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Web Page Title or Product/Service Name: 6. Which is better, prefinished or site-finished hardwood floors?
With today’s technology, prefinished hardwood floors are superior to the traditional site-finished floors in every way. The finish is more wear-resistant, with warrantees on the finish that are typically at least 30 years. Quality control is better because the finish is applied in a climate-controlled factory. The problem with applying the finish in the house is that the climate in each house is a little different, leading to inconsistent results. When a factory finishes 40,000 sq. ft. per day, you just know the finish will be more consistent than a crew of site-finishers who can complete a 500 sq. ft. job in a week. With premium quality manufacturers, you know the color you get will be exactly the same as the sample you chose. That means you can choose your hardwood, then choose your kitchen cabinets, and your paint, and be assured that the floor you get will actually match the sample you chose from. Not like the old days, where you would choose a dark brown stain, only to find the floor you actually get has purple tones. There is also the convenience factor. A prefinished floor can be walked on and have furniture placed on it as soon as the installation is complete. There is no more waiting a week for the finish to dry, or being very careful for the first month as the finish cures. And there is no mess or smelly fumes. And on top of all these advantages, the combined material and labor cost of a prefinished floor is generally a fair bit lower. The reason for this is very simple: There is a whole lot less labor expense built into finishing a floor in a factory than finishing it on-site.
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