Prefinished Flooring – Prefinished Hardwood 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