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SteveBell

wrote:

On Sep 25, 11:18*pm, RickH wrote:
On Sep 25, 9:24*pm, wrote:

Hi,

Do new hardwood floor materials come polyurethaned or is that step
required post installation? Also, Is sanding required post
installation?

Thanks,

Aaron

Both, you can get pre-finished hardwood or unfinished, unfinished is
usually 3/4 inch thich T&G strips. *Prefinished can be engineered
(multiple layers of various materials) or solid wood, or veneer on
simple pressed board, prefinished can snap together or glue
together.

If you get unfinished "real" flooring, you have to sand then finish.
Most pre-finished flooring does not equal the beauty and integrity
of a real unfinished job IMHO. *The pre-finished stuff frequently
has an ugly relief on the board edges that leaves V grooves on the
floor, unfinished is perfectly flat and smooth with no unsightly V
grooves that capture dirt and feel weird when walking.

I suggest you visit a store like Lumber Liquidators that has all
types of flooring on display.

Hi, thanks for the response. I would definitely prefer to go the "real
wood" route to match the rest of my beautiful old house.
What kind of sanding are we talking about? A random orbit or a
finishing sander OR something more heavy duty like belt, disk or drum?

You'll use a walk-behind drum sander designed for floors. It takes a
little practice to prevent sanding divots. That will be followed up by
a hand-held sander to get in the corners and behind objects. The
process makes _lots_ of dust, so you have to cover the whole room in
plastic.

You'll then want three coats of finish. That will take at least three
days to apply, depending on what finish you choose, with another week
or so before you put anything back on the floor.

Also, I will have radiant floor heating. What type of would is the
best conductor?

That's one I can't answer authoritatively, but I'd think the denser the
wood, the better the heat conduction.

--
Steve Bell
New Life Home Improvement
Arlington, TX