Choosing the right flooring for your new home or renovation project might seem easy on the surface, but you might not have thought about the important choice that has to be made once you’ve ruled out carpet, marble and laminate and settled on hardwood. So, what’ll it be: Pre-finished or unfinished hardwood?
The decision comes down to more than cost. You’ll pay more for pre-finished hardwood but less for the labor; with unfinished hardwood, the bulk of your cost will be for the labor, so your overall price will often even out.
If time is of the essence–as it usually is–pre-finished hardwood might be more appealing. Depending on the magnitude of the project, your floor will be installed and ready to walk on in just one or two days. Unfinished hardwood, on the other hand, will take days to install, requiring on-site sanding, re-finishing and staining in a dusty, strong-smelling work area.
Seems like a no-brainer? Well, depending on your level of dust intolerance, choosing that initially messy unfinished hardwood could save you time down the road. Pre-finished hardwood is put together like a puzzle, resulting in grooves between each board that can trap dust and dirt–driving you crazy down the line.
Whatever your feelings are on that trapped dust, it’s also important to consider how you feel about the look of grooves versus the totally smooth final appearance of unfinished hardwood. Some people feel that the grooves are more natural; others argue the same for the totally flat look. It comes down to a totally personal preference, so before you flip a coin, visit a few friends’ houses or showrooms to gauge how you feel about the look of their floors.
One of the things that probably guided your decision to choose hardwood floors for your home was the idea that this floor will last forever. Pre-finished hardwood is more resistant to scratches, as it receives many more coats of polyurethane in the factory than the unfinished hardwood will once it’s been nailed into your floor. But the unfinished flooring will also be easier to sand down and re-stain in 20 years, making it timeless in its own way.