Took me 5 years to admit that pre-finished hardwood beats site-finished in my dusty shop

I finally saw the difference after doing a stair landing with pre-finished oak and realizing I saved 4 hours of sanding cleanup compared to my last site-finished job, so what do you guys do when the client wants that seamless look?

2 comments

2 Comments

james_torres1mo ago

Saved 4 hours of sanding cleanup" is exactly what my buddy Dave found out. He did a whole basement in pre-finished maple and his helper actually had to ask if they forgot to sand because they were done so fast. Now he's got a strict "pre-finished only unless they really beg for it" rule and his cleanup budget went way down.

spencer_hayes711mo ago

Dave's helper asking if they forgot to sand is hilarious. My cousin had the same thing happen on a living room job - he kept the crew an extra day because he was convinced they missed a step. They just stood there staring at the finished floor. Now he's the same way, pre-finished or bust, and his trash bill went from three dumpsters to one and a half. It's like the difference between making a sandwich and building a whole kitchen from scratch.