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Prefinshed hardwood flooring: square …

| Posted in General Discussion on February 3, 2002 10:58am

*
I’m thinking about installing prefinished Bruce hardwood flooring in my house. But I don’t like the look of bevelled edges too much so I’m thinking about using the square edges. But the seams in the floor will certainly not be perfect compared to a sanded floor and I’m wondering how bad that will be. I’d like to know whether other people were satisfied with prefinished flooring.

Also, the prefinished flooring will be adjacent to existing hardwood flooring that is about 11 years old. Because the color won’t exactly match and because the new flooring will be prefinished, I’m wondering if the new flooring will look way out of place next to the existing flooring. Any comments or anecdotes would be helpful. Thanks!

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  1. ChuckT_ | Jan 24, 2002 10:25pm | #1

    *
    Just my 2 cents. A friend recently installed Robins prefinished flooring. The edges are square enough and thickness consistent enough that there is little or no perception of any board sitting higher than another. I'd be cautious about putting it next to an older floor. The finish on factory finished flooring is SO perfect the it might look like a mismatch. As an aside, I still prefer the old style field finished flooring. A ding from and errant tool can be fixed during the sanding/finishing process and (to me) it just has a warmer look.

    1. Finish_it_Fast | Jan 25, 2002 12:06am | #2

      *Pierce, Seems that a lot of my clients lately have been using the pre finished ( Bruce mostly) to either a remodel or "Rushed" ( no time to instal/sand/stain/seal ) new construction. Have had absolutely NO problems with dings or scratches while installing, just lots of SMALL pieces. The beveled edge is available in different grades with the smallest I've used being a microbevel. I like it and so do the clients. Is your exhisting floor a pre finished or job site sand and finish? If the latter then the two may not be at the same height even if you had a nearly perfect color and finish match. Might be a good Idea to consider how you will address all these issues. The best thing about the pre finished hardwoods (3/4) is all the benefits of a true hardwood with none of the fuss or time to sand and seal. Quick and easy. JIM

      1. father_buffalo | Jan 25, 2002 03:31am | #3

        *Pierce: to add to others comments, a micro bevel w/ straight end cuts by Bruce is want we install for our development. Try to avoid too dark a shade and the style w/ larger bevels plus beveled end cuts--they both show dust etc. so much faster. Re. abutting room contrast I think a lot depends on what is the total view across the two rooms look like. You can also consider altering runs between rooms,i.e. 45 or 90 degrees.Personally, I used unfinished oak floors throughout my 1st. floor when I built home but did have alloted time to sand, stain, poly w/ appropriate coats. If I had to add remodeled area would probably go w/ prefinished product to ease daily use of home. Look into product by Mirage if available in your area. Its a Canadian firm that I think has the best milling and finish of the premade 3/4" flooring Co's I've seen to date. Price is higher than Bruce but will not break most budgets and if seen side by side you'ld probably spend the $ for it.

        1. Andy_W | Jan 25, 2002 07:16am | #4

          *peirce:I recently completed a job similar to what you described. The new (prefinished cherry, microbevel,select only, very short pieces)looks very different from the old (cherry, site sanded and finished,lots of colour variation). In a perfect world I would do a site-finished floor, the floor just looks more complete, more 'finished' However when you get close to move in time the attractiveness of 'lay it and walk on it' is hard to resist. In answer to your question: yew it will look different from the site-finished floor you already have. Prefinished is probably fine if there's nothing to compare it to, but when there is a site-finished floor it doesn't stack up in my eyes.Have fun deciding!Andy

          1. bckelly1 | Jan 30, 2002 04:08am | #5

            *Pierce,My wife refused to consider bevelled edge flooring arguing that the mating bevels catch dust, debris, . . .. Seems like she's got a point.

          2. Gabe_Martel | Jan 30, 2002 04:20am | #6

            *Install the bevelled edged flooring. The factory finish is harder to beat. When the day comes that you have to re-finish the floor, you can then have the square edge flooring. Hard to do the reverse.GabeThis way, eventually, everyone is happy.

          3. Tim_Kline | Jan 30, 2002 04:33am | #7

            *We did one about 4 years ago that was square-edge, as in no microbevel. It was a maple floor stained very dark. The floor was installed over a plywood subfloor that was in decent shape which probably helped alignment greatly. The boards did not all line up perfectly, but it was certainly acceptable. It was something that you noticed when sliding your hand over or walking in bare feet. The small offsets were well worth not having to look at that hideous bevel. If you have a rough subfloor, I would consider another product.

          4. Crusty_ | Feb 03, 2002 10:58am | #8

            *I am in the factory fairly often where they make Century brand 3/4" prefinished flooring (in fact I even balanced the sanding drums where they do the final sanding). The finish has multiple coats with one of the last being a resin coat that is actually hardened with a UV light, so it's tough. But they told me it can be refinished if you want someday -- it's tough, but not so tough it can't be sanded down. I'm using it because I'm already living in my house, plus I get it at their "employee price" (saves me about $1/ft.).

  2. Pierce_Keating | Feb 03, 2002 10:58am | #9

    *
    I'm thinking about installing prefinished Bruce hardwood flooring in my house. But I don't like the look of bevelled edges too much so I'm thinking about using the square edges. But the seams in the floor will certainly not be perfect compared to a sanded floor and I'm wondering how bad that will be. I'd like to know whether other people were satisfied with prefinished flooring.

    Also, the prefinished flooring will be adjacent to existing hardwood flooring that is about 11 years old. Because the color won't exactly match and because the new flooring will be prefinished, I'm wondering if the new flooring will look way out of place next to the existing flooring. Any comments or anecdotes would be helpful. Thanks!

  3. ChrisPetrol | Dec 22, 2022 06:04pm | #10

    I'm thinking about an engineered hardwood https://bcfloors.ca/hardwood-flooring/engineered-hardwood-flooring/. I enjoy its traditional beauty.

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