Is All Prefinished Hardwood Flooring Created The Same?

The question of wether all prefinished wood flooring is of the same quality comes up time and time again. The simple answer is no!

As an example, I had a customer come in today with a couple boards of prefinished wood flooring that she picked up at a local lumber yard. It was a white oak with a reddish stain on it. She asked if this was good flooring? I took a look at it and noticed a white scratch across the surface. I asked how it got scratched and she said she did it with her finger nail. This was the reason that she was questioning the quality. I said "I think you answered your own question". She went on to explain that the lumber yard had a lot of this flooring and that there was no warranty that came with it. This would be red flag #1. She also went on to say that they were selling it in the LOW $2 range, this would be red flag #2. When I asked what brand it was, she said that there was no name and it comes in generic boxes, this would be red flag #3.

Most likely this was a hardwood flooring product that was imported for the purpose of selling to gain market share. In other words, some companies believe that they need to bring in cheap wood flooring because that is what the consumer is looking for. For the consumer that hasn't done their homework, this looks like a great deal.


The reasons for this hardwood flooring being this cheap are simple:

1) It is being milled in countries where the labor rates are dirt cheap. The people working at these factories are working for very little money.

2) The amount of finish that is being applied is minimal. Usually the better brands use 7 to 10 coats of finish on the prefinished flooring. The cheaper imported flooring may only 3 to 5 coats of finish.

3) They don't use any aluminum oxide! For those of you that are not sure what this is, it is an ingredient that is mixed with the floor finish when being applied to the raw boards. It keeps the floor finish from wearing and makes it last for years to come. The cheaper floors don't have the aluminum oxide on them so you can expect the finish to wear much faster.

4) Milling of the product may not be consistant. Some of the mills that are producing the flooring aren't using the latest equipment or up to date equipment. The result of this will be a higher waste factor, meaning boards that you can't use or have to cut to eliminate the bad part. This along with the time that the flooring installer will need to sort through the boxes for the good boards may cost you more eliminating any money that you thought was being saved.

If your looking for good prefinished hardwood flooring that you can install with minimal waste with a finish that will last many years, choose quality brands such as Diamante, Mirage, Bruce,Somerset etc. These brands have been proven over time and will provide you with a quality wood floor at a reasonable price!