What’s the difference between pre-finished and site-finished floors? Pre-finished floors are sanded and finished at our finishing facility, which is a clean, controlled environment devoted to this process. These floors arrive at the job site complete and in most cases there’s no additional finishing required. Unfinished, or site finished floors, arrive at a job site requiring finishing by a skilled artisan after they’re installed. Though there are some exceptions, The Hudson Company usually recommends that clients select pre-finished floors. Why?

Choosing Pre-finished Over Site-Finished Floors.

• The process of sanding creates a large quantity of dust— something our facility is well-designed to manage. Sanding onsite can disrupt other trades and processes. 

• When floors are finished on site, there are inevitably areas of the home that are made inaccessible while the floors are drying, so all other construction and design projects must be relocated or paused, creating avoidable delays.   

• Some aspects of the finishing process require specialized equipment and tools that are best used in a controlled environment with safety measures in place. For example, the process of hand-scraping a floor is much more efficient when performed on a shop bench than on site, after installation. Further, some of our flooring is finished with processes that involve thermal modification (heat), fuming, reactive finishes, charring, and bleach, all of which are best performed outside the jobsite.

• What you see is what you get. Instead of having an installer create endless custom samples for you to review on site, the floors arrive ready to be installed in the color and finish you chose from the library in our showroom. 

• Site finishing is as much an art as it is a science, and unfortunately there are few skilled finishers working today. Finding one who can work with you on location and on schedule can be a challenge.   

Exceptions to the Rule

In some unusual instances, we do encourage floors being finished on site. Reclaimed materials with an Original Face often have natural variations in texture and thickness, and are best sanded and finished after installation.