When purchasing oak flooring, you are going to come across the choice of whether to purchase unfinished oak flooring or prefinished oak flooring.

Prefinished oak flooring can be described as the the quicker option for many. These boards have been specifically finished prior to laying the floor, so you see exactly what colour and tone they will be once laid. The finished boards are normally finished using hard wax oils or lacquers.

Unfinished oak flooring are boards which require finishing once they have been laid. With unfinished flooring you can apply whatever finish you wish, to achieve your chosen style.

The choice of whether prefinished or unfinished oak flooring is right for you very much comes down to your own situation. One area where an unfinished floor may be a better option for many is during the maintenance process.

Over time an oak floors finish will naturally fade and suffer from wear and tear regardless of the finish chosen. This can lead to you wanting to "refresh" your oak floor to bring life back into the boards.

With a prefinished floor it can often be difficult to know exactly what product was applied to your floor originally. This can make it difficult to use the appropriate products to either refresh the floor finish or to recoat the affected area. Serious marks that may require sanding over will be difficult to repair and could become even more unsightly.

With an unfinished oak floor you have applied your chosen finish yourself, and so therefore know exactly what finish was applied and what appropriate oils can be used. In the case of a hard wax oil finish, many of the brands have specific maintenance oils which will reinvigorate the finish when it has dulled. For more serious marks, the area can simply be sanded away and recoated.

Whether you choose unfinished or prefinished oak flooring the general day to day cleaning is an important aspect that can help to preserve the life of your floor. Daily sweeping your oak flooring will help to keep any dust particles from sitting on the top of the floor. Regular vacuums of the floor can also help to remove these particles. If left, these particles could be pushed along the floor, causing scratches.

If you would like to discuss the different aspects of prefinished and unfinished oak flooring with us further, please give us a call on 01538 304584.

Add a comment

Name *

Email * (will not be published)

Comment *

Type the text shown here into the box *

* required field