Hardwood Flooring

[Joe AutoDrill]

Any advantage of one or the other when considering pre-finished VS unfinished wood flooring other than the obvious work involved in finishing the raw stuff?

I'm thinking total cost and durability, etc.

I'm told pre-finished lasts longer but is tougher to install... But I'm doing the install so...

Pergo and other "fake stuff" is NOT for me so don't bother telling about it.

Regards, Joe Agro, Jr. [phone]

01.908.542.0244 Automatic / Pneumatic Drills: Spindle Drills: Tapping: Site:

[rmorton]

Installed a prefinished wood floor about 3 years ago and it still looks like it came out of the package yesterday even with a bunch of crumb cruncher grand kids tearing thru all the time. I , IMHO, didn't find it any more difficult to install than unfinished other than taking a lot of time out to change saw blades. The finish will definitely chew thru blades and it does require sharp ones to come out looking nice. Just out of curiousity I hit a scrap piece with 60 grit, hand rubbed, and dust flew every where but after I rubbed the dust off I could barely see any difference in the finish. Shouldn't have to worry about trying to refinish it ever but if it gets that bad would probably be easier to just remove and replace the floor.

[Nova]

I've never seen a piece of pre-finished flooring that didn't have a slight bevel on all the edges of the face side of each board. The pre-finished still looks good to me, but if you want a perfectly flat/even floor (no crumb/dirt catchers) then I'd say unfinished would be the way to go.

[Leon]

I installed "engineered" Maple flooring in my bathroom about 6~7 years ago. Holding up very well. "Engineered" wood flooring is all wood but made like plywood. The finish has a 25 year warranty IIRC, the top layer is supposed to be thick enough to sand down and refinish if that ever needed to be done. My floor floats and was no harder to install than something like Pergo.

A flooring company that sells solid hard wood flooring, engineered hard wood flooring, carpet, tile, and laminate/Pergo style flooring told me that only real wood floors and ceramic style tile are considered permanent upgrades. Everything else will have to be replaced, eventually.

[Leon]

Agreed, However my experience is that prefinished tends to be a bit more stable. Perfectly flat is temporary as the wood moves.

[-MIKE-]

Interesting. I guess that would certainly depends on the product *and* installation. Many of us have seen bad solid hardwood floor product/installation that took less work to replace than repair/refinish.

Some of the engineered stuff I've seen, had close to 3/16 hardwood top veneer, with the stain penetrating the entire ply. You could sand and refinish that stuff without re-staining.

My wife is in love with Cork for the kitchen. I'm looking into it. I like the 1'x3' and longer sizes I'm seeing, too. Seems like installation with one man could be done in a day.

[Joe]

They can't make prefinished without that bevel. You would have two 90 deg edges meeting and anywhere they weren't perfectly flush height-wise (and that would be everywhere) you would have splinters coming off.

jc

p.s. post-installation finished floors are only perfectly flat until the first season changes.

[Joe]

A kitchen in a day alone? It'd be a heck of a day, what with toe kick removal, installing under cabinet fronts, under fridge, under dishwasher, along edges of cabinets, toe kick re-install, the multitude of doorways and thresholds in most kitchens, pantry, etc etc...

Been there many times, done that, and now I charge quite a premium for it... :-)

jc

[Joe AutoDrill]

As they say over at St. Michaels in Newark... BINGO!

[-MIKE-]

I was speaking of the install, alone, and probably the trim. Since I would be doing it, myself, I'm thinking in segments that I would likely break it into. And it's a small kitchen.

- Day of prep, tear out vinyl floor, old trim.... all of it, casement, base, everything, because I'm replacing and/or making it all.

- Day of installing Cork floor, and probably trim, or partial trim.

- Day of finishing up and determining that rest of house looks ugly by comparison... lamenting that we should've never even considered it because now we're going to have to do the living-room in hardwood, with new trim everywhere... and I hate those windows..... oh crap. :-)

[-MIKE-]

That's why you sand and re-finish every 6mos, silly.

[Joe]

Your day 3 is 100% accurate :-)

[HeyBub]

Pergo is not "fake" stuff. The top 1/32 to 3/8" is real hardwood. The rest is mystery wood. It's like veneered plywood with two exceptions: The substrate is layered in different directions to virtually eliminate warping and it's covered with an impregnable finish.

[chaniarts]

you have to distinguish what you're both talking about.

traditional pergo is laminate flooring.

pergo also has hardwood line too, and that top layer is wood. however, the usual pergo flooring does not have a wood surface.

from wikipedia:

Laminate flooring is a multi-layer synthetic flooring product, fused together with a lamination process. Laminate flooring simulates wood (or stone, in some cases) with a photographic applique layer under a clear protective layer. The inner core layer is usually composed of melamine resin and fiber board materials. There is sometimes a glue backing for ease of installation. It has the advantages that it is durable, as compared with carpet, and attractive, at a lower cost as compared to natural floor materials.

[Leon]

Basically what I am saying here is that the permanent upgrades should not have to be replaced. Laminated floors and carpet will eventually show wear and need to be replaced. You cannot rejuvenate carpet or Pergo.

Engeneered wood floring is considered permanent. Don't confuse it with laminate flooring.

Cork is cool, it was real popular in the late 50's and early 60's, but it does wear out and tends to eventually show wear tracks.

[Leon]

.

Actually the "Pergo Laminate" flooring is very similar to "Fromica" it is not Wood. Pergo may be making a wood floor now days but Pergo is commonly known as a laminate.

[-MIKE-]

Alright, we're on the same page.

Have you walked on the stuff? It's nice. I'd like to line the shop with it.

Heck, if it wears out, you could put Pergo right over it. :-)

[-MIKE-]

I think Pergo got a foothold in the industry, early, and now people just use it like they say, "Kleenex."

[Dave Balderstone]

I've been lurking on this thread, as it's pertinent to our situation. Insurance claim for water damage, about 500 sq ft of hardwood to be replaced in living room and dining room (continuous floor, so it all comes out).

Thanks to everyone who's contributed. It's been a great help.

What's coming out is thin strip oak. We've spent about 10 days with samples spread all over the place.

We finally settled on Jatoba ("Brazilian Cherry"), real wood, with a matte finish.

Now we just have to choose baseboards, paint, and tile to go in front of the garden door.

Who knew that 5 gallons of water from an aquarium could change our entire decor!

[Joe]

Dave,

Be aware if you're putting the brazilian cherry in yourself. It is *very* prone to splitting when you drive the fasteners (nails or staples). Many times, I've had the entire tongue split off when I've driven the first fastener.

Not trying to talk you out of it, it's beautiful stuff, just want you to be aware.