Prefinished Flooring – Prefinished Hardwood Flooring

In the prefinished hardwood flooring world, it’s easy to get lulled into a sense of consistency, as if every product’s dimensions are and will always be exactly the same. While widths and lengths always tend to vary, the thickness of solid hardwood products is very often 3/4″ wide. However, for those who dare to be different, there are alternative thicknesses that can often yield very large price differences for otherwise similar products. Take, for instance,this 3/8″ thick Brazilian Cherry flooring from Cikel. Here it’s priced at $4.39/sf, whereas its 3/4″ equivalent is $6.39/sf, a little over 1/3 more.

There are pros and cons to this product format, just like any other. On the upside, this 3/8″ prefinished hardwood flooring is versatile and great for remodels because of its slimmer profile. In a house undergoing a remodel where you want a new floor but would rather not tear out the sub floor and have existing toe-kick heights to work around, a slimmer product can be just the thing. There are a few cons as well: Being a slimmer product, there are potentially more dimensional stability issues, which means that some of the exotics and domestics with tendencies to “move” (expand and contract) in service might potentially be more problematic than in the 3/4″ format. Oak and American Cherry would be good bets, as they don’t tend to move as much.

Another option for remodels with size requirements would be engineered flooring, which also tends to be slimmer and dimensionally stable. But if solid hardwood is what you’re looking for, the price point and versatility might make a 3/8″ product the perfect fit for you.