The Pros and Cons of Refinishing Prefinished Floors
A growing segment of the hardwood refinishing market is residential homes with older prefinished floors. These floors are perfect candidates for refinishing and the transformation can be amazing. Note that the refinishing process removes the microbevel.
Before Sanding and Finishing
After Sanding and Finishing
Pros
All the dents and scratches are removed, the floor can be stained or left natural, new finish coats in the desired sheen are applied. Seams and separations are filled. When a DCS (Dust Collection System) system is used, the process is virtually dust free. Client is left with what is practically a new floor.
This option is a cost effective, environmentally friendly, minimally intrusive process that can renew and transform the look and feel of a residence.
Cons
You cannot change the dimensions or species of the existing floor. If the original installation was subpar or the relative humidity in the home is not well controlled, seams and separations can reappear.
Refinishing prefinished floors does require more work to sand off the hard, factory finish and the microbevel so there will likely be an additional charge for these types of projects. However, the results speak for themselves.
