I dislike pre-finished for a variety of reasons, but the main one is the sound when you walk across the room.

I raised three children, four cats, a dog and DH in a house with only hardwoods (no carpet anywhere) - even in the kitchen. Do 2 coats of a matt poly, 3 in the kitchen and enjoy them.

We had pre-finished in an office and it was harder to keep clean, imo.

I'm with Allison. I'm sure there are pros and cons of each, and people who like pre-finished will probably note the finish is longer lasting. I have no experience with that either way. One of my reasons for wanting on-site finishing is to avoid the micro-bevels. I don't care how small the grooves are, my 4 children will devise a way to fit crumbs in them!!

One of the floor company reps I spoke with described it to me as follows: "On-site finishing is a truly custom floor. Prefinished is just a floor covering" Now, that doesn't matter to me, and those weren't my words, so all of those in favor of pre-finished please don't flame me.

I know my gc wasn't the happiest when I told him of my plans for site-finishing. I think they have to clear people out of there for longer than he would like. But that doesn't concern me too much. I think he'll come to terms with my decision.

Amy

Prefinished floors have a harder more consistent finish: no stray hairs, lint etc. that are inevitable in site-finished wood.

However, the micro-bevels (the space between the boards) give a look to prefinished that some people find objectionable. And the very consistency is what some buyers don't like. It looks too machinemade and artificial. Site-sanded floors look more lived-in, "warmer", for lack of a better term.

I see both types being used in high-end homes. Since I am dealing with buyers who are always hunting for "flaws" to knockdown my price or get a "credit", I lean to the speed and consistency of pre-finished. For those with a more developed aesthetic, site-finished might well be more attractive. Interestingly, the most expensive wood floors are made from recycled flooring and full of "imperfections".

My two cents: We have site-finished oak, nothing "special" like wide boards or quarter-sawed or exotic wood, but...I did insist that the floor guy buy some extra bundles and throw out the short boards. I hate that choppy look when a floor is all "patchwork-y" with short boards. Also dislike a wood floor that shines like a basketball court -- as I said, my opinion.

We're building with site finished. It was the micro bevels that I found objectionable. I do agree that site finished looks and feels more "custom".

Another site finished here. Both are good and I think it's a matter of personal preference. For me, I didn't want the micro bevels.

We are installing wide plank eastern white pine and will site finish it with satin Waterlox. We have used it before and love the finish. The pine, being soft will show normal wear, however, any major blemishes can be easily blended in by spot wiping on a little more Waterlox.

The initial installation is easy enough for a diy. If you want to stain it just add up to 1/4 part oil based stain (like Minwax) to the first coat of Waterlox Sealer, apply it with a lambs wool applicator, and let it soak in. Wipe up the residue a short while later. After curing (about a day) put on the second coat of plain Waterlox Sealer (can only add stain to the first coat). No sanding is required for adhesion between coats because each coat soaks into the wood. The final two coats are made with Waterlox Satin finish.

I bought my pine through Lumber Liquidators for $1.25/sf (normally was $1.65/sf) though a local store. Since we bough enough for 3200 sf they gave us a good price. The Waterlox worked out to about $0.50/sf bought online (not through Waterlox). Since we are doing all the installation and finish ourselves our total cost will be less than $2.00/sf.

I won't say its easy to install plank flooring. We work about 4 to 5 hours a day on it and at the rate we are going it will take us 5 weeks just to cut and nail 3200 sf down. We put it everywhere except the bathrooms and utility room. My little girl has allergies and we didn't want carpet. It will probably take another couple of weeks to finish it.

The eastern white pine flooring is a less formal floor but has a timeless look to it. Many colonial era homes still have the original pine floors. Well worn, yes, but if maintained, very comfortable and inviting. We love it already, even though we have not started the finish.

'I dislike pre-finished for a variety of reasons, but the main one is the sound when you walk across the room.'

. . . what? I can't imagine that means; could you please explain?

Thanks!

Any thoughts about the square edge prefinished floor. I don't like the micro bevels, but i am seeing prefinished with square edge. Any experience with this??

happykate, if it's over concrete it "clunks," for lack of a better term. Not loud...and maybe I hear really well....but it's not like walking on stone, tile or real wood. It sounds better over subfloors (plywood) but still makes a noise. This is, of course, with shoes on.

I would suggest anyone considering pre-finished to it installed before putting in their home so you know exactly what you're getting.

"happykate, if it's over concrete it "clunks," for lack of a better term. Not loud...and maybe I hear really well....but it's not like walking on stone, tile or real wood. It sounds better over subfloors (plywood) but still makes a noise. This is, of course, with shoes on."

You must have experienced a floating floor. With glued or nailed pre-finished there's no difference in sound compared to site-finished. Installation really has very little to do with whether or not the wood is pre-finished, and the way the wood sounds when walking on it is definitely an installation issue.

The method of installation has more to do with sound quality than does finish. Glue down engineered over concrete will not sound any different than nailed down solid over plywood if the slab is properly flat and the correct adhesive is used. A floating floor over any subsstrate will have a more hollow sound than one that has good contact with the subfloor, no matter what material that subfloor is composed of. The actual finish on the top of the boards isn't going to affect the acoustics either.

There is absolutely no comparing the durability of a factory aluminum oxide coating to any type of site applied and cured coating. THe aluminum oxide will always be more durable. Factory coating and UV curing will produce a product that is more uniform and more durable every time. It doesn't have to look "plasticy" either. A satin finish is available from most manufacturers, as is factory finished with no bevels. It avoids the inevitiable imperfection of possible sanding marks, "additions" to the finish like dust or insects, and the odor and wait time for the finish to cure. It's a much "greener" finish as well. Factory finishes are applied in strict controlled conditions that are subject to OSHA and EPA inspections and regulations. Not so site finished.

And finally, it's become a bit of fashionable snob appeal to have "hand finished imperfection" in items. Modern technology has the ability to produce perfectly sprayed on factory finishes for furniture and cabinetry, so people at all economic levels are now able to enjoy the "perfection" that used to come only with lots of money spent on it. So, now things have reversed, and "imperfection" is a sign of wealth. Sorta like a tan used to be a sign that someone has to labor all day in the sun and was an undesirable look. Until modern factories were established and most of the population began to have the majority of their working life inside and away from the sun. Then, it became a sign of wealth to have a tan, because it meant you had the leisure to lounge about in the sun while the peons were hard at work in your factories. Sociology lesson over. ;~)

No, I meant real wood as in site finished flooring. Sorry. Multi-taksing.

DH said one of them I didn't like was glued down and not the thin/less expensive kind. It wouldn't be glued down over subfloor. He reminded me a did like the pre-finished, distressed with beveled edge flooring in a SL or SA showhome. Don't remember who it was made by but it was all hand planed. Super expensive.

All I'm saying is for her to be sure and see the sample she likes in a finished setting (not the store).

"imperfection" is a sign of wealth

A wood flooring guy I know once did a home for one of the Eatons in their heyday. He put the greatest effort into using only the finest matched select pieces. Instead of being pleased, the owner said he hated it and demanded he beat it up with chains and hammers and then refinish it.

Wow, I must be wealthy 'cause I love the imperfect look.

We are doing 10" plank pine site-finished. That way, I have the best chance of having a floor that "patinas" over time. With two spastic dogs, it probably won't take long.

I've looked at some very expensive pre-finished flooring and it just didn't do it for me. It just looked artificial.

There is no better or worse. It is totally dependent on what is most important to you. I am using a planed and distressed pre-finished wood with a finish that is so beautiful (and yes, so perfect) that it looks like furniture on the floor. I love the idea that the wood was finished in a controlled environment so that the finish is pure- and the aluminum oxide factory finish is far superior to site finished in terms of hardness. Also, there is solid wood and engineered wood available in pre-finished styles. Both are able to be sanded and refinished in the future(the amount of refinishing will be determined by the thickness), the same as a site finished floor. Your prices for pre-finished vs. site finished, would they (I believe) be including installation? I did not find any pre-finished woods that were comparable in price to the site finished. Most of the pre-finished that I considered were running around $10-$15/sq ft and the site finished were around $5-$7...and then installation costs for each. I have spoken to well over 15 different sales people at flooring stores, in addition to multiple manufacturers representatives, and I have never had any of them state anything close to what amyks was told. In fact, almost exclusively the recommendation was made in favor of pre-finished.
Again, you're not going to go wrong either way. Any type of wood floor is beautiful, long lasting, tasteful, and versatile!

I forgot to add...all of the builders that I have spoken with generally prefer site finished to pre-finished. I think that this is because there is less need for care throughout the installation process...not to mention the rest of the build. "someone dropped a hammer/paint/cabinets/granite/appliances/cigarettes/tile...no problem-let's sand and refinish!"

Thanks for all the input, you have given me a lot to think about. I'm leaning towards the site finished right now for a couple reasons. Let me know if you think my logic is not on target.

1. "micro-bevels" I don't like to spend my days and nights cleaning and it sounds like these little bevels can make the floor look dirty?????

2. Dixie said this...

"someone dropped a hammer/paint/cabinets/granite/appliances/cigarettes/tile...no problem-let's sand and refinish!"

I've heard similar remarks like that. The house we are building is our "forever house". If someday, it starts looking too worn out or I get tired of the color, we can just sand and refinish the entire floor. Is that even possible w/ pre finished. "they" say you can't do that with a pre-finish?????

One of the local flooring guys told me something interesting the other day. He is getting a lot of people who buy prefinished, then have them lightly sanded and put a coat or two of urathane on them to "fill in the micro-bevels".

"no problem-let's sand and refinish!"

I'd be cautious with "no problem". This works well for minor scratches. If you dropped something heavy and got a deep gauge, good luck sanding that out perfectly.

It is also a PITA (dust, stain, top coat odors - in a lived-in house; oh my!).

Much better to be careful and don't damage your floor...

Is that even possible w/ pre finished. "they" say you can't do that with a pre-finish?????

Not sure who "they" is... We were told that we could definitely sand and refinish in the future. It IS solid wood, after all....

I'm with the choir that doesn't like factory finished floors.
We looked and looked for a wider plank in engineered (we're on slab). I think 99% on the market was prefinished and "hand scraped". Really difficult to find a true wide plank in engineered to begin with and then to not find one scraped is all but impossible. And, I don't care if it's really hand scraped or machine, to me it looks repetitive. Finally we found a beautiful 8" natural white oak that will be finished with tung oil. We could have had the same floor in a prefinished stain but with our golden retriever we figured the tung oil made more sense.

We're doing site-finished with Satin Waterlox, like cottonland. We have kids and dogs, and I really like that I won't have to completely sand and refinish the entire floor to fix one area--just refresh it in the places that need it. I think it will be easier to keep up with, and maybe never get so that the whole thing is in need of major help.

I've had pre-finished and site-finished. Both are good. One is more durable than the other but both can be damaged. In my old house I had pre-finished oak glued to concrete and it didn't have a woody sound, it had a clicking sound when I walked on it. But it was fine. However, since you can't glue solid wood to concrete there is no real comparison that can be made in the sound of that type of installation.

I believe pre-finished nailed to subfloor would feel as comfortable and sound as good as the site-finished pine I am installing. That wasn't an issue with me. My primary issues were saving money by installing and finishing it myself and the fact that I love the way tung oil finished pine looks.

Durability is not an issue with me. I know the site-finished pine is going to show wear and dings. But I love the lived-in look of tung oil finished pine and the ability to spot refresh areas showing excessive wear by wiping on a little more tung oil every few years.

our GC wouldn't let us install pre finished even if we wanted it. for him (and us) it's a custom home which means we will choose the color and finish on site, after the walls are up and we're able to select based on the overall look. we're all very old school as far as materials are concerned.
i've seen gorgeous pre finished floors but the bevels really bug me. it screams pre finished... i don't know why it bugs me but it does but that's just me, and what do i know? it all comes down to what you prefer. i don't give a rats a$$ what anyone thinks of my choices since i'm the one who's going to live with them. take the time to really look at both options and see how you feel. don't make a choice without actually viewing the pre finished. while i know we're going with on site finishing i have spent a good part of eight months trying to decide on species. so many choices and i have to pick just one! GL and happy shopping.

cottonland, we are thinking about doing the same as you. wide plank pine flooring. Do you have any pictures of your floor?

mikeyvon,

Here are a couple of pics of the flooring upstairs. It is not stained and finished yet, just laid and nailed along the tongue edges. We also will come back and face nail the floor before we apply the finish. The flooring doesn't have matched ends so the face nailing will help even out the ends as well as help prevent cupping of the boards. I haven't decided whether I'm going to hammer in cut nails or just use an air nailer and fill the holes.

One thing about the flooring is there is some slight inconsistencies in width and thickness (+/- 1/6") so unless you like a really informal look you might want to cull more boards and sand the floor smooth before finishing. However, the milled finish is smooth enough to not really need sanding otherwise. I culled around 5% and had about another 5% waste after cutting out bad spots. I'm going to need to order another 200 sf to complete everything it looks like. We have about a week's worth more of laying floor and then I'm going to take a break before finishing the floor.

{{gwi:1440307}}

{{gwi:1440308}}

cottonland, your floors look great. You have the look I am going for. I will be installing and finishing myself also.

What color/tone of stain do you plan on using? The natural looks great by itself.

I live in a small logging town with two decent sized mills, I wonder if there are any local products that I can get for a good price.

Thanks mikeyvon. We have tried out a few stains and are leaning towards a medium to dark red mahogony. The color we liked the best was a two stage process - a coat of dark brown (walnut? I can't remember) followed by a coat of red mahogony later. It gave the wood grain a two-tone look that was nice. The finish made a difference - it had a purple hue until the tung oil was applied - don't know why.

Since I am going to mix the stain in with the first coat of Waterlox, though, I won't be able to use a two tone stain process. I haven't tried the stain/Waterlox combo yet on any scraps. Probably will next week. Minwax makes a red sedona that is also a medium reddish brown color that might work.

I like just finishing it natural, too, and just let the finish mellow out on it's own. The wood has already, in just a few weeks since I started, darkened up a little on its own. In fact, some of the cutoffs I had to make were where a board sitting in the pile got uneven exposure because it was covered by another board. The exposed parts were noticebly darker.

We are interested in at least 5inch widths - our builder told us we should look to the pre-finished offerings based on the culping we would experience with onsite finishing with these widths. Is this true?

We went with on-site finished random width white oak. I love the look! We had originally wanted 4-inch eased edge, but builder said it was too much of a hassle.

We just went through this trade ourselves for a new construction home. In the end - it came down to color selection for us. With pre-finished, you have a limited number of stain colors. With on site finsihed, their is no limit.

We found some really great pre-finished products that are very competitively priced to the same width and quality wood as site finished. We chose site finished because the stain color we want was not available in the pre-finished offerings we looked at.