What Is The Cost of Prefinished Hardwood Flooring vs. Unfinished Wood Flooring?

You know you’re looking to install hardwood flooring in your home or place of business. Now comes the question of installing prefinished hardwood flooring versus installing unfinished hardwood flooring. There are advantages and disadvantages to both types of flooring. Prefinished hardwood flooring is, generally, the more cost effective option of the two. How does that lesser cost factor into to quality and options for your flooring? We’ll discuss some points in this article that may help you decide the direction you want go.

Why is pre-finished wood flooring less expensive than unfinished wood flooring?

Prefinished hardwood flooring costs less than unfinished hardwood flooring as a general rule. This is true for two related reasons:

1. Assembly lines bring costs down - Prefinished wood flooring is shipped from the manufacturer with multiple coats of finished already on the floor boards. Flooring manufacturers create assembly lines where they apply multiple coats of finish to the wood at the factory. They have a fast, smooth running process that brings down the cost of the flooring.

2. Sanding and refinishing costs are eliminated – Without the prefinished option you would need to hire a floor sanding company to sand your hardwood flooring directly after it is installed. This will cost $1.75 to $3 per square foot to get your floors refinished. You will find yourself closer to the $1.75 per square foot price if you hire the same company to refinish your flooring that hired to install them. Still, if you have 800 square feet of wood flooring the cost will be $1,400 to $2,400 to finish them.

$1,400 to $2,400 is a hefty price to add onto an already expensive purchase! For instance, suppose you spent $4 per square foot on hardwood flooring and you paid another $2 per square for installation. That is $6 per square foot to install the flooring. Say we multiply by our hypothetical 800 square foot floor. The cost for that is $4,800. If you were to pay $1,400 to $2,400 for refinishing that could easily be 25% of the cost for entire job! Therefore, it is easy to see why installing pre-finished wood flooring has become such a popular option. It saves money!

Things to Consider

Dust- With prefinished wood flooring you need not concern yourself with dust getting all over your house. Even with sanding companies that claim to be dustless there is still going to be dust.

Subfloor - Is the subfloor level or are there height variations? Prefinished wood flooring needs to have a perfectly level subfloor. Otherwise, the floor is not going to be flat. When installing unfinished wood flooring on an unlevel subfloor minor height variations can be fixed during the sanding process.

Limited selection - Many types of hardwood flooring like wide plank flooring, scraped wood flooring, and antique wood flooring are not available as a prefinished option. You simply may not have the option of buying prefinished flooring in some styles.

Humidity levels – Prefinished hardwood flooring will not separate and buckle as much as unfinished wood flooring. Wood expands and contracts naturally when moisture levels change in the air. Prefinished wood flooring has a great advantage of not having all of the boards connected to each other with finish. Unfinished wood flooring is installed and finished and the boards contract and expand like all wood. After being finished however, the seal that formed during the sanding and refinishing process will be broken. It’s natural for this to happen but it may not look as clean as prefinished wood flooring that never had finish filling the space in between boards.

Looking to install prefinished hardwood flooring? Looking to install unfinished hardwood flooring? Get free quotes to install either type of flooring. Talk to local pros, compare advice and pricing. Start here!

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Project Examples
- We are purchasing a home in Brentwood NH and the hardwood floors need to be sanded and polyurethaned. The kitchen is 28x12 and the dining room is 16x12. There is a small hallway that is aprox 5x14. We would want the work done sometime early Dec.
- First of all i am not sure if there is enough wood to be refinished. The boards appear to be 1/2 inch thick and pine i think.
- We just bought a house in Tewksbury and we were thinking of refinishing the floors before we move in. It would be 4 bedrooms, dining, and family rooms.
- We've installed new kitchen cabinets and rearranged the kitched a bit. Some of the existing hardwood floor had to be removed due to the new layout. The boards have been replaced. The entire kitchen area is rather small, about 150 sq.ft. Please provide a quote and timeframe.
- Purchasing a home in Dover. The house is empty. I would like to have the floors refinished and maybe a darker cherry stain ? 5 total rooms master bedroom 13X13, bedroom 2 13X11 and walk in closet, bedroom 3 11X17 with walk in closet, living room 13X22, dining room 13X10 and maybe the stairs. I would like to have an idea of much this would be knowing it is not an exact quote. Please advise
- Floors are in in good condition and about 5 years old. They are dull and have some scratches so they may need a recoat? Looking to get them looking new.
- I need floors sanded before I move into my new house.
- Family room floor needs restoration. Has a large rug, but outside walk areas show signs of discoloration and ware. Preparing to do some painting too.
- Want family room floor sanded and refinished but would prefer using a dustless sander.
- We have a keeping room and kitchen area of wide pine floor boards that are in bad shape. They need to be sanded and smoothed and a finish applied. We would like it done ASAP as we are having other projects done in the house as well.
- Recent home renovation. Oak floors throughout home. Need second floor bedroom, hall and stairs refinished. Then a few weeks later, will need entire first floor (~600-700 sq feet) refinished. I am starting to repair/patch the floor that was damaged from the renovations.
- We are purchasing a 2100 sq ft house in Andover. I need to get the floors refinished before we move in. Also, I need to have hardwood floors installed in the kitchen and family room. I will be removing the existing flooring as soon as we move in and would like to get the new flooring installed in the same time frame as the refinishing.
- I would like a quote for hardwood refinishing at my 1000 sq. ft. condo.
- I am moving into my father\'s home as soon as possible and the hardwood floors need to be refinished before I can move in. The floors need to be done in the month of June or July and no later. The house is a small approx. 1700 sq foot home and the downstairs living room, hallway, dining room, stairway, upstairs hallway and master bedroom need to be refinished. All carpet and all tack and nails have been removed but there appears to be some cat urine and water discoloration.
- Sanding and refinishing of first floor hardwood floors.
- Build up of wax and polish on hard wood floors. Only a few years old. Looking to have all the old polish stripped off. Floors are looking rough and dirty from polish build up.
- We have 712 sq ft (4 rooms) of white oak flooring that needs to be refinished. There is a thin layer of urethane on them now. We\'d like them to be stained with a light coat of cherry stain and sealed well with a high gloss finish.
- I need my 8 year old floors stained darker and refinished. I have a family room, dining room, sitting room/den and my stairs.
- I would like to receive an estimate for refinishing the hardwood floors in my home (approx 1461 sq. ft. plus stairs). If the estimate is too high for me, perhaps just the downstairs could be refinished (approx. 611 sq.ft.) Unfortunately, there is furniture in every room, so I believe that only one room at a time can be refinished
- Just bought my first house. I would like to refinish two bedrooms and possibly the living room hardwood floors before I move in, area is approx 600 sf.
- I need approximately 2,800 sq' of wooden floors sanded and refinished.
- I'm considering re-finishing our fist floor which is oak. It's become dull over the years. May need sanding/staining.
- Refinish dining room area: approx 14ft by 17ft
- Sand and refinish aproxametly 1200 SF in Salem NH
- We recently laid down new hickory floor planks from carlisle in stoddard, nh. the next step is to sand the floors (carlisle says that it is not necessary, but we think it is) and we are looking for someone to come in and sand. square footage is just under 2000 sq. feet. once sanding is complete our intent is to lay down several layers of tung oil to complete the job.
- We have a mahogany front porch that is beginning to look worn and would like to have it sanded and refinished.
- 660 square foot kitchen L-shaped with 10 foot granite island 10-year old floor. Last time it was done was 5 years ago.
- We are purchasing a home in Brentwood NH and the hardwood floors need to be sanded and polyurethaned. The kitchen is 28x12 and the dining room is 16x12. There is a small hallway that is aprox 5x14. We would want the work done sometime early Dec.
- Sanding and restoring of hardwood floors - 2 rooms
- 3 bedrooms (wide plank pine) will need to be refinished. 1 living room (hardwood / oak) All of this is about 1000sq ft total.
- 2 rooms, approximately 20x15 and 10x15. Existing hardwood floors that need cleanup, sanding, and refinishing. Cleanup includes removing staples and tack boards from previous rug installation. The rug has been removed already.
- Have carpeting over hardwood floor that has alway been carpted for 35 years and prior to that because I replaced the carpeting upon purchasing the house. I would remove the carpeting myself but don't venture sanding on my own
- I have approximately 700 SF of floor area plus one staircase with stained treads and painted risers. The floor is antique wide pine. I would like the floors and treads completely refinished.
- Hardwood floors in our home need refinishing. Some sections are in quite bad shape and may need replacement pieces. Approx. sq. foot is 400ft.
- The house is a colonial and I would like the hallway and dining room refinished. The floor is only 5 years old but never shined like I wanted it to . I hear it would look like it was still wet and shine like glass if done right. The square feet of the project is about 175 feet.
- I was thinking about recarpeting 2 of my bedrooms. I pulled up the corners of carpet and noticed I had hardwood floors underneath. The carpet pad is not glued down but stapeled in some places. Do you remove old carpet? do you move furniture? How much is it appx. a square foot to sand and refinish? Not sure if I should just go the carpet route.
- Sand and refinish a combined livingroom/dining area aprox measurement 17ft by 29ft.
- Sand and refinish a combined livingroom/dining area aprox measurement 17ft by 29ft.
- Want Hard wood floor sanding and polishing performed in Dining and Foyer. approximately 300 SFT.
- Sand and Refinish Kitchen Floor.
- I have a 12x15 kitchen that has original hardwood flooring from 1920. The flooring was covered by two layers of linoleum throughout the years. We recently removed the two layers of linoleum and want to see if the hardwood is restorable.
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We are purchasing a home in Brentwood NH and the hardwood floors need to be sanded and polyurethaned. The kitchen is 28x12 and the dining room is 16x12. There is a small hallway that is aprox 5x14. We would want the work done sometime early Dec.
First of all i am not sure if there is enough wood to be refinished. The boards appear to be 1/2 inch thick and pine i think.
We just bought a house in Tewksbury and we were thinking of refinishing the floors before we move in. It would be 4 bedrooms, dining, and family rooms.
We've installed new kitchen cabinets and rearranged the kitched a bit. Some of the existing hardwood floor had to be removed due to the new layout. The boards have been replaced. The entire kitchen area is rather small, about 150 sq.ft. Please provide a quote and timeframe.
Purchasing a home in Dover. The house is empty. I would like to have the floors refinished and maybe a darker cherry stain ? 5 total rooms master bedroom 13X13, bedroom 2 13X11 and walk in closet, bedroom 3 11X17 with walk in closet, living room 13X22, dining room 13X10 and maybe the stairs. I would like to have an idea of much this would be knowing it is not an exact quote. Please advise
Floors are in in good condition and about 5 years old. They are dull and have some scratches so they may need a recoat? Looking to get them looking new.
I need floors sanded before I move into my new house.
Family room floor needs restoration. Has a large rug, but outside walk areas show signs of discoloration and ware. Preparing to do some painting too.
Want family room floor sanded and refinished but would prefer using a dustless sander.
We have a keeping room and kitchen area of wide pine floor boards that are in bad shape. They need to be sanded and smoothed and a finish applied. We would like it done ASAP as we are having other projects done in the house as well.
Recent home renovation. Oak floors throughout home. Need second floor bedroom, hall and stairs refinished. Then a few weeks later, will need entire first floor (~600-700 sq feet) refinished. I am starting to repair/patch the floor that was damaged from the renovations.
We are purchasing a 2100 sq ft house in Andover. I need to get the floors refinished before we move in. Also, I need to have hardwood floors installed in the kitchen and family room. I will be removing the existing flooring as soon as we move in and would like to get the new flooring installed in the same time frame as the refinishing.
I would like a quote for hardwood refinishing at my 1000 sq. ft. condo.
I am moving into my father\'s home as soon as possible and the hardwood floors need to be refinished before I can move in. The floors need to be done in the month of June or July and no later. The house is a small approx. 1700 sq foot home and the downstairs living room, hallway, dining room, stairway, upstairs hallway and master bedroom need to be refinished. All carpet and all tack and nails have been removed but there appears to be some cat urine and water discoloration.
Sanding and refinishing of first floor hardwood floors.
Build up of wax and polish on hard wood floors. Only a few years old. Looking to have all the old polish stripped off. Floors are looking rough and dirty from polish build up.
We have 712 sq ft (4 rooms) of white oak flooring that needs to be refinished. There is a thin layer of urethane on them now. We\'d like them to be stained with a light coat of cherry stain and sealed well with a high gloss finish.
I need my 8 year old floors stained darker and refinished. I have a family room, dining room, sitting room/den and my stairs.
I would like to receive an estimate for refinishing the hardwood floors in my home (approx 1461 sq. ft. plus stairs). If the estimate is too high for me, perhaps just the downstairs could be refinished (approx. 611 sq.ft.) Unfortunately, there is furniture in every room, so I believe that only one room at a time can be refinished
Just bought my first house. I would like to refinish two bedrooms and possibly the living room hardwood floors before I move in, area is approx 600 sf.
I need approximately 2,800 sq' of wooden floors sanded and refinished.
I'm considering re-finishing our fist floor which is oak. It's become dull over the years. May need sanding/staining.
Refinish dining room area: approx 14ft by 17ft
Sand and refinish aproxametly 1200 SF in Salem NH
We recently laid down new hickory floor planks from carlisle in stoddard, nh. the next step is to sand the floors (carlisle says that it is not necessary, but we think it is) and we are looking for someone to come in and sand. square footage is just under 2000 sq. feet. once sanding is complete our intent is to lay down several layers of tung oil to complete the job.
We have a mahogany front porch that is beginning to look worn and would like to have it sanded and refinished.
660 square foot kitchen L-shaped with 10 foot granite island 10-year old floor. Last time it was done was 5 years ago.
We are purchasing a home in Brentwood NH and the hardwood floors need to be sanded and polyurethaned. The kitchen is 28x12 and the dining room is 16x12. There is a small hallway that is aprox 5x14. We would want the work done sometime early Dec.
Sanding and restoring of hardwood floors - 2 rooms
3 bedrooms (wide plank pine) will need to be refinished. 1 living room (hardwood / oak) All of this is about 1000sq ft total.
2 rooms, approximately 20x15 and 10x15. Existing hardwood floors that need cleanup, sanding, and refinishing. Cleanup includes removing staples and tack boards from previous rug installation. The rug has been removed already.
Have carpeting over hardwood floor that has alway been carpted for 35 years and prior to that because I replaced the carpeting upon purchasing the house. I would remove the carpeting myself but don't venture sanding on my own
I have approximately 700 SF of floor area plus one staircase with stained treads and painted risers. The floor is antique wide pine. I would like the floors and treads completely refinished.
Hardwood floors in our home need refinishing. Some sections are in quite bad shape and may need replacement pieces. Approx. sq. foot is 400ft.
The house is a colonial and I would like the hallway and dining room refinished. The floor is only 5 years old but never shined like I wanted it to . I hear it would look like it was still wet and shine like glass if done right. The square feet of the project is about 175 feet.
I was thinking about recarpeting 2 of my bedrooms. I pulled up the corners of carpet and noticed I had hardwood floors underneath. The carpet pad is not glued down but stapeled in some places. Do you remove old carpet? do you move furniture? How much is it appx. a square foot to sand and refinish? Not sure if I should just go the carpet route.
Sand and refinish a combined livingroom/dining area aprox measurement 17ft by 29ft.
Sand and refinish a combined livingroom/dining area aprox measurement 17ft by 29ft.
Want Hard wood floor sanding and polishing performed in Dining and Foyer. approximately 300 SFT.
Sand and Refinish Kitchen Floor.
I have a 12x15 kitchen that has original hardwood flooring from 1920. The flooring was covered by two layers of linoleum throughout the years. We recently removed the two layers of linoleum and want to see if the hardwood is restorable.

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