What Type of a Wood Floor is Best for My Kitchen?

Wood Species
Go with the hardest species you can find. Oak and ash are some of the strongest domestic wood species used in the manufacture of wood floors. Rich grain and exquisite texture of these species will not only make the floor look beautiful and unique, but also help disguise small dents and scratches that are bound to occur over time.

Surface Texture
Wood floors with a light texture and a polished finish are gorgeous, but will they look just as spotlessly perfect after a few pots, pans, and jars have been dropped on your floor? Probably not, which is why highly textured wood species and wire brushed finishes work so well in kitchens and other high trafficked areas. If anything, the floor only ends up looking better over time!

  • Installing Hardwood Flooring In a Kitchen
    In a kitchen, you want to make sure that you purchase a very dense, durable hardwood, and stay away from softwood floors that will be more prone to water damage and staining issues.

  • Finish Options for Natural Wood Flooring
    The protective coat created by this process is much more potent than anything that can be applied on site and can last up to five times longer than traditional self-applied finishes.

  • Maintaining Hardwood Floors In a Kitchen
    The most important thing that you can do to maintain your hardwood kitchen floors is to keep constant vigilance over them. You can test the finish on the floor by pouring a very small amount of water on it in some of the most highly trafficked areas. If it beads up the finish is fine.

  • How To Care for a Hardwood Floor
    The drawback is that the refinishing process is a big, messy job. It involves taking almost everything out of the kitchen and then bringing in big, loud equipment that sends sawdust flying through the air in every direction.

  • The Advantages of Hardwood In Kitchens
    Hardwood provides you with a softer, more yielding surface to stand on than most tile and hard surface flooring options. This also makes it less likely that items will shatter if accidentally dropped.

  • Floods and Leaks in Kitchens
    Unfortunately, each utensil that ties into the plumbing of your house, is a potential disaster waiting to happen. Small leaks can cause standing puddles, that will wear through the finish and seep down cracks to rot the floor from within.​​

If you have shopped for hardwood floors, you have probably debated the pros and cons of pre-finished hardwood floors vs. site finished hardwood floors. It’s a legitimate debate. Both types of hardwood floors have merit so the real question is which solution is better for your site and which meets your personal preferences.  Here are...

The post Pros And Cons: Prefinished vs. Site Finished Hardwood appeared first on Hardwood Floors Fort Worth.


If you have shopped for hardwood floors, you have probably debated the pros and cons of pre-finished hardwood floors vs. site finished hardwood floors. It’s a legitimate debate. Both types of hardwood floors have merit so the real question is which solution is better for your site and which meets your personal preferences.  Here are...

The post Pros And Cons: Prefinished vs. Site Finished Hardwood appeared first on Hardwood Floors Fort Worth.

If you have shopped for hardwood floors, you have probably debated the pros and cons of pre-finished hardwood floors vs. site finished hardwood floors. It’s a legitimate debate. Both types of hardwood floors have merit so the real question is which solution is better for your site and which meets your personal preferences. 

Here are a few observations that might influence your decision:

  • The upfront cost of site finished floors is generally less than pre-finished hardwood floors
  • Pre-finished hardwood reduces installation time
  • Pre-finished hardwood floors require less skill to install and finish
  • There is no odor associated with installation of pre-finished hardwood
  • Pre-finished floors are more convenient
  • With site finished hardwood, the manufacturer’s warranty only covers the work performed by the manufacturer, not by subcontractors.

These factors should be considered when choosing between pre-finished hardwood and site finished hardwood floors. However, knowledgeable customer service representatives like our staff at Hardwood Floors Fort Worth recognize the benefits of site finished hardwood floors and stand ready to offer their advice.

Customization Allowed with Site Finished Hardwood

Experts salute site finished hardwood for several specific reasons, foremost of which is the ability to customize the floor to the home and the surroundings. It takes a skilled workforce to install and site finish hardwood floors. But, the buyer who wants to maximize the natural beauty of hardwood will enjoy having experienced installers and hardwood finishers customize the wood to accommodate the environment for years to come.

A disadvantage of pre-finished is that the colors and finishes in the floor could be discontinued by the time hardwood floor needs repair. But, with site finished hardwood floors, the surface, borders, herringbone, inlays and other custom features can be tailor made. In most cases, site finished hardwood ends up looking and feeling warmer than pre-finished floors.

When considering pre-finished and site finished, be sure to consider the hardwood’s natural “beauty and benefits” and measure how important those elements are to you.

Site Finished for Kitchen Hardwood Floors

Few industry experts would recommend pre-finished over site finished for hardwood kitchen floors.

There’s more than artistry to consider when installing hardwood kitchen floors. When hardwood is site finished, a seamless, consistent surface is ensured. The gaps between hardwood planks are known as bevels and microbevels, two miniscule gaps that seem to attract liquids, cleaning products and/or food into and beneath the surface.

With site finished hardwood floors, these bevels and microbevels are eliminated meaning that neither liquid nor food spills slip between the planks and create odors or damage to the wood. If cleanliness counts, site finished hardwood floors for the kitchen is probably the right choice.

Pre-finished Hardwood Pros

The durable finishes of pre-finished hardwood allow for easy installation on a broad number of subfloors. This flexibility is not assured with site finished hardwood flooring. Additionally, pre-finished hardwood can be installed in just about any climate because pre-finished hardwood has proven to be more resistant to moisture and humidity than site finished hardwood.

This adaptability explains why pre-finished hardwood floors are the choice for floors that are below grade and where the room is prone to moisture. In these conditions, pre-finished hardwood floors are more versatile than site finished hardwood.

Experts report that when hardwood is pre-finished, it can receive multiple coats of finish that are uniformly applied in the factory.  This makes for a finished surface that is difficult to achieve with site finished floors. Perhaps the greatest benefit of pre-finished hardwood floors is that they can be installed on a wide number of subfloors because the finish work need not be completed on site.

It truly is thrilling to see those planks arrive finished and ready to install. You know what you are buying and what the final look will be. This makes it important to work closely with the customer service department at Hardwood Floors Fort Worth. Our reps will take the time to show all the finishes available in the hardwood of your choosing.

And, if you choose a site finished hardwood floor, we’ll put you in touch with the best hardwood floor finishers in Fort Worth. We want all our clients to enjoy their hardwood floor for its full life and we offer exert advice about which solution, site finished or pre-finished hardwood, will achieve your goals.

The post Pros And Cons: Prefinished vs. Site Finished Hardwood appeared first on Hardwood Floors Fort Worth.


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