best low voc prefinished hardwoods for sensitive person

3 years ago

Hi, I need your help. Needing prefinished solid hardwood flooring that is low voc. I understand FloorScore and Greenguard are good indicators. Plus water based polyurathane UV finish. That hardwood is better than engineered, because of the glue. It's a lot to understand. So, what brands should I look at? I have a spreadsheet of many names including Bruce. What do you think about home depot brands (house brands owned by them). I tried testing engineered and ordered a box of Optiwood but the smell was too strong for me. Ideally I'd order unfinished and use something to put on it but I can't in this situation. Thanks.

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Comments (5)

SJ McCarthy
3 years ago
You need to reach out to a TRUE hardwood flooring store...NOT a big-box store. The Lowe's and Home Depots of this world have their own brands....which are simply boxes filled with someone else's flooring. The best deals are to be had from China.

A Ma-and-Pa store with 25+ years of experience are going to be your best choice. They will have done everything, seen everything and thrown out all the cr@p mills that have lost their store money. You will NOT find that level of care with 'Timmy' at HD (cause yesterday Timmy had his orientation...before that he worked at a coffee shop).

Now...you are looking for EUROPEAN GRADE wood. Yep. That's expensive but it is what you are looking at. The VOC content in the European finishes are MUCH better than anything created in N. America (outside of those mills that will recreate finishes from scratch for a custom order over 2000sf).

The 'smell' may not be from the finish. Just remember: floors are cut and TREATED (could be pressure treated) or kiln dried before they are finished. And then they receive their 7 - 15 coats of finish (UV cured finishes with Aluminum Oxide = very common). As SOON as the finish has hardened (within the HOUR...I'm not kidding), they are then BOXED.

And BOXES have their own off gassing. And then they are shrink wrapped on a pallet ready for shipment. If those floors are coming from overseas (Europe of Asia), they are then sprayed to prevent the spread of pests to the N. American content. Usually this spray is done for the wooden pallets they are sitting on...but it's for the entire container.

Now...I've seen 'bad smelling' or 'chemical smells' coming off of cork flooring yet the entire thing had the same VOC content as a serving of Vinegar. Why? Because they are packaged SOOOOO quickly that the odour or the finish (0 VOC still has odour) has not been removed.

Which means the 'smell' is not VOCs...it is just the smell of wood with polyurethane on it.

The way around this: Find a LOCAL MILL and have them prepare your wood flooring from scratch and ask for their LOWEST VOC finish they have. Ask them to allow it to properly 'off gas' before it is boxed. You will pay extra for this...but it can be done.

The way to find a local mill? Stop in at your local hardwood flooring store and ask your local experts...the owners. They will find something for you...and they will arrange delivery, acclimation and installation for you.
RR D thanked SJ McCarthy
RR D
Original Author
3 years ago
Oh my goodness SJM thank you for your extremely informative and entertaining response! Exactly because they guy might have worked at a coffee shop prior, I’ve located a contractor who works with a flooring distributor but it’s still complicated and I’m overwhelmed with options. I’m going to see about a local mill. I’m also going to order a box from one brand in the us. I called and they said they use uv curing and water polyuathane. The thing is - one brand at HD is floorscore certified (oak from us, finished in China) But the us brand is not floorscore certified. Is it better to choose the floorscore over the fully made in USA? I’ll contact the local mill. Thanks for your ideas.
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RR D
Original Author
3 years ago
also is —UV Cured Aluminum Oxide the same name for water based polyurathane? Or is it different? Thanks for your help.
PRO
G & S Floor Service
3 years ago
last modified: 3 years ago
Keep it simple! Use site-finished floors. The selection option is much easier, less confusing and fully customizable compared to pre-finished floors.Select a wood specie and finish: hard wax oil - 0 VOC or high end water base finish, including UV finishes < 150 VOC. Water base colorants (stains, dyes, reactive) <250 VOC.
RR D thanked G & S Floor Service
SJ McCarthy
3 years ago
Anything out of China IS SUSPECT. I once spoke with a Chinese distributer. He asked if we wanted any 'stickers' added to the boxes. When asked what he meant, he said he has replica stickers that state CARB II or the Lacey Act or CSA (Canada Safety Act) or any sticker we wanted added. He stated it would add $0.03 per box to do this. He even bragged, "No test needed!"

I hung up.

To be clear, urethane is slightly different from polyurethane. They BOTH can be 'oil based' or they can be 'water based'. To achieve low VOC, they have to be water based. Oil based anything will NOT pass the California requirements for indoor air quality.

You need to speak with a wood flooring COMPANY...not just a private installer who knows how to install. Stick with the CARB products. California Air Quality Board is the TOUGHEST standard in the USA.

Here's a hint....if the company CLAIMS they have a certificate, you SHOULD be able to VIEW the actual certificate on their website - it will have the company location where it was tested and it will clearly state which COMPANY it tested it FOR. It will be DATED and it will CLEARLY STATE how long the certificate is valid FOR. These have a validity period of six (6) MONTHS.

If you CANNOT view the test result...keep looking. If the company states, please contact us for certificate information, go ahead and ask for a copy to be sent to you (usually via email). If they tell you they don't have to do that then you CLEARLY need to walk away! As in RIGHT NOW!

The good companies are PROUD of their products and are HAPPY to share the information they spent PLENTY of money on (testing a single sample can be $10,000...and they might have 8 or 9 different 'lines'...the math is STAGGERING).

The companies that WANT you to find their documentation are the companies you WANT to work with.

But local mills will walk you through this. The only thing they need to prove to you is: the FINISH is low VOC. Because wood is a natural product and does NOT need testing. Just the finish.
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best low voc prefinished hardwoods for sensitive person

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best low voc prefinished hardwoods for sensitive person

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SJ McCarthy

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