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finished hardwood floor

Solid & Natural Hardwood Floors ~ Austin, TX

Wood Floor Finishes
Factory Pre-finished Hardwood Flooring
Engineered Hardwood
Installation Options
Wooden Floor Care Tips
Hardwood Floors Video

Wood Flooring Supplies & Installation

Our hardwood flooring outlet in Austin has an excellent reputation with satisfied home remodelers in Central Texas. As suppliers and craftsmen, we want your business. We're always willing to go the extra distance to please our customers.

You'll find both our sales staff and our installers to be knowledgeable, helpful and friendly. If you're looking for top quality hardwood flooring supplies along with expert installation and even free design consultation, look no further than Castle Floors. We invite you to call our office today, or stop by our Austin store location.


Basically, the wood floors we carry and install are defined as 3 types:
  1. Solid (unfinished & prefinished) nail-down only - use for above ground, or sub floors; requires correct expansion allowances between vertical walls
  2. Longstrip (pre-finished) float, and/or nail-down - used for all grade levels on wood subfloors and/or concrete slabs
  3. Engineered (pre-finished & unfinished) float, or nail-down - use for any grade level on wood sub-floors and/or concrete slabs
Unfinished wood floors (also finished at job-site) receive a smooth, sanded finish and custom colors. Usually 2-3 coats of finish are applied requiring several days.

Pre-finished wood floors (also known as factory finished) generally install in under a day and it's less messy compared to job-site finishes. You're limited to the manufacturer's colors, though factory finishes are very wear-resistant having 7-10 coats of finish. Many manufacturers include aluminum oxide for extra durability.

Wood accents are inventoried to add unique accents and patterned floor designs. They're used mainly in dens, living rooms, bedrooms, dining rooms and great rooms.

Engineered Hardwood

Pre-finished floors, or engineered "hardwood" flooring, enable the home remodeler to install a wood floor in areas that would normally prohibit using solid hardwood flooring. Factory pre-finished floors provide the same beauty and feel of natural, solid wood while at the same time offering an easy-care, functional flexibility and less-expensive option than solid wood can offer.

Wood Floor Finishes
You can forget about having to scrub and wax your hardwood flooring. Today's pre-finished wood floor manufacturers incorporate advanced techniques for applying durable finishes directly at their factories. Ultra violet lighting is used to apply several coats of urethane to pre-finished wood planks in only a matter of a few minutes, making hardwood floors affordable and easy to maintain.

A factory-finished hardwood floor usually has several coatings applied to the wood surface. Many suppliers are now applying 6-10 coats of ultra-violet cured urethane. By not having to duplicate this on a job site, which could take installers several extra days, flooring retailers and builders alike have good reasons to sell pre-finished hardwood floors, especially since an installation can be completed in a single day.

This doesn't mean you should clean your floor with a mop, though it does mean this type of floor will resist watermarks unlike old regular waxed hardwood floors. The UV-cured urethane finishes make today's wood floors much easier to maintain.

Factory Pre-finished Hardwood Flooring

Some of the factors affecting factory-finished wood floors before installation:
  1. UV-cured - Factory coatings that are treated before application by Ultra Violet lighting instead of a heat source.
  2. Polyurethane - A tough, durable and clear finish applied to wood flooring as a protection layer against wear.
  3. Urethane-Acrylic - A somewhat different chemical composition compared to Polyurethane with equal benefits.
  4. Ceramic - An advanced technology which incorporates "space-age" ceramics for improved resistance to abrasion of the floor's wear layer.
  5. Aluminum Oxide - Component that's added to urethane for extra abrasion resistance; the chemical additive is found more on higher grade flooring.
  6. Acrylic Impregnated - Acrylic monomers injected directly into the wood's cell structure to increase its hardness, then is further finished with an additional wear layer over the flooring surface.
  7. On-site Finished Hardwood Floor - For custom, stained hardwood flooring, or a wood floor that matches your existing trim, an on-site finish is the way to go. This means you begin with bare (unfinished) hardwood, then the floor is sanded, stained and finished in your home. Other advantages include being able to sand smooth any uneven heights, or irregularities in wood planks. Be prepared; the process can take several days to complete.

Installation Options

  1. Nail Down - Mostly used with 3/4" solid wood products, though we have adapters for thin flooring sizes too. 2" nail cleats are installed with a mallet and flooring nailer for attaching the floor to a sub-floor. Solid Strip and/or Plank flooring is installed to on-grade sub-floors, or to above grade.
  2. Staple Down - 1 & 1/2" - 2" staples instead of nailing cleats are used to attach flooring to subfloors. A pneumatic air gun is used to drive staples into the wood and subfloor -- a good technique for do-it-yourself projects.
  3. Floating - With this procedure, the floor isn't fastened to a sub-floor (mechanically). However, a thin padding is positioned between the sub-floor and flooring material. The pad reduces noise and protects the floor from moisture; it also offers cushion to your feet while providing some insulating "R" value as well. Many engineered floors and every Longstrip type floor can be floated. The floating installation method is fast, clean and easy.

Wooden Floor Care Tips

Sweep, or vacuum regularly to remove debris and accumulated dirt from the floor.
  1. Never use a wet mop, or attempt cleaning a hardwood floor with water.
  2. Water can dull your floor's finish and permanently damage the wood.
  3. Although hardwood floors can be scratched, any scratches to the finished top layer are usually easy to repair.
  4. Over time, sunlight will change the color of most stained hardwood flooring to some degree.
  5. Hardwood floor finishes can be restored to their original luster.
Many hardwood manufacturers have their own brand of formulated cleaners for wood floors. We always suggest that our customers follow the manufacturer's recommended care procedures for their floors. We can also provide you with more suggestions and helpful information. Call, or visit our hardwood flooring outlet soon.
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Castle Flooring, L.L.C., 2068 South Lamar, Austin, TX 78704, 512-326-8820
Open Monday - Friday 11am - 5pm | Saturday - 10am - 3pm | Closed on Tuesday