Solid unfinished 3/4″ flooring verses prefinished question.
Would I get a better floor for the long term by buying the unfinished stock (I’m thinking 2 1/4″ tongue and grove, select white oak) verses the already finished variety?
Also, is there any reason why I wouldn’t want to use all shorts as opposed to a variety of lenghts? My thought here is that if the pieces were all 2′ lengths I would actually like the pattern. I have about 900 sq. ft. to do. I’m not sure if the suppliers would be inclined to offer a better deal since most people usually want longer boards.
Thanks for any replys,
Roy
Replies
Shorts........
Might look good and do, depending on the room.
They do tend to get goofy if the room has alot of "jut-outs", corners or no vast open places v. aisleways.
I like mixed and feel that somewhat, the longs help keep things straight.
White oak isn't too figured, so you might even not "see" the short-ness.
Prefinished has a micro beveled edge-you might not like that.
Goes down quicker (well, no finishing).
The finish may be harder and better applied than a site finished. No mess and no room tied up for "awhile".
If your floor is dead flat you'll have a nice flat floor, but if you have little ups and downs it will telegraph through the prefinished floor, while a sanded floor is always nice and flat. Personally I don't care for a floor that's not uniformly flat so that's the main reason I don't like prefinished. The surface is really hard, and it's hard on blades - probably a lot of silica in the finish.
The other thing I don't care for is the inability to fill small gaps as with a sanded floor. Because of this I'd recommend hitting your nailer as hard as possible without damaging the finish to seat the boards tight. Oh yes, I didn't mention it, but if you don't keep your nailer positioned well you may dent the finish.
They look cheap to my eye - and the main reason people use them is to save the time and expense of sanding and finishing (and dust proofing the house).
Don
I don't agree with you about flat floors being the result of a sanding. The rolls in framing will be followed the same with nail down, no matter finished or raw. A sander isn't a flat surface planer-it follows the contour of the flooring. Sure, you can sand down a high spot if you use a straight edge and taper your sanding. However, you'll soon be down to the tongue and out of groove.
The micro bevel shows that it's prefinished, but is way less unappealing than those old beveled edge Bruce floors of the 70's. The factory finish is hard, often well applied and smooth-no dust conditions make for a nice clean finish. Laminate floors tear up a blade, can't say as prefinished dulls it quickly.
While I like to lay raw and can sand professionally, novices might be better off putting down a good quality prefinished floor. I'd recommend an air assist nailer for anyone. Much easier on the arm and the flooring. Using the proper foot for the flooring thickness shouldn't make it easy to damage the board. The pursuasion when needed should be applied apart from the nailer.
Big bow in a long pc? Cut it and use for starter/finisher. Decent flooring and you shouldn't be able to put a business card between the boards.
Respectfully.
I've never seen a prefinished floor where I can't see bumps and lumps and whatnot telegraphing through - these would disappear with a sanded floor - I"m not talking about 1/8" sanded off the boards, but with any floor there are bits taken off here and there that make a somewhat flat floor really flat.
Roy,
You don't mention if the floor is for new construction or a remodel. Pre finished floors have a big advantage in a remodel, not just from the dust generated by sanding, but because you can walk on it right away. I really like Kahrs flooring, it does not have the beveled edges like other floors and the finish is very strong. Plus you don't need to be a flooring professional to put it in. In new construction a sanded floor can work great. There is no beating the look of a solid wood floor with a top notch finish. Either way, make sure the flooring acclimates to the space for at least a week before instal.
Kevin
One point not mentioned yet is about what sort of prefinished product it is. Some will be solid wood that can be refinished again in the furture a few times, but some will be engineered flooring that has a minimal top veneer of real finished wood but under that is a plywood type build up.
Most prefinished are done with a product that is harder and wears beeter than the products that can be used on site. but it does not fill gaps and cracks, so prefinished is the lesser choice for batherooms and kitchens or other areas that might see spills that can weep into those joints. Personally I like the longerlengths better.
White oak is a good choice.
I put in half of a living room's worth of prefinished oak two years ago, and as an amateur, I agree that prefinished is the way to go. It would've cost another arm and leg to have it sanded and finished properly here in Japan. (Luckily, the subfloor was pretty flat to begin with.) Also, depending on the manufacturer, it may be possible to find prefinished without bevel, or with varying degrees of bevel.
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sanded looks and feels better underfoot
I prefer a sanded and finished floor. I certainly understand the advantages of a prefinished floor: nail it down and you are done...
In new construction, it just delays things about 5-7 days to do a sanded floor. If you are living in it, it can be more of a pain. When I did the dining room (about 700 feet with lots of closets and jogs) I prepped and laid the floor in one weekend. and the next week I took a day off from work and rented a Silverline sander. There was little to no dust with this sander, but it was brand new, so the suction to the collection bag was very good. I sanded with 50 grit, then filled the floor with Timbermate. Then I sanded with 80 grit and 100 grit. Then I filled again to catch a few spots i hadn't done well enough the first time (amateur mistake). The I went over the whole floor with 100 grit on my 6 inch orbital sander to sand the last fill and get the floor a little smoother. I didn't do any stain, so the floor was ready for urethane. The next weekend, the wife took the kid and cat to her mother's house for a few days. I stayed behind and started finishing with oilbased Varathane. The process is simple, though sometimes painfully slow: sand, vacuum, tack rag, apply finish, wait. Then repeat. And repeat. And repeat. And repeat. I did 5 coats and am very happy with the finish I got. The first coat took about 18 hours to be dry enough to hit with the 200 grit on my 5 inch orbital sander. the other coats took about 12-14 hours. It took me about 4 days to get the finish applied, because I was going to my job when i wasn't working on the floor.
I was very glad I had sanded floors last week when my newborn threw up on them. A quick wipe with a rag and I was done. When she puked on a friend prefinished floor we cleaned for about an hour and still hadn't gotten all the sour milk out of the beveled edges...
That's why God invented linoleum.
I dunno'
that's why god invented other types of sanders instead of an orbital on your knees.
Should only need screened between coats.
Thank you all for the feedback re unfinished verses prefinished
At this point in time I'm thinking that I'll install raw, 3/4" x 2 1/4", T&G oak and then have it sanded by a pro while I take a vacation to rest my back which I'm sure will be hurting by then. Since this floor is the entire first floor there is no way to come and go while it's being varnished. BTW, the house is 100 years old. I had to replace 5 joists under the first floor and 9 for the second floor. The ones in the first floor failed due to previous owners HVAC work. Second floor was dryrot. In any case, half of the subfloor on the first floor is new 3/4" ply while the rest is original 1" x 6" at a 45 degree angle. The ply was glued and screwed with deck screws and is bubble flat. I haven't actually put a level on the old subfloor but I think it's good too. The original finished floor was 3/8" x 2" oak strips which had no T&G. It was pattern nailed which was pretty neat.