Wood Flooring FAQs
We hear a lot of questions about wood flooring, and here are a few of the most frequently asked:
Can I install wood floor in bathrooms?
Due to the high moisture content in bathrooms, most manufacturers do not recommend installing solid wood in bathrooms with bathtubs and showers. However, half-baths or powder rooms may have solid wood because there is no shower or bathtub to damage the wood. Engineered wood may be used in damp areas but still cannot tolerate puddles of standing water.
What’s the difference between pre-finished and unfinished wood floor?
Pre-finished comes complete with a hard topcoat. Under the topcoat, it may be either natural or stained. Unfinished is just as it sounds: bare, natural wood that you later have to finish yourself. Pre-finished saves you time, but unfinished gives you more creativity to stain and coat as you please.
Is pre-finished or unfinished wood floor most preferable?
Pre-finished is certainly the most popular and is recommended in most cases. But if you have very particular design needs, you may want to go with unfinished wood floor because of the range of finishing options available to you.
Is it advisable to wax my urethane pre-finished floor?
No. First of all, there is no need to do this. The urethane topcoat should provide the protection you need. Second, once you wax a pre-finished floor, you must continue to maintain it as a waxed floor. You will not be able to put any other kind of top-coating over the wax because it is so hard to remove. The only solution would be to fully sand the floor.
Should I clean my wood floor with a wet mop?
No! Do not wet-mop your wood floor. You can use a damp mop (more dry than wet) to clean your wood floor, but be careful because too much water will damage the floor. It can dull the finish and if it works its way into unfinished parts of the wood (i.e., between the cracks in the floor), it can badly warp it.
Why do we calculate 10% wastage? Isn’t that just a ploy by wood floor companies to get you to buy more?
No, it’s not. Wastage refers to the great number of whole boards that must be cut to size to fit in your room. In any given room, the boards along one entire wall, and some on a second wall, must be cut to size. That is what’s meant by wastage. However, quite a few boards are also lost because boards often split during nailing or sawing, or they simply were cut to the wrong size and must thrown out so that another may be cut. This is a normal part of wood floor installation. Engineered wood will have fewer problems than solid with splitting and knots that will cause problems.
Why would I consider laying the floor before painting the room? Couldn’t I ruin my nice new floor when I paint?
Yes, it is possible that you could ruin your new floor. But it is not likely that you will do any major damage–unless you spill an entire can of paint or get paint in the grooves between the boards. You may want to lay floor before painting so that you can use your floor hue as a determiner for paint color. It’s much more difficult to do it the other way around: matching the floor to the walls.