Prefinished Flooring – Prefinished Hardwood Flooring

Up until about ten years ago all factory produced prefinished wood floors either had a UV cured urethane or wax finish. Wax finishes have since gone the way of the dinosaur, but urethanes have evolved.

The majority of today’s UV cured urethane finishes come with aluminum oxide suspended in the coats. The aluminum oxide is the same mineral that makes up the grit on most sandpapers. The aluminum oxide is ground into a fine powder so that it is not visible to the naked eye. This mineral, when added to the finish, increases the durability and abrasion resistance up to 10 times that of normal urethane finishes.

The majority of prefinished flooring has approximately six to eight coats of finish. Initially, manufacturers were using aluminum oxide in all coats; however, this created a couple problems. The first was that the product was difficult to refinish with a sanding screen due to its abrasion resistance. The second was that the top coat, in some cases, had a textured feel. Today most prefinished flooring has aluminum oxide in the base coats only and the top coats are a traditional UV cured urethane. This allows for easier refinishing and a smoother feel.

Aluminum oxide finishes are extremely durable and since their inception have significantly increased the warranty period that manufactures are willing to offer consumers. It is not uncommon nowadays for prefinished wood flooring to have 25 year, 30 year, or even 50 year finish warranties. It is important to keep in mind however, that although these finishes are durable they are still susceptible to normal wear and tear. These finishes will still scratch, scuff, and dull, but not as easily.

Not those woods…the woods that are gaining popularity in houses across America.

In times past, wood floors were reserved for the aristocrats, the “well to do”. It was the stamp of success. Yet over time, technology progressed and precision manufacturing gave way to new ways of making better use of each square foot of timber. Today hardwood flooring offers the typical homeowner the warmth and durability that’s fit for a king at an affordable price.

But, with so many stunning species to choose from, combined with variances in width, style and finishes, such as prefinished flooring versus unfinished flooring, deciding which floor to ultimately put in your home is a choice that can drive one mad— or at least cause marital issues for husbands and wives who are in disagreement.
Trying to choose the proper wood species that fits your lifestyle and home décor is difficult. Many considerations must be given when selecting a wood floor. Paramount is narrowing down the species selection. Not an easy task, with well over 100 to choose from. Some species are very hard, and stand to be a notably durable choice. Others are less hard, but more forgiving when sawed or nailed to a subfloor. Some species of hardwood have colors which remain more or less constant. Others exhibit photosensitivity, which means that the color of the hardwood flooring species changes as it is exposed to light. Then, to make matters worse… each species has various choices that need to be made once you’ve decided on what wood you like.

Whatever your requirement, hardwood flooring presents an option in floors that enable you to choose the perfect look, texture, and general effect. And with a little planning upfront, the process can be transformed into an enjoyable learning experience—not an issue of marital argument. Here are some general guidelines to help you choose a species that will fit your life style and complement your décor.

Factors to consider before making that final choice
Rule #1 — Keep it firmly in mind that there are no set rules. It’s going to be your floor, and you are going to be living on it, so the most important thing is that you be happy with your choice.
With that in mind, consider the common ways that different woods have been used in the past. One way to classify different hardwoods is by looking at which wood is most often associated with a particular home style. Over time, certain types of wood have been used to convey a specific style. But remember wood is a very flexible material, and the same wood can often work in a variety of settings. Also, most of the woods can be ordered in different grades, adding to its flexibility. Select grade has slight color variances, often resulting in an elegant traditional look. Country and rustic grades have more open knots and cracks, and can also be deliberately distressed in milling with processes such as quarter-sawing and skip planing, giving a real antique or country look to the floor. Alternatively, the consistent color of a clear grade exotic wood with a high gloss finish conveys a more contemporary feel.

Wood Floors for Every Style of Home
Home styles and architecture are not limited to a few classic looks. There is an infinite variety of decors, and wood floors complement them all. From a heart pine wood floor in a French country farmhouse, to eastern white pine flooring in a log home, to a rich, red, Santos mahogany floor in a classic, nineteenth-century style library, the choices are almost limitless.

In the coming articles we will discuss the various species that are generally associated with specific styles of décor, particularly the woods most commonly associated with the country style, traditional style and contemporary style. It is a good jumping off point to begin narrowing down what you “think” you might like. Then, once that is narrowed down we’ll tackle all the other factors such as thickness, solid hardwood or engineered hardwood, prefinished flooring or unfinished flooring.

Solid hardwood flooring is hardwood whose composition is made up of one solid piece of one specie of wood. Unlike engineered flooring, which contains plywood veneers and then a wear layer of a different specie of wood on top, solid hardwood is one piece of wood, period.

The main benefit of a solid hardwood floor is that it can be sanded down and refinished many times because the entire board is made from the specie. An engineered floor with a wear layer cannot be sanded and refinished nearly as many times, though how many times it can be sanded and refinished depends on the width of the wear layer.

One of the drawbacks of solid flooring is that it is less dimensionally stable than engineered wood. It is much closer to its natural state than engineered as it is basically a solid piece of wood milled into the tongue and groove shape of flooring. Additionally, it is not able to be installed below grade, such as in basements. Solid hardwood is also not suitable for installation over radiant heat sources. Whether or not prefinished flooring should be glued down is still debated in the hardwood community. However, some builders and contractors do perform solid hardwood glue down installations.

So when choosing between engineered and solid hardwood flooring, remember to consider:

1. Location of installation (Grade, with or w/o radiant heat source)

2. Environment (Can exacerbate problems of dimensional instability)

3. Longevity (Is this a floor you want to last a decade or a lifetime?)
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Brazilian Cherry Flooring/Brazilian Cherry Floor

Prefinished hardwood flooring is a popular flooring format for both home and business interiors. Depending on the installation requirements of the specie, thousands of species of wood from all over the world can be used to create a floor. Each wood has its own mechanical characteristics that come into play when deciding whether or not it makes a good choice for a hardwood floor. Some of the most important characteristics to consider are:

1. Janka hardness – This is the measure of how hard a wood is. The method of measurement involves a ball bearing with a diameter of 11.28mm and the number of pounds of pressure it takes to embed said ball bearing into wood to half its diameter. Red oak, the industry standard, has a Janka hardness rating of 1290 lbs. Many exotic woods have Janka ratings from 2300 – 3500 lbs.

2. Photosensitivity – Some woods are more sensitive to exposure to light than others, causing their colors to change over time, generally to darken. Color change tends to stabilize after about three to six months.

3. Environmental conditions – Hardwood performance can be greatly affected by the environment its in, be it a dry, desert climate or a particularly moist setting. Solid wood will always move as it changes moisture content.

Factory finishing helps to prolong the life of a hardwood floor. The finishing process is an interesting one that includes a variety or procedures.

1. The flooring board is micro-beveled on all four upper edges, with the size of the bevel itself varying according to the board’s manufacturer. Typically, the microbevel will be 1/32″.

2. Aluminum oxide is used to create the finish on the board. Multiple coats of Aluminum oxide are typically used to protect the wood from various threats, including dents, scratches, and impacts. In addition, the wood’s inherent hardness also makes it more or less susceptible to damage, regardless of the finish. Wood’s hardness is rated using the Janka Hardness standard.

Prefinished flooring is often solid hardwood, meaning that the entire board is just one specie. Prefinished solid hardwood differs from engineered flooring, which has a wear layer on top of a certain wood specie, but rests on a plywood core. Prefinished flooring also differs from engineered flooring when it comes to where it can and how it can be installed.

Prefinished flooring can be installed:

1. Above grade.

2. At Grade.

using these installation methods:

1. Nail-down.

2. Glue-down.

Prefinished solid hardwood, unlike engineered, can’t be installed below grade, referring to locations like basements or other below-ground-level interior spaces. It also can’t be floated, referring to an installation procedure that joins the boards together at the sides while “floating” them on top of a layer of foam underlayment. Engineered flooring can be floated, installed below grade, installed over radiant heat, and is also inherently more dimensionally stable than solid hardwood because of its plywood structure that is engineered to minimize expansion and contraction.

However, prefinished solid hardwood flooring is superior to its engineered counterpart when it comes to sanding and refinishing. Solid hardwood flooring can be refinished many more times than engineered, giving it a potentially greater “life span.”