You have to wait the month. The 1 month is required to take the finish from 'soft and vulnerable' to 'hard and durable'. The biggest issue with rugs over new finish = imbedding the rug INTO the finish. Yes. If you put down the rugs too soon you run the risk the soft/uncured finish will seep into the rug pad and cause a MASSIVE failure.

I've seen it before. It is very sad. The only thing you can do is keep the rug off the floor for the entire 30 days. Chemical cure rates cannot be sped up. Chemistry doesn't alter because we want to move our furniture just once.

I know it is frustrating but it the only thing you can do. It is cheaper to move the furniture twice than it is to store the furniture and yourself in another location.

The floor also needs time to shed (or gain) colour. This comes from UV exposure. If your wood is the type of product that gains or looses colour quickly (cork loses and maple gains) you will want to keep the rugs off the floor for 3-6 months ... if possible.

Yikes! 3-6 months! Does that include furniture? (Our floors are narrow board white oak, first installed in 1945).

The finishing company said we could put furniture back after 2 weeks if we put felt pads under the legs. But, reading the internet, it seems like we were misinformed about a lot of the things that are advised after finishing wood floors so I am not sure if I should trust their advice. Now I am not sure I should be putting the furniture back, even with felt pads, before the 1 month is up.

I am thinking specifically about our bed, with the weight of a mattress and 2 chubby people, all resting on the small legs of our bedframe? Will that leave indents even if we rest them legs on small felt guards? Is that really going to be ok unless we wait the full month? And chairs, they move a little when you sit in them, will putting those back with felt feeties, after 2 weeks, really be ok?

Felt is more for scratching. Dents are caused by pressure over an area. Felt does nothing to prevent pressure....sudden impact but not pressure.

There are products available to spread out the pressure caused by furniture. Do you know how to use google?

If, you are installing custom rugs with 2' ft. exposed perimeters. I'd say just go ahead and install it and move in. You're basically covering up the entire floor. The cure time will be meaningless.

Hi G & S- I do not understand why covering up most of the floor makes the cure time meaningless. Doesn't the large size of the rug mean we need to be even MORE sure not to go to quickly and end up with carpet embedded in the finish?

What finish is on the floors? What does the product specs say about cure times?

You're covering up 90 % of the flooring with a custom rug. What is the likely hood of you changing it? Probably slim to none. The floor finish will cure, the 3/8 -1/2" felt padding will not embed into the finish. I doubt that you will be taking the rugs to your next home, when you sell. The only thing a new buyer will have to deal with is an outline of the rug, if any (walls do not get sunlight like the middle of the room) and thousands of staples if, they ever change the decor. How often is there foot traffic along the walls? Most walls are filled with furnitures. Your design is common in my area. Clients spend $40-50K on wood floors, then install custom rugs with exposed perimeters. IMO cure time isn't as important in these situations, when it will be covered up and not affected by foot traffic. You are not dealing with wear. Install the rug and move in.

I've personally seen area rugs imbed into a finished floor. It isn't pretty. What type of finish do you have? Is it oil based or water based? Do you know the name of the finish? Oil based finishes take longer to cure. These are the one's that smell bad AND take 30 days to cure.

Water based finishes take about 2 weeks to cure and can have furniture moved in by day 7. The area rugs still must be kept off the floor for 2-3 weeks. The 'sunlight' issues are not for curing. They are for keeping the colour of the floor uniform. How many times have wee seen, "Help! I moved my area rug and now my floors don't match?"