Not sanding a freshly laid hardwood floor and finishing it as is makes the installation less messy and time consuming but it would be a mistake.
Installing unfinished wood flooring without sanding.
At dave s we have 40 years of installing hardwood flooring and generally we have noticed this decision comes down to these main factors.
Sanding levels the edges of the floorboards which can vary from one another by as much as 1 4 inch.
How to install unfinished oak hardwood flooring.
Once you are on the specifications tab scroll to the bottom of the page and there is pdf that says install guide and one that says warranty.
Prefinished solid wood floors initially cost more than unfinished wood flooring about 2 per square foot for a good grade of red oak.
Tech install 12 4 19 flooring 101 home solid hardwood flooring installation unfinished solid hardwood installation instructions.
With unfinished you have the ability to refinish easily as well as enjoy the natural imperfections of the wood and with prefinished you appreciate the convenience of being able to choose a perfectly.
In the past if you wanted to install your own solid wood flooring you also had to take on the task of sanding and finishing it.
Today you can get solid hardwood flooring prefinished in a variety of stain colors with a durable long lasting factory warranted finish.