Wood floors have been around for nearly three centuries. During that
time, the methods of installation and design have been fine tuned to
the point where the components can be mass produced. In fact, some
level of mass production has been around since about 1850. But
installation still required advanced craftsmanship skills.
Shortly before the 20th century, pre finished hardwood floors began to appear. It wasn't long before most consumers demanded pre finished hardwood flooring materials by simply refusing to buy unfinished hardwood flooring materials.Pre Finished Hardwood Floors vs Unfinished Hardwood FloorsThough unfinished hardwood floors have gained back some of the market, pre finished hardwood flooring is still the most common choice today. Most of the popularity of pre finished hardwood floors is that they are easy for nearly anyone to install quickly; they can often be installed in a single day. Do-it-yourself enthusiasts and first timers alike tend to be shocked at just how easy it is to install pre finished hardwood floors.You may be wondering why anyone would buy an unfinished floor. Unfinished floors do have a few of advantages. First, unfinished hardwood floors tend to provide a greater sense of stability when you walk on them. However, prefinished hardwood floors are still pretty stable.Second, if you are doing several different rooms at different times and they need to match, it is much easier to find a single finish to apply to make them all match than to find finished boards that match previously installed finished boards. It can look pretty awkward to some people to have mismatched boards from one room to the next.Third, Unfinished floors tend to last longer because of the manual sanding and buffing processes you have to undertake on them. But pre finished hardwood floors aren't any harder to repair than unfinished floors are to finish.The problem with unfinished floor installation is that it is a lot of hard work and requires skill with a lot of tools. You really have to know what you're doing and be comfortable working several long days with your unfinished hardwood floor.For most people, the advantages of the unfinished floor just aren't enough to justify choosing it over the prefinished floor. This is especially true for amateur do-it-yourself enthusiasts who need something easy that will look good regardless of their personal skill levels. For those with advanced carpentry skills, or money to spend on professional floor installation, the benefits of the unfinished hardwood floor make it a worthwhile investment.
