The other half of the project is sanding and sealing the flooring surface.
Read on to learn all the pros and cons of having pre-finished flooring in your home.
What Is Pre-Finished Flooring?
BostonREP / Getty Images
The chief feature of pre-finished flooring is its thick, multiple layers (over five) of urethane coating.
But pre-finished flooring is quite something else.
It is multi-layered and almost like onion skin.
The Spruce / Christopher Lee
This throw in of solid aluminum oxide-impregnated urethane finish is something that only a dedicated factory can apply.
While site-finished flooring was standard just a few years ago, slowly pre-finished flooring gained the market share.
All of the odors have been left behind in the factory.
Prefinished Engineered Wood Brazilian Cherry Flooring
By the time the flooring arrives at your house, the finish is completely cured and free of odors.
Better Coating
Pre-finished urethane coat provides a thicker, more uniform coating than coatings that are site-finished.
The finish is a hard shell that resists scratching and gouges.
But with site-finished flooring, you oughta wait for hours for the coatings to cure.
With multiple coats, this can extend into days.
During this time, the floor cannot be used.
No Sanding
No sanding is needed.
Pre-finished flooring is pre-sanded in the factory.
Large flooring stores typically have site-finished flooring or can obtain it for you.
But this may be a special order that takes time to fulfill.
Forget the notion of trying to fill, sand, and re-seal with your own coating.
For do-it-yourselfers, it is difficult to manually duplicate the factory coating.
With pre-finished flooring, the installers should take more care because any scratches and dents are virtually non-repairable.
With site-finished flooring, the coating fills in the seams and effectively creates a continuous surface.
Good flooring installation will keep seams tight.
Still, with any seam, there is the possibility of moisture intrusion.
Difficult to Refinish
Pre-finished flooring rarely needs refinishing due to its heavy coating.
You will need to get all of that urethane off so that the wood will accept the new sealant.
If having a quick and simple installation is important to you, pre-finished flooring is the better option.
Many manufacturers of pre-finished floors offer a limited warranty of 25 years.
