So you’re looking for hardwood flooring, but you’re debating between Pre-finished flooring vs. Unfinished flooring. The benefits of Pre-finished flooring are obvious, but this article is going to focus on why Unfinished flooring is still a viable option.
#1 Reason to Choose Unfinished Flooring
No dirt traps! Unfinished flooring is almost always manufactured with Square edges, meaning each plank buts tightly against the next plank, without any “bevels” or “micro-bevels” to catch dirt. This means that your entire floor will be flat across the entire space, from wall-to-wall. This is a perfect solution to one of the biggest complaints about Prefinished wood floors, which are almost always manufactured with beveled edges, which are notorious for collecting dirt and grime, which is not easy to clean out of those little grooves.
#2 Reason to Choose Unfinished Flooring
A perfect seal! Think about it, when a prefinished floor is installed, each plank is butted up to the next as tightly as possible, and when the installation is complete, the floor is instantly ready to be lived on, which is great! But…
Since each piece of a prefinished floor is finished individually, there is nothing being done about the tiny seems that are left between every single board. This is where Unfinished flooring becomes the superior product. When an unfinished floor is installed, not only are the edges square, so the butt together tightly, there is another benefit to using unfinished wood floors. After an unfinished wood floor is installed, you have the opportunity to fill any unsightly cracks between planks, or trowel fill the entire surface like the professionals do. But the most important fact is that once you have finished filling, and the whole floor is sanded flat and smooth, the entire surface is finished with multiple coats of wood floor finish!
This means that (if the floor is installed and finished properly) you actually have a surface that is water tight sealed! Does this mean that you can just spill liquid all over the floor and let the dog wet the floor and you don’t have to clean it? NO! But it does mean you can relax, and live a much more care-free lifestyle on your wood floors, and when an accident happens, just wipe it up and forget about it! Because there’s no liquid getting between the planks to cause moisture damage!
#3 Reason to Choose Unfinished Flooring
Choices! Once an unfinished wood floor is installed, it is literally a blank canvas to do with whatever you please! (well, almost anything) You can stain your unfinished wood floors a huge variety of colors, not just colors that we traditionally associate with wood flooring, like brown and red tones… Some hardwoods like Ash and White Oak can be stained nearly any color you can think of, like pink, blue, red, green, even white! Or you can leave the floor natural and just finish the wood with a clear finish.
The customization doesn’t stop with color. Once you have decided on a color, you can actually choose exactly how glossy, or how NOT glossy you want your floors to be. Most wood floor finish manufacturers offer their finishes in 3 different sheen levels: High-Gloss, Semi-Gloss, and Satin. Sometimes you will even see a Matte finish, which by definition has almost NO sheen at all. While high-gloss finishes were very popular through the 80’s and 90’s, the new millennium is demanding Satin and Semi-Gloss finishes for a more up-to-date look. Aside from their visual appeals, a lower gloss finish also hides scratches and other flaws better than a high gloss finish. Also many complain about the fact that when you look across a wood floor that is finished with a high-gloss finish, most of what you see is a glare from nearby lighting, instead of actually seeing the beauty of the wood flooring.
#4 Reason to Choose Unfinished Flooring
Easier Repairs! If you’ve ever had to repair one or more planks in a modern prefinished wood floor, then you know that it is practically impossible to repair the Aluminum Oxide enhanced finishes that are used on these floors. The only solution in these cases is board replacement, where the damaged planks are cut out of the floor and replaced with new ones. This includes not only major damage like water damage, but even just scratches can result in board replacement with prefinished wood floors.
On the other hand, if you install an unfinished wood floor, and have it finished on-site, repairs can be done much easier. Since all on-site finishes are repairable problems like scratches and gouges can be fixed by simply sanding the effected area, re-staining if necessary, and applying a few coats of finish with a brush or applicator pad. No board replacement! With an unfinished floor that is finished on-site, board replacement will only be necessary when major damage occurs, like flooding or fire.
We hope you’ve learned enough to know whether you want an Unfinished wood floor or a Prefinished wood floor. If you’ve decided to go with Unfinished flooring, you can browse our huge collection of Unfinished Flooring now! If you decided to stick with Prefinished flooring, go check out our huge assortment of Prefinished wood floors now!
