Site finished vs. SOLID pre-finished hardwood floors

8 years ago

Good Morning-

We are having a custom home built and will have hardwood floors on the the majority of the first floor. We are trying to decide between solid (not engineered) pre-finished 3 1/4 inch oak ,or site finished 3 1/4 inch oak. Our previous home had site finished - satin finish.

We had been leaning toward site finished - mostly because of the smooth finish - no beveled edges. But, we have been told the pre-finished has a tougher finish, and less likely for movement - i.e. cupping, seam opening etc. We have small dogs - with our previous site finished floor - had no issues - just some light surface scratches. Also, we will run a humidifier year round to keep the humidity at a constant optimal level. We live in central Ohio.

Please, can you share experiences/opinions? Thank you in advance.

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Comments (4)

gregmills_gw
8 years ago
You received bad information about the prefinish less likely to move. now they could have been referring to the engineered. but Solid prefinish is just as likely to move with a site finish floor. of course the movement will come from the environmental conditions in the home.

Do prefinish floors has a tougher finish? yes, but it comes down to lifestyle. if you have a bunch of kids, large dogs, and throw partys every weekend, no finish will hold up for very long. But it sounds like you dont have the problem, so the toughness of the finish shouldnt be a huge factor for you. There are plenty of decent finishes on the market used by pros that for your situation should suit you just fine.

I think the thing you should be looking at is price. Does the install of prefinish along with the price of the material work for your budget? or does the site finished work better? Site finish means the project will take a bit longer, because of the added time needed to sand and finish the floors. but those are minor.

Have you found a pre finish product you like?

In either case you should focus on sourcing a good professional and he will be able to answer the more detailed questions that are particular to your new home.
PRO
MDLN
8 years ago
Have both. Prefer the site finished.

Scratch a piece of the prefinished, despite it being more scratch resistant, it is not scratch proof. Scratches on the prefinished seem more noticable, they have a white haze (was told it was the finish).

The seams are just as open on the prefinished.

Also, dust seems to settle (be swept) into the bevels of the prefinished.
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I think the misinformation was about screening and recoating a site finished and doing a board replacement. On site finished if you have a problem its much harder to do a single board replacement and have it blend. Most times you would have to resand the entrire floor to make it look good. With factory fiished a single board could be replaced without resanding adjoining areas. Either could be screened and recoated without sanding. Comments about factory finishes scratching are sometimes due to the fact that with multi coat products the almunium oxide is left off the top coat. It tends to look milky and the idea is to make the top coat easy to repair when scratches occur so its often pure urethane with the AO below the top coat.
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As JLC said, you have nicely finished doorways ... the only time you will see both floors is when you have a door open. And with the difference in lighting, you won't notice slight differences. Here's how I match or blend finishes: Bring home some samples of the prefinished you are thinking about and lay them in the hallway, parallel to the existing floors. Stand back 10 or so feet and pick the board or boards that you have the hardest time spotting. That's your match. Or, remove the boards that stand out ... what's left is the matching color. If you carefully pick the ONE board that is just inside the doorway to be as close a match to the older one in the hall it will make the blend almost invisible. Here, in an 1880s adobe ... the door stops where the pale wood is, and I picked new boards with the brownish tones of the old floor (upper part) to make the new flooring (running side to side) less conspicuous. (there was craptastical 1990s carpet and some wierd sill arrangement to deal with ... nothing in the house is square, plumb, or level). By matching size and rustic-ness in the new flooring we got a floor that blends with the old. Cleaning and refinishing the old floor (eventually) will make oit blend better.
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In theory the site-finished hardwood will have a slight edge on "water resistance" than factory finished. As Handy Mac points out, the finish will coat the entire floor in a single SHEET of finish. Now...that isn't to say it will be SUPER water resistant. It won't be. Most wood will have issues with large amounts of water allowed to sit on the floor. But the worry you have - water getting between the planks - is greatly reduced with a site-finish...again it is a large SHEET of finish that spans the boards = a thin layer of plastic = a little bit more water resistant than factory finished. Again...these numbers and 'time frames' are very similar. But there *should be a slight advantage for the site finished. That's why we require our cork floors in kitchens be site finished after installation - the polyurethane spans the joints making the floor resistant to surface spills (many hours of protection because cork itself doesn't care...but the fibre board in the middle does).
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That wood work in your home is to die for! Honestly, often part of the charm of older homes is the "evolution" of different types of hardwoods over time - are you completely opposed to sanding the existing hardwoods down and refinishing in the same stain? The ones in your pictures look to be in great shape and definitely fit the feel and age of your home. Could save you a lot of money and headache and end up looking great - just a thought. Whatever you do, please avoid putting in wide plank engineered wood floors (that are everywhere right now) - vintage hardwoods are incredible elements in older homes. Newer wood floors can zap the charm right out of an older home IMO.
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pdmd
Original Author
8 years ago
Thank you for your replies.

gregmills_gw - my mistake, yes, the engineered is what our GC had said would be less likely to move. We are empty nesters with small dogs. We will have family get togethers quite often - but nothing too crazy. We had our previous oak floors refinished - but that was only due to fading. Our windows did not have uv protection - this house will have that. The floors turned out beautifully - the flooring company - who would be installing site finished - if we go with that - used the BONA finish.

We have been looking at Somerset for prefinished oak. The cost is a bit more to go site finished - but that is not a deciding factor for us. I think the factors were the more durable finish and the quicker installation for the pre-finished - vs. no bevels - smooth finish on the site finished.

mdln - thank you for your comment - the scratching on the prefinished is very helpful.
PRO
Legacy Floors
8 years ago
last modified: 8 years ago
I prefer prefinished for many reasons including durability, the bevels DO help to hide the gapping more than a square edge site finished as well. However, I would personally look at other brands. Lately Somerset in my experience has been pretty low quality for the price. I find a lot of advantages to prefinished hardwoods, just look for something with a little character and lower sheen to help hide the wear better. I suggest Chelsea Plank Flooring

or Seasons Brand Hardwood. Chelsea is the best bang for your buck, and made exceptionally well right here in Michigan. Chelsea Plank Flooring

Site finished vs. SOLID pre-finished hardwood floors

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gregmills_gw

MDLN

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Site finished vs. SOLID pre-finished hardwood floors

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gregmills_gw

MDLN

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