Be Proactive about Prefinished Flooring Defects
If you’re having prefinished flooring put down this summer or fall, this is for you.I’ve become aware of two separate, unrelated remodels in my region that had major issues due to defective prefinished flooring.
Yes, it was the same (major) company. No, I won’t name them.
But here’s the deal. Flooring installers may or may not notify you that they have suspicions about the floor they are putting down.
You need to look hard at the floor yourself. If something doesn’t look right, start making noise.
Fast.
This is really important. If you allow other work to go in on top of your new floor, then you will probably be footing the bill for removal/replacement of the other work.
Or, worse yet, you’ll just live with it. Yuck.
(If you’ve got a top-tier GC on the job, he will catch it. Unfortunately, top-tier GCs are hard to come by. Treat them well when you find one.)
So look at it hard on the day it goes in. My sources say that the flooring companies will not give you grief about replacing the floor or refunding your money.
But you have to catch it early.
August 21st, 2007 at 4:44 pm
What is your take on prefinished floors? (Pardon my ignorance, I’m assuming prefinished always refers to hardwood.) I’ve heard mixed reviews. Would you recommend prefinished hardwood flooring?
August 26th, 2007 at 5:53 pm
I think prefinished floors are a good option if you don’t mind that it doesn’t have that “completely unified” look of a post-finished floor. (There are small bevels at all the joints, so the sticks are all very visibly separate.)
But the benefits are zero dust, quicker installation, and a much higher quality of finish on the wood compared to what can be done in-home.
And remember, as long as it’s actually made of 3/4″ sticks of wood, you can always refinish it later, so it may not always be a prefinished floor.