Downsides to prefinished flooring?
Lateapex911
| Posted in Construction Techniques on
I’m getting ready to choose flooring material for a sunroom re-do. Client wants to match the white/red oak 2 1/4″ strip floor in the rest of the house, although the color will be changed on the exosting floor, so we have some freedom there.
I like the idea of a prefinished floor for it’s better finish, and the lack of downtime, smell, etc. I think it will be noticable where the boards join that it isn’t a unified finish surface, but the existing floor is rather loose, so it will have even greater gaps. I don’t think there will be a difference in the finish from that aspect.
What am I missing? What are the downsides?
Replies
I'm confused about what you're asking - are you saying that in the new prefinished flooring there will be gaps? The existing floor is loose, so that will cause greater gaps?
Are you talking laminate flooring, or real wood flooring that is simply pre-finished?
What are the downsides as compared to what? Finishing yourself? Laminate? Refinishing existing floor?
More info would be helpful please!
Andy
Sorry to be so confusing. I meant that, with a new, finish-it-in-place floor, the individual boards are tight to each other, and the finish (urethane) flows over, leaving little evidence of the joint. The existing floors in the rest of the house should be so lucky! They have shrunk, and the board to board joints are tight.
My understanding is that with prefinished hardwoods (real stuff!) (3/4"), the edges will be visible due to the minor mismatch and the non-continuity of the finish.
We can live with that slight 'defect' as we already have it in spades in the existing floor!Jake Gulick
[email protected]
CarriageHouse Design
Black Rock, CT
Downside to prefinished? - It looks like prefinished flooring. Doesn't matter what the quality of thre stuff is I can spot it a mile away. Kind of like vinyl siding and breast implants.
Bevelled edges. Even with a micro bevel they are very visible. I'm told that a flush edge is available but commands a premium price. I prefer the finished in place.
John
J.R. Lazaro Builders, Inc.
Indianapolis, In.
http://www.lazarobuilders.com
no downside.... after 2 -3 years , they'll start thinking of it as normal... get the micro-bevel...
really.... if you show them a good sample.... like in a show room, and they like it... go for it.... better finish than field applied... no dust thru the house..
if they don't like the micro -bevel...... stick to the sand and finish..
also... try to steer to the red oak... it's warmer than the white, and matches more of the oak trim in the rest of the house
Mike Smith Rhode Island : Design / Build / Repair / Restore
Yes, you're absolutely right, Mike. I feel much better when things are seen in full scale in person and aproved. When the client says, "It doesn't look the same as it did in pictures", I get a bad feeling, even when i instructed them not to choose based on a picture!
We will be deciding after we see the real thing!Jake Gulick
[email protected]
CarriageHouse Design
Black Rock, CT
If you're talking T&G flooring, one drawback is where you have to face-nail it. Most of a T&G floor you can toenail on the tongue, and the nails are invisible. However, near some walls you'll have to face-nail. Even if your filler is a perfect color match -- an unlikely occurance -- the fill doesn't have the same glossiness of the finish, and it makes the nails obvious.
On the other hand, prefinished does keep the mess and smell down, which is valuable in a remodel where a family is living.
I will try to do the floor in such a way as to have any visible nails hidden by the base board shoe, which I'll put down last.
So, to sum things up so far, it looks like you guys think:
-Plastic floors look like plastic. Agreed.
- Prefinishing makes owners happier during the installation as well as for longer after.
-I need to make sure they like the look and the visible edges.
Excellent. I will try to drag them off to a showroom ASAP.
I wonder how long 3/4"x 2 1/4" medium oak will take to get. Sounds so common!Jake Gulick
[email protected]
CarriageHouse Design
Black Rock, CT
The one drawback to pre-finish is that most scratches show up white, not just a scratch mark. You can use a magic marker pen to color it again but it better be a good match. You'll find 2 1/4" x 3/4" red oak everywhere. They have so many different colors and shades of it ,it will make your head spin.
Edited 12/15/2003 9:14:32 PM ET by jack straw
I'm getting ready to choose flooring material for a sunroom re-do. Client wants to match the white/red oak 2 1/4" strip floor in the rest of the house, although the color will be changed on the exosting floor, so we have some freedom
Pre-finished flooring definitely has its place. The key word in your sentence above is "match". If you have an older 2 1/4" strip with no microbevel, why would you want to introduce a microbevel into the picture ? You aren't matching the old floor then. You are introducing a different product. If you are doing it for the convenience ( a few days saved ), fine, but it won't match.
I agree with everything Mike Smith said except the part about how the clients just forget about the microbevel. All the ones I ask, hate it. They call them " dirt channels " and they want to know what we can do to get rid of them. Even after I tell them that the factory finish is a lot harder than what we can field install.
carpenter in transition
I have conventional strip flooring in the house and micro-bevel (husky/bella) in the cabin.
The conventional is in cherry, and it's gorgeous. The micro-bevel is in rustic maple, and I think it's light enough that the bevel doesn't detract too much. I like the look, but it's definitely not the seamless look that you get with finish in place.