In terms of budget, unfinished hardwood flooring is cheaper when you just consider the flooring itself. Once you factor in the costs of a finishing treatment, then prefinished flooring actually ends up being cheaper. You can consider the pros and cons of both options and decide what works best for you.
The difference between prefinished and unfinished floors is in the name. Prefinished floors are finished before installation, while unfinished floors must be finished after installation.
Conversely, the installation and finishing of unfinished flooring can cost anywhere from $4 to $10 per square foot. Taking the materials and installation into consideration, prefinished flooring will cost anywhere from $8 to $25 per square foot while unfinished will cost anywhere from $7 to $25 per square foot.
The Pros of Unfinished Hardwood Flooring
Since unfinished hardwood flooring requires on-site installation, you are able to fully customize your floors any way you want. You can add your own personal touch with inlays, borders, and other flooring features, as well as your finish system, stain color, and sawn profile.
Installing hardwood flooring averages between $6 and $12 per square foot. On average, wood flooring costs between $3 and $7 per square foot for materials and $3 to $5 per square foot for labor. An estimate for installation of 1000 square feet of hardwood flooring runs between $6,000 and $12,000.
As CNN reported, hardwood floors can also increase home value by 3-5%. This makes them a very attractive prospect for anyone looking to sell their house in the near future. However, even if you don't plan on moving any time soon, hardwood floors may still be a good investment.
To tell if your wood floor is sealed, find an inconspicuous area, dab a drop of water on the surface, and see if it soaks in or beads on top. If the water drop beads on top of the wood, your floor is sealed. Surface-sealed floors are stain and water-damage resistant and easiest to clean.
Unfinished solid hardwood floors are crafted from solid wood planks that have been left untreated so you can add the lacquer, stain, or other coating that suits your design needs.
The choice of oil or lacquer (sometimes known as varnish), is completely your choice. A lacquer or varnish will provide a smooth finish to your wooden floor and is available in either a matt or semi-matt appearance. An oil, on the other hand, gives a more natural appearance that is slightly rough to the touch.
Refinishing hardwood floors is more cost-effective than replacing them. On average, it costs about $2,000 to $7,000 to replace hardwood flooring (two to three times more than to refinish).
Unfinished flooring is raw hardwood that must first be installed and then sanded and refinished on site.
Prefinished floors come at a lower cost.
Prefinished solid wood floors initially cost more than unfinished wood flooring—about $2 per square foot for a good grade of red oak. But once you factor in finishing costs, prefinished ends up being less expensive.
The durable finish on pre-finished flooring means that it's often easier to maintain your floors as they'll be better able to withstand stains, scratches, and the general abuse of daily living.
An unfinished hardwood floor is exactly as its name suggests; it is an unfinished, raw material that will need to be protected before it is walked on. The wood has been made into planks of flooring but left 'unfinished', meaning that no stains or protective layers have been added.
Red Oak has a Janka hardness rating of 1290, while White Oak's rating is 1360, making it slightly more impervious to dents and scratches. However, these numbers are so close that both hardwoods will tend to perform equally well once they've been installed, finished and sealed.
Durable Flooring
The Janka hardness scale is a measure of durability for wood species. White oak receives a Janka hardness score of 1360, which makes it harder than red oak, white ash, American cherry and American walnut. This means that it will withstand daily use well, without a lot of denting or dinging.
Although it may have lost some popularity with the rise of other woods, oak is quickly making a comeback to “new style” thanks to trending finishing techniques and popular design styles.
It's commonly accepted that you refinish every seven to ten years. Important note: some hardwood is only 1/4 inches thick. In this case, a refinish could strip away all traces of the floor. Unsure about how thick your hardwood is?
Sealed hardwood floors can withstand the moisture and heat from a steam mop, and they clean really nicely with a streak-free finish. However, avoid using a steam mop on unsealed hardwoods, as they're more vulnerable and easily damaged by excessive moisture.
Although it may be tempting to deep clean your hardwood floors with a steam mop, don't. “Drastic temperature changes and moisture may warp the wood,” says Steve Stocki, manager of marketing and merchandising at Lumber Liquidators. That's true whether you have solid or engineered wood floors, and for bamboo, too.
$4.50 – $7.00 Per Sq/Ft. The average labor costs to install hardwood is between $3 and $4 per sq/ft, but depending on factors like your location, the condition of your subfloor, the complexity of the project and the reputation of the installer this average baseline rate increases to $4.50-$7.00 per sq/ft.
Not Resistant to Humidty: Wood can be damaged by spills, standing liquids, and humidity which is why wood floors are not recommend for areas of high moisture and humidity such as full bathrooms.