Site-Finished Advantages
There really isn’t anything that can beat a well-done, site-finished hardwood floor. To be clear, when we say site-finished, we mean hardwood flooring that comes out of the package with no finish on it, that must be sanded and finished on-site after it has been installed. You know, the good, old-fashioned way.
While it may be old-fashioned, there are multiple reasons to select a site-finished floor over a pre-finished one:
Not every piece of prefinished flooring is the same. Manufacturing tolerances allow for noticeable differences in the thickness of boards, a phenomenon known as “overwood” or “underwood,” depending on whether the piece in question is thicker or thinner than the standard. With site-finished flooring, that thickness difference is sanded away before any finish is applied.
Some manufacturers try to offset or alleviate bumps and gaps in prefinished flooring by micro-bevelling the top edges of each board. While this does make the flooring feel smoother, those micro-bevels form tiny grooves, which makes keeping them clean more difficult. This can be particularly troublesome in high-traffic areas, such as entryways or kitchens.
Site-finished flooring allows for unlimited color options. With site-finished flooring, your contractor will not apply the finish until after installing and sanding, leaving you with virtually unlimited color options for getting just the right shade. And when that finish starts to fade or wear out, site-finished floors can simply be sanded and refinished, restoring them to that fresh floor look. For most prefinished floors, this simply isn’t an option.
So if you really want long-lasting beauty and satisfaction, insist on a site-finished hardwood floor from Smith Flooring.
