Staining hardwood floors can allow you to choose a color that suits your home’s décor, while hardwood floor finishes can provide an extra layer of protection against everyday wear and tear. When you have hardwood flooring installed in your Pennsylvania home or have your existing floors refinished, you’ll get to choose the stain and finish that best fit your needs and preferences. Here are some important things you should know.
What Kind of Stain Should You Choose?
Every species of wood has its own natural color, but that doesn’t have to limit your options. You might prefer a particular species because of its durability, but its color might not pair well with the furniture in your home.
Staining hardwood floors can allow you to have both the wood species and the color that you want. When hardwood floors are stained, a pigment penetrates the surface and changes the color of the wood.
Sometimes it’s necessary to apply more than one coat of stain to achieve the desired result. When multiple coats are needed, each one must dry before the next is applied. That can make the process time consuming, but you’ll be thrilled with the results.
Do You Also Need to Have Your Hardwood Floors Finished?
The short answer is yes. Staining hardwood floors enhances their color, while hardwood floor finishes provide a protective layer that helps prevent scratches and dents. With a durable finish, you won’t have to worry about your beautiful wood floors getting damaged by high-heeled shoes, your pet’s nails, your children’s toys, or furniture legs scraping the surface.
As with stains, you also have an array of options when it comes to hardwood floor finishes. Surface finishes create a protective layer that covers the wood’s surface. Those can include water-based, oil-based, moisture-cured, and UV-cured finishes. Some finishes appear clear after they dry, while others have an amber color.
If you expect the wood floors in your home to experience heavy foot traffic, or if you have particularly active kids and pets, you might prefer to have your floors coated with a penetrating finish. It will penetrate the wood and harden to produce a more durable and long-lasting layer of protection than a surface finish can provide.
Sometimes a finish is applied when wood planks are created in a factory. If you choose prefinished wood, you won’t have to stay off your new floors while you’re waiting for the finish to dry.
Wood flooring can also be finished on-site. If you select that option, you’ll have more choices, but you’ll have to stay out of the room (and keep your kids and pets out) while the finish is drying.
Get a Quote for Hardwood Floor Installation or Refinishing
If you’re thinking about installing wood flooring, or if your existing wood floors are looking worse for wear, Barbati Hardwood Flooring can help. A member of our team can tell you about the types of flooring we offer or explain the refinishing process. You’ll also learn how staining wood floors and choosing the right hardwood floor finishes can help you achieve the results you envision. Call (484)354-8869 to learn more.