Cutting Prefinished Hardwood Floors

Budget conscious homeowners can install prefinished boards themselves cutting out the cost of hiring a pro and getting gorgeous results in a weekend.

Cutting prefinished hardwood floors.

Or thicker solid hardwood layer on top. Like unfinished hardwood floors the prefinished types typically have tongue and groove edges on all sides. Once it s in the flooring is a breeze to maintain requiring only basic cleaning and occasional touch ups to the clear coat. Bruce american originals natural red oak 3 4in.

T x 2 1 4 in. Be mindful that by wood flooring in this post i am referring to cutting trimming solid hardwood engineered floating click lock and laminate based flooring systems. Prefinished stair treads risers and nosings make your hardwood stairs beautiful right away. As you ll see refinishing pre finished hardwood floors are a bit more challenging to do and best left to the professionals.

But installing prefinished stair treads you should remember abou. And in the broadest sense using a saw blade with fine teeth rated to cut wood laminate floors will give you a better looking cut that one with less teeth as a general reference. The factory finish is very durable but it can be sanded if it ever needs refinishing. For straight cuts go for a miter saw and for curve or obstruction cuts opt for a jigsaw for the curve.

Engineered wood flooring is a prefinished tongue and groove flooring that has alternating wood grain laminations much like plywood but with a 1 8 in. This is a great video from ken fisher which explains the process of refinishing pre finished floors and how to eliminate or reduce the bevels. They are available in 3 4 inch thickness as well as low profile styles that are 5 16 to 5 8 inch thick which are a good or installing over existing flooring. W x varying l solid hardwood flooring 20 sq ft case 3 49.

For hardwood flooring opt for a blade with more teeth because they can give a smoother cut. A table saw is also an excellent alternative in cutting straight cuts. But since the introduction of prefinished solid hardwood during the 1940s this newer form of flooring has become increasingly popular and today you may find that it s easier to find than traditional unfinished hardwood planks. Traditionally hardwood flooring was always installed as unfinished planks that were then stained and finished with a protective surface layer right on the worksite.