.svg){kind=logo}
Customers often ask which one is better. Neither is better across the board. They're the same kind of wood finished in two different places, and that changes how the floor looks, how long the job takes and how the floor ages.
Unfinished hardwood
Unfinished boards are installed raw, then sanded, stained and coated in your home. Because everything is sanded flat after it's down, the surface is smooth with no grooves between boards. You can pick any stain color, mix custom shades and match an existing floor in the next room.
The trade-off is time. The job includes installation plus several days for sanding, staining and coats of finish, and the house has to stay clear while it dries. Our unfinished hardwood installation runs $5.50 per square foot.
Prefinished hardwood
Prefinished boards come from the factory already stained and sealed with several coats of a hard finish. They're installed and you can walk on them the same day. There's no sanding dust and no finish smell, which makes a big difference if you're living in the house during the work.
Most prefinished floors have a small bevel on the edges, so you'll see the board lines a little more. Color choices are limited to what the manufacturer offers. Our prefinished installation runs $6.00 per square foot.
Quick way to decide
Choose unfinished if you:
- Want a perfectly flat surface with no grooves
- Need to match an existing floor
- Want a custom stain color
Choose prefinished if you:
- Need the rooms back fast
- Are living in the house during the job
- Like one of the factory colors and want a tough factory finish
Either way
Both floors can be sanded and refinished down the road, so you're not locked in. We keep stock on hand for next-day installation in many cases, and every job is done by our own crew with a 1-year workmanship warranty plus the manufacturer's warranty.
Visit the Coventry showroom to hold both in your hands, or book a free estimate and we'll bring samples to you.
