BARNWOOD HICKORY

A rustic collection featuring hand scraping, along with kerfed saw marks on 30% of the boards to create a rustic feel found in floors a hundred years ago.  This 3/4 x 5 inch,  solid product is available in 5 colors

What is the difference between Solid Hardwood and Engineered Hardwood?

Engineered Hardwood is a layer of true hardwood laminated to a backer material. This material is usually a plywood or MDF material, these materials allow for more expansion and contraction within Iowa’s high and low humidity seasons. This also allows for Wider boards, most engineered these days range anywhere from 5 - 8 inches in width. If you’re looking for a Wide board style then engineered is more applicable for your project with a wide variety of colors and styles.

Solid Wood is, generally, a 3/4” solid piece of wood in various species such as oak, hickory, acacia, maple, cumaru, walnut and many others. This thickness allows for the ability to refinish numerous times. It is all natural wood with natural grain and variation. You cannot get a more True hardwood than a solid wood floor.

Comparison of these woods in Iowa.

Wider selection of board widths ———> Engineered, Solid wood boards generally should not be wider than 5 inches without causing issues considering Iowa’s humidity swings. Engineered, if you do a glue assisted install, can be as wide as 10 inches.

Ability to be Refinished more times ———> Solid wood, The gold standard for longevity. It can be sanded and refinished 4 to 6 times over its lifespan, lasting up to a century. Engineered wood can generally be refinished 1-3 times.

Durability ———> Solid wood, where engineered can crack the veneer, solid wood being thicker can take a hit and merely dent, which can then be sanded out.

Selection of colors ——→ Solid wood, Solid is the traditional wood and as such has had the time to expand their wood selection, engineered as a newer product hasn’t caught up but is doing more so every year.

Ability to handle Iowa’s humidity swings ———> Engineered

Cost ———> Engineered, Solid wood generally ranges from $8 - $12 a square foot in our store, engineered is $6 - $10

ASIAN WALNUT

A 3/8 x 5 inch Small Leaf Acacia, available in natural.

Paramount Flooring installation in Cedar Rapids, Iowa by Fourth Gen Flooring, your local expert for hardwood flooring, luxury vinyl plank, and professional flooring installation."

Top Reasons to Choose Prefinished Hardwood Flooring {#top-reasons}

1. Superior Factory Finish Durability

The single biggest advantage of prefinished hardwood is the industrial-grade finish. Factory UV-cured finishes are measurably harder and more wear-resistant than anything a contractor can apply with a brush or roller on your jobsite.

Here's why:

• Aluminum oxide additives — Most prefinished floors contain aluminum oxide in the finish layers, one of the hardest materials on earth. Site-applied polyurethane does not.

• UV curing — Factory finishes are cured with ultraviolet light in seconds, creating an extremely dense, cross-linked molecular structure. On-site finishes air-dry over hours, producing a softer result.

• More coats — Prefinished floors get 7–10 layers. Contractors typically apply 2–3 coats on-site.

Bottom line: A prefinished hardwood floor finish is engineered to outperform site-applied finishes in scratch resistance, scuff resistance, and long-term durability.

2. Move-In Ready the Same Day

With prefinished hardwood flooring, installation is the last step. The moment your installer lays the final board, your floor is done — no waiting, no fumes, no disruption.

With site finished floors, you face:

• 1–2 days of sanding

• 2–3 days for finish coats (each coat needs 24 hours to dry)

• Total downtime: 3–7 days before you can even walk on the floor

For families with children, pets, or busy schedules, the ability to use your new floor the same day it's installed is a game-changer.

3. No Toxic Fumes in Your Home

Site finished hardwood requires oil-based or water-based polyurethane applied indoors. Even water-based finishes release volatile organic compounds (VOCs) that can cause:

• Headaches and dizziness

• Eye and throat irritation

• Respiratory issues, especially in children and people with asthma

• Lingering odors for days or weeks

Prefinished hardwood floors emit zero finish-related VOCs in your home. All the chemistry happens at the factory. This is a major health and comfort benefit, particularly for homeowners with sensitivities or young families.

4. Consistent, Flawless Finish Every Time

Factory finishing is a controlled, automated process. Every board gets the same treatment — same stain penetration, same number of coats, same gloss level, same color.

On-site finishing is done by hand. Even experienced contractors can produce:

• Uneven stain penetration

• Lap marks and brush strokes

• Inconsistent sheen

• Blotchy color on certain wood species

If you want a predictable, uniform result, prefinished hardwood is the safer bet.

5. Predictable, Transparent Pricing

With prefinished hardwood, what you see is what you pay. The finish is included in the product price. There are no surprise charges for extra coats, re-sanding problem areas, or extended labor time.

Site finishing costs can escalate quickly:

• Unexpected grain raising requires extra sanding

• Humidity or temperature issues delay drying and add days of labor

• Stain blotching on certain species may require additional prep coats

Prefinished floors eliminate these unpredictable variables from your budget.

6. Longer Finish Warranties

Because manufacturers control every variable in the finishing process, they can stand behind their product with confidence. Most premium prefinished hardwood brands offer:

• 25-year finish warranties on residential applications

• Lifetime finish warranties from top-tier manufacturers

• Clear warranty terms covering wear-through, peeling, and delamination

Site-applied finishes are rarely, if ever, warrantied by the contractor or the finish manufacturer for more than 1–2 years.

7. Less Mess and Disruption During Installation

Sanding an unfinished floor creates enormous amounts of fine wood dust that infiltrates every room in your home — even with dust containment systems. This dust settles on furniture, inside cabinets, in HVAC systems, and in air ducts.

Prefinished hardwood installation is dramatically cleaner:

• No sanding required

• No finish to drip or splatter

• Minimal cleanup after installation is complete

8. Ideal for Occupied Homes and Renovations

If you're renovating a single room, an upstairs bedroom, or a section of your home while continuing to live there, prefinished hardwood is the only practical choice. Site finishing requires:

• Sealing off the work area completely

• Evacuating pets and family members

• Shutting down HVAC to prevent fume circulation

Prefinished flooring lets your household continue functioning with minimal disruption.

9. Wide Selection of Styles and Species

Today's prefinished hardwood market offers an enormous range of options:

• Species: Oak, maple, hickory, walnut, cherry, Brazilian cherry, acacia, and more

• Widths: From traditional 2¼" strips to wide-plank 7"+ boards

• Finishes: Matte, satin, semi-gloss, wire-brushed, hand-scraped, distressed

• Colors: From natural blondes to deep espressos and everything in between

You can preview exactly what your finished floor will look like before a single board is installed — a luxury you don't have with site finishing, where the final color can shift depending on wood batch, humidity, and contractor technique.

10. Better for Engineered Hardwood Applications

If you're installing over concrete, in a basement, or over radiant heat, engineered prefinished hardwood is the superior solution. Engineered hardwood is designed for dimensional stability in moisture-prone or temperature-variable environments.

Site finishing engineered hardwood is generally not recommended — the wear layer is often too thin to withstand the sanding process without risk of sanding through the veneer.

Our Process from Start to Finish.

1. First step is to get one of our trained, experienced team members to come out and do a free in home measure.

2. Come into the store and do a line by line review of the proposal. We break down our bids into easy to understand line items and explain exactly what you’re paying for before giving you the option to pick and choose what you wish to pay for and what you wish to do yourself. We don’t demand you pay us for every little thing, if you want to do some things yourself to save money then we encourage you to put in the Sweat-equity.

3. Choose a flooring. Our experienced and knowledgeable team members will go through all your flooring options with you. We’d rather you buy a less expensive floor if it fits better with your project and lifestyle. Once we’ve talked about hardness, durability, water resistance, humidity stability, refinish ability we’ll talk about cost and get you the floor you Need.

4. Once the flooring has arrived we’ll get it into your house for acclimation. Depending on the flooring you’ve chosen this can be anywhere from a couple of days to 2 weeks. We want the floor to fully acclimate before any installation is done. We also offer delivery of the floor if you don’t want to pick it up from the store yourself.

5. Once the floor is acclimated we send our professional installation crews out. They are some of the best in the area and do amazing work. They’ll check the humidity of the new floor verses the subfloor to make sure acclimation has been accomplished to an acceptable degree. Then Demolition of the old floor, furniture move, remove and reinstall baseboard, remove and reinstall of quarter round, door jamb cuts, subfloor prep and/or repairs and installation of the floor can begin. Unlike most companies we do offer furniture and appliance move to make it easier for our customers.

6. Once the installation is complete you’ll have a week to do a final walk through on your project to make sure everything is done to your satisfaction. At the end of that week you’ll make your final payment and your warranty will begin.

7. Your warranty begins after your final payment and lasts 2 years. This is much longer than most companies and allows us to prove our dedication and confidence in our work.