Two weeks from today is April 21st. Normally, it would be a day just like any other day. But this year, April 21st is the day my clients will be moving into their newly renovated home. For over two months, I’ve been knee deep renovating their old house. I’m excited to share that project with you, but because we are in the final push right now, we’ll have to settle for just a sneak peak.

When we started, the living room, like many old-house living rooms, had wall-to-wall carpet. The carpet was old and dated, but because it was high quality and still in good condition, the clients considered waiting to replace it.

Then, we had to cut into a section of floor in order to access a concrete footer. The carpet was rolled back to reveal solid, white oak floors. To home renovators, this is akin to winning the scratch off lottery! It’s not enough to completely change your life, but it will put a bounce in your step for a couple of weeks. I don’t play the lottery, so I’m really just imagining here, but you get the point.

Sometimes, old wooden floors are damaged or stained, but these were perfect in spite of worn and peeling finish. We eagerly peeled back the carpet in the breakfast nook and found the same flooring!

Solid white oak with 2 3/8” planks are such a classic floor. For years, this was standard flooring. As an added bonus, it’s still available today, even in the more rustic grade that matched the existing floors. My flooring contractor installed new, matching flooring in the kitchen, then sanded and finished all of the floors creating one uniform, stunning floor.

After locating the material, we had to decide on a finish. Most hardwood floors today are purchase pre-finished with a slight bevel at the edge. The bevel is necessary with pre-finished floors because it creates a transition between boards.

Unfinished flooring is sanded, stained, and then three coats of oil-based polyurethane are applied. Oil-based poly is generally considered to be slightly more durable than water-based but because it can yellow over time, most flooring contractors offer a water-based option as well.

This is the most common way floors are finished today. But, it’s not the only option and in my opinion, it’s not even close to the best.

Three reasons to ditch polyurethane:

1. Plastic. Polyurethane is essentially plastic that sits on the surface of your beautiful, natural wood, creating a barrier between it and you. This barrier does protect the wood, but it looks and feels like the plastic that it is.

2. Polyurethane scratches. With the addition of aluminum oxide, modern polyurethanes are more dent and scratch resistant than their predecessors, but the fact remains, they will scratch and dent. You’ve probably seen those hazy, white spots on the hardwood floors under chair legs, or milky tracks at the desk where the chair has been pushed in and out too many times to count.

Those are thousands of tiny scratches in the polyurethane.  Felt applied to the bottom of legs can help, but it does not prevent scratching because dirt can still find it’s way under the felt pads and it’s the dirt that creates the scratches. It acts like sandpaper.

You’ve seen the dents too. Maybe a kid dropped a heavy glass. Or, if your house is like mine, an over-zealous dog ran across the floor then tried to stop only to slide into the opposite wall leaving a nice, deep gouge in the floor.

These things are just life and my life is too full and too busy to worry about damaging my floors.

3. Difficult to repair. When poly finishes do get worn or damaged, and they will, they are difficult to repair. You can not simply repair the damaged area. The entire room must be emptied of furniture. Before the new finish can be applied the existing finish must be scuffed, if the damage is minor, or sanded off in more extreme cases. It’s time consuming, messy, invasive and costly.

So, if you don’t want to use polyurethane on your floors, do you have other options? Yes!!

Three alternatives to Polyurethane floor finishes.

1. Wax. Our grandmothers used to wax their floors. Wax floors are warm and inviting. Their soft, buttery finish gives the wood a beautiful depth that simply glows. They are, however,  difficult and time consuming to maintain.

2. Penetrating oils. Penetrating oils are oils that harden when exposed to air. I’m most experienced with tung oil, a penetrating oil pressed from the nuts of a tung tree.

As the name implies, it will penetrate into wood then polymerize into a solid. This strengthens the wood and provides protection against water. It’s most often combined with other ingredients and labeled “Tung oil finish“, but can be used in it’s pure form.

Pure tung oil used to be difficult to find, but thanks to Amazon, you can order it here. It’s an exceptional product for sealing floors and because it’s food safe when dried, it’s also great for countertops.  When using it in it’s pure form, I mix it with a little citrus solvent, (also available here, at Amazon) to help it penetrate a little deeper. I’ve used tung oil on both countertops and floors and for many years it was my favorite finish.

 

Tung oil, tends to result in a fairly matte finish. However, with multiple coats and buffing, you can achieve a nice, soft sheen.

One of the best attributes of penetrating oils is the ease with which repairs can be made. Unlike polyurethane, oil can be reapplied to worn areas whenever needed. It is not necessary to strip the entire floor. If the floor should be dented, scratched or otherwise damaged, the area can be lightly sanded and re-oiled.

3. Hard-wax oil. A couple of years ago, when installing floors in my house I stumbled upon a product that was new to me.  Hard-wax oil has been widely used in Europe for many years but is just starting to gain traction in the US market. It combines penetrating oils with waxes to create a superior finish. The oils penetrate and strengthen and the wax provides extra surface protection.

As American consumers learn about this product, it’s becoming easier to find. Some premium flooring stores are starting to carry flooring that has been pre-finished with hard-wax oil. It is now my favorite floor finish, hands down.

4 benefits of hardwax oil finishes

1. The finish. Hard-wax oils tend to create a matte finish, similar to that of tung oil, however, several brands will create a nice, soft sheen with proper buffing. This is that soft, rich, buttery finish that will remind you of grandma’s floors. They are silky smooth, without the plastic feel, tempting one to ditch the slippers and run around in bare feet.

2. Ease of Repairs. Repairs are performed in the same manner as penetrating oil. Simply lightly sand the damaged area and apply more oil. This is perhaps the best feature of this product. I love, love, love this!

My floors take a lot of abuse. I have kids, dogs, dirt, mud and snow. Oh, and ducklings. Yep, yesterday Anna bought two ducklings. Eventually they will find their home in the coop with the chickens, but today, they are running around the kitchen, on the wood floors, while Anna watches over them.

Did I mention my floors take a lot of abuse? I wasn’t exaggerating! If the finish gets worn or damaged, I just apply oil before I go to bed at night and in the morning it’s as good as new.

3. Hard-wax oil dries and cures quickly. Most hard-wax oil products call for two coats of finish. My favorite product, Pallman Magic Oil dries enough to receive the second coat in 4 hours and light foot traffic is allowed after only 12. Oil-based polyurethane and many penetrating oils require extensive dry times between coats, and the oils require numerous coats to achieve good protection.

4. It’s environmentally friendly. Hard-wax oils have little to no VOCs. Regardless of where you stand on the environmental, political debate (I tend to be fairly conservative) I think we can all agree that fewer harsh chemicals are probably a good thing.

There are, however, some downsides to hard-wax oils. If you like shiny floors, you would not be happy with hard-wax oil. It simply will not product a high-shine finish. I actually prefer a satin/matte finish. I like the look better and I find shiny floors harder to keep clean as they show dust. Still, this is a matter of personal preference, and those wanting shine should stick with polyurethane.

Hard-wax oils also require periodic maintenance. It must be reapplied from time to time. The frequency depends primarily on how hard you use the floors. Floors with lots of dirt and traffic will need to be re-oiled more often. I tend to re-oil my floors about every year and half. I do not move the furniture, I simply apply oil to the worn areas. Hard-wax needs refreshed more frequently than polyurethane, but the process is much more affordable and less invasive. Still, if you are not willing to perform occasional maintenance, you will be frustrated with this finish.

Hard-wax oils certainly aren’t for everyone. There is still a place for polyurethane, but when it comes time to do your floors, at least consider the benefits of a hard-wax oil finish.