accents to your home. There cannot be a better option to consider for the floors of your property
A lot of people do not fully understand the difference between prefinished and unfinished hardwood flooring types. Here is a basic comparison to help you understand the nuances of both varieties.
Unfinished hardwood flooring
These are floors that are delivered raw, without any staining or finishing work done on them. These tasks are completed at the installation site itself, allowing the homeowner to customise the flooring themselves by selecting which colour, stain or finish will be best for their home space. This is an even more important feature to consider in case your home already has hardwood floors installed and you want to extend them by adding new planks that fit seamlessly with the existing ones. Unfinished hardwood flooring will let you find the exact matching stain and colour to your existing flooring, making your floor installation flawless and complete. Hand-distressing and aging techniques can also be incorporated in historical homes. The process of installing this type of flooring however calls for a much more labour intensive effort. It will generally involves sanding the floor completely flat, applying the desired stain, and adding multiple coats of a urethane-based finish to protect the underlying wood.
Prefinished hardwood flooring
This type of hardwood flooring offers a much quicker solution to your installation and finishing plans. In this category, the hardwood planks are installed in a prefinished state with multiple coats of protective finish applied at the factory itself. But they happen to be costlier than their unfinished counterparts which are a major disadvantage with them. However, since the staining and finishing processes have already been dealt with, all that will be left to do is installing the planks which will take a much lesser amount of time. Finished-at-the-factory floors are often more durable than their raw counterparts and can therefore better withstand high-traffic areas like the kitchen and bathroom. Another benefit with prefinished hardwood flooring is that it can be installed on a variety of base materials as well. You can lay these planks over old hardwood, plywood, concrete, and various other flat surfaces. One excellent feature includes a highly durable, scratch-resistant finish, referred to as aluminum oxide finish.
Both these varieties are quite excellent options for homeowners. You can choose whichever suits your criteria best.
If you are planning to get hardwood flooring for your home, be sure to look at the internet for options. Visit Superior-Hardwoods.com to know more.