I know many people had some work done with floors and I want to tap into the collective wisdom.
My house was built in 1927. Floor is oak hardwood but different technology from what is used today. Floor planks are about 2" wide, no tongue and grove. Original floor was 3/8" thick, by now it is about 5/16". Nailed from the top to a wooden subfloor. No tongue and grove means seams are not tight, I sometimes can see lights thru this floor. I want to replace it with normal 3/4" floor, the entire first floor, somewhere around 1000 sf.
I noticed that most floors sold today are prefinished. When I talk to professionals - they seem to have more respect for floors finished in place.
I can understand the obvious advantages of prefinished: you don't need to finish in place, so installation is faster and without ugly chemicals and sanding. Also - factory finish is probably harder and more durable than homemade.
I can also guess the disadvantages:
seams are not sealed, so floor is less resistant to moisture.
Requires more accuracy during installation, there is no sanding to assure level floors. God forbid you scratch a surface.
What did you use and what was your experience?
I know my wife would prefer floors sealed in place but I estimate that finishing the floor will probably take a couple weeks and clearing out entire first floor and not using it for that long makes me scared. Generally - replacing 1000 sf of floors sounds like a big project, I don't know if I have enough energy and appetite for a DIY.
Thanks,
My house was built in 1927. Floor is oak hardwood but different technology from what is used today. Floor planks are about 2" wide, no tongue and grove. Original floor was 3/8" thick, by now it is about 5/16". Nailed from the top to a wooden subfloor. No tongue and grove means seams are not tight, I sometimes can see lights thru this floor. I want to replace it with normal 3/4" floor, the entire first floor, somewhere around 1000 sf.
I noticed that most floors sold today are prefinished. When I talk to professionals - they seem to have more respect for floors finished in place.
I can understand the obvious advantages of prefinished: you don't need to finish in place, so installation is faster and without ugly chemicals and sanding. Also - factory finish is probably harder and more durable than homemade.
I can also guess the disadvantages:
seams are not sealed, so floor is less resistant to moisture.
Requires more accuracy during installation, there is no sanding to assure level floors. God forbid you scratch a surface.
What did you use and what was your experience?
I know my wife would prefer floors sealed in place but I estimate that finishing the floor will probably take a couple weeks and clearing out entire first floor and not using it for that long makes me scared. Generally - replacing 1000 sf of floors sounds like a big project, I don't know if I have enough energy and appetite for a DIY.
Thanks,
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