Oil Finished Hardwood Flooring
Making changes to your home is a personal choice. You want the right look to match your personal style, aesthetic and personality. If you are looking to transform your spaces with authentic, timeworn materials, consider oil finished hardwood flooring. Oil finish hardwood floors are valued for their historic look and serviceability – the original versions can still be found in European churches that are hundreds of years old! Oil finished hardwood floors enrich the character of a space unlike any other hardwood category.
Today, most prefinished residential hardwood products are finished with urethane and other chemicals in huge manufacturing facilities. Unlike oil finished wood, these have gloss levels anywhere from matte to high gloss. The advantages are they are low maintenance, easy to install and some are very durable. Repairing prefinished urethane hardwood floors, in some cases, may require extensive repairs and or replacement. Other hardwood floors, such as site-sanded installations, may require a full re-coat or even sanding and re-coating down the road. But this is not the case with natural, oil finished products.
Wood is actually quite durable even before it is treated with waxes or oils. An applied oil finish helps to enhance those characteristics and by “sealing” and protecting the open grain of the flooring in its unfinished, natural state. The oil penetrates the wood fibers to make them harder and stronger. No film or residue is left behind and the flooring is easily cleaned and repaired if damaged. And (Eureka!), no sanding is needed. You can easily touch-up scratches or dings that might have occurred over the life of the floor by doing a light buff (if needed) and reapplying oil to the affected area. And the oil treatment makes your hardwood very stain resistant, even light stains perform beautifully.
To clean and maintain your oil finished hardwood over the years may require an extra step from time to time, but the product will last a lifetime if cared for properly. Make sure you are buying the proper oil care products. It’s a small cost compared to sanding and refinishing your entire floor and in light of the years of enjoyment you’ll experience with oil finished products.
If you are interested in learning more about oil finished hardwood flooring give us a call at 317-879-8474 or contact us www.tishflooring.com – we’ll bring samples to you!
