Prefinished hardwood flooring

[Shawn Siegrist]

I'm looking for recommendations on a reasonably priced and durable hardwood flooring. I want something with a brown or red look to it, but I don't like stained wood so it has to be naturally that color. I'd like to stay away from oaks, too over used. I have three young children so the finish has to be able to stand up to some abuse. This is for the entire house except the bathroom.

thanks,
shawn

[Bill Huber]

It may be a little dark but have you looked at Mesquite, it is a brownish red and very hard.

[Mike Cutler]

I just put down bubinga flooring in the kitchen. It comes pre finished, but I chose to finish mine myself. It's pretty stunning flooring. If you're willing to install it, you can save some $$$$
I got it at BubingaFlooring.com. Virtually all of it was Qsawn, just a few face sawn boards, which I culled. IIRC the cost was $7.50 a sq/ft, but was going up to $9.00 per sq/ft. I put it down on top of Elastilon, to accomodate the seasonal expansion/contraction, and that added about $2.00 a sq/ft.

[Ronald Blue]

I put down hickory prefinished recently and love it.

[Jason Roehl]

There is good and bad to prefinished flooring. The good is that the aluminum oxide finishes used in the factories is very, very tough. It's a royal PITA to sand off when refinishing. However, its toughness does not mean that it will overcome the tendency to ding and dent, which partly depends on the hardness of the underlying wood.

The bad is that prefinished flooring is manufactured with some sort of bevel on all the top edges. This is because it's impossible to install a floor with sharp, square edges flat enough to not feel those edges--even 1/64" difference is easily felt underfoot, be it barefoot, stockings or even shoes can catch on the edge. The bevels and micro-bevels alleviate this problem, but they create another: a dirt trap. This makes it harder to keep the floor clean, and dirt and dust are abrasive to the floor. Also, by not being finished in place, spills can seep between the boards where they cannot be cleaned up, and may discolor or damage the flooring. This is less likely with a finished-in-place floor, as the finish will seal all the boards together provided there is not excessive temperature and humidity swings in the house.

Personally, I've refinished a few kitchen floors, and I would never install wood flooring of any kind in a kitchen. Just moving the fridge out to clean can damage the floor and finish. That, or a dishwasher, sink or fridge leak whilst one is away...

Don't think for a minute that there are any "abuse-proof" flooring options out there, but the plus side is that children can be taught to show a little care and concern for their surroundings. Don't let them pound on the floor with hammers and the like, and your floor will probably be just fine.

[Stephen Cherry]

wood floors plus in glen bernie md. They sell more flooring than anybody. As for prefinished, I would much rather have a repairable, unfinished floor that will last a lifetime. What are you going to do when it gets scratched up? It's either yelling and spankings (prefinshed), or correction with a stern tone of voice (unfinished).

[Ronald Blue]

So you are advocating no finish at all Stephen? All natural wood is repairable, even prefinished with some work. Prefinished and laminate are two totally different things. Don't confuse the two. I agree with Jason about the bevels on the edges, but it's not been an issue at all for us.

[Stephen Cherry]

So you are advocating no finish at all Stephen? All natural wood is repairable, even prefinished with some work. Prefinished and laminate are two totally different things. Don't confuse the two. I agree with Jason about the bevels on the edges, but it's not been an issue at all for us.

No, I like a finish, but something that can be applied and repaired. Good luck repairing or refinishing prefinished wood. At the other extreme is waterlox- it can be touched up with a scotchbrite pad, piece of cloth, and a dab of waterlox. Most will use poly as a compromise. (I know what laminate is and I am not confusing them). I don't like the little bevels either. Just looks like something is off. I know that Shawn posted that he was not up for Oak, but I like it. First of all, it's dirt cheap. Second, people are used to seeing it as a floor, so in my mind it does not "compete" with other woods in a room. And I have never heard anyone complain about it.

http://www.woodfloorsplus.com/produc...m=HASSELWO2.25

[Steve Griffin]

I keep hearing how prefinished floors are really difficult to sand off and refinish. How often is that really a problem? Is there really no product available to touch it up without removing the entire finish? And what does "difficult to sand off" mean--are we talking an extra day for a professional flooring company to do the job or more?

We're considering lock together prefinished solid bamboo in our addition so this thread is timely. Since I'm middle aged, I don't need it to last an entire "lifetime", just half a lifetime. I could care less about normal scratches and dings. The little bevels don't bother us either, as it makes it look less like a big piece of plywood or a basketball court. Seems like the advantages outweight the disadvantages at this point.

[Stan Zolenski]

I would take a look at Lumber Liquidators. Some of their flooring has a 50 yr warranty.

[Scott Wigginton]

I would take a look at Lumber Liquidators. Some of their flooring has a 50 yr warranty.

100 years. Not that I think its worth anything in the long run. On Saturday i picked up 1000 sqft of Bellawood 3/4" x 5" Brazillian Cherry. Honestly I preferred the Brazillian Redwood (more uniform reddish color) but they don't have the matching stair treads/flush mount floor vents.

I can't speak to the product because it hasn't been installed, but its where I put my money on and for brand LL couldn't be beat (~$5.6/ft2 when it was on sale).

We're putting it in the kitchen. I do have a concern about it not being a continuous seal like traditional hardwood floors (which is in my folks kitchen in their house and beach house) but we prefer wood over tile or vinyl. Excessive water spillage will cause damage with any product (if it doesn't seep into the floor, it'll get into the cabinets, or down a floor vent, etc.) so it's really a personal preference issue IMO.

[Mike Cutler]

I keep hearing how prefinished floors are really difficult to sand off and refinish. How often is that really a problem? Is there really no product available to touch it up without removing the entire finish? And what does "difficult to sand off" mean--are we talking an extra day for a professional flooring company to do the job or more?

We're considering lock together prefinished solid bamboo in our addition so this thread is timely. Since I'm middle aged, I don't need it to last an entire "lifetime", just half a lifetime. I could care less about normal scratches and dings. The little bevels don't bother us either, as it makes it look less like a big piece of plywood or a basketball court. Seems like the advantages outweight the disadvantages at this point.

Steve
It depends on where they are installed.
In my prior post I stated thatI used an unfinished in the kitchen and finished it myself. That was because of aesthetics.We used a prefinished Brazilian Ebony on the back porch, a very high traffic area.

In the kitchen I would seriously heed Jason's concerns. As I was the one that built my kitchen, the dishwasher sits in a floor pan that drains to an unfinished basement,and the sink area does the same in the event of a leak. It's way too much work to do again. if you're going to put wood floors in kitchens, account for leaky water sources.

[Shawn Siegrist]

Anyone with first hand experience using Bellawood flooring? Pro's and con's, likes and dislikes?Thanks,Shawn

[Jeff Heil]

We installed Prefinished 3/4" thick Bruce Hickory hardwood flooring in our kitchen, entry and half bath a year ago to replace 9 year old vinyl. HD has red oak also. It has held up very well to two active kids and a golden retriever. We found it to be a good value at $2.99/ sq. ft and would do it again. We plan to let the kids and dog "live" in it and refinish as needed. The hickory is very hard and has held up to the dog running chasing a ball, hot wheels, legos, soccer balls and shoes and looks great. It also does not show dirt and I am surprised when I sweep how much dirt I collect.

Here is a picture of the project in progress.

hw floor.jpg

[Larry Rasmussen]

Hi Shawn,
Bellawood is one of the major suppliers with products on the higher end. They have such a variety of products it would be hard to generalize about them except to say well established, widely distributed and oriented to quality. As far as your original question goes I recommend stranded bamboo. Not sure if you could technically call it hardwood but it is a natural product blended with manmade material to make the bamboo suitable for flooring. It is super hard and durable. I have a lighter color put down in a high traffic dining room for years ago. I am working on an installation of a darker toned batch in the entry room and adjacent hallway. Both might pass for oak at a glance. We had 3 dogs when the dining room done so it has gotten some work out. After 4 years you can hardly find a flaw in the floor. The newer floor appears to be the same quality. Both were bought at Lumber Liquidators and are on the less expensive end of the solid stranded bamboo offerrings. The first project was a nailed floor and the newer one is a floating snap-loc floor. Food for thought anyway, I'm sure you see the bamboo when you are out and about. By the way I have not found a non stranded bamboo product that looks very durable- they all fail the fingernail scratch tests I've done. Anyhow best of luck, I'm sure your outcome will be great given the care with which you are planning.
Larry R
Seattle