Oil vs. Water for Floor Refinishing?

Oil leaves a bad odor so nearby residents as well as those walking in the outside hallway will get hit with an unwelcome stench.

I used oil over a year ago when i bot my place. the job took 48 hours to apply 2 coats and dry. It definitely smelled pretty bad for a few days and then disspated fully after a week. I think it was worth it and would recommend that. Or..I would also recommend getting high quality engineered wood and dropping a new floor.

i didn't have an option when moving into a new development, which used water based poly. i thought i wouldn't like it, but it turned out better than i expected. Water based will be less smelly than oil, clearer (oil turns a little golden over time), cures faster, and is far less toxic. On the other hand, oil will be much more durable and create a harder finish on top of the wood (which is why you'll see 70 yr old floors with a pretty decent coat of poly still attached), it will turn a little golden over the years (i personally prefer this warmer look), but will stink like all hell and will take longer to cure.

Btw, the curing piece is not trivial. Our floor guy said a floor doesn't fully cure until almost a year after the poly is applied and i believe him -- we moved into a new apt with water-based poly floors, brought in our furniture and settled in. About 1.5 yrs later, we moved the furniture around, and the floor that had been exposed to sunlight and the floor that was under the furniture was a COMPLETELY different color. And this is on the faster-curing water based poly floor! Mind you, after about a month or so, the formerly-covered-by-furniture parts of the floors started to color match the rest, but there was some initial shock.

Interesting, thanks for the comments all. We're buying this place so it will be empty, and after the floors we have a few other jobs to do, so it will be 1-2 weeks before we move in following the floors being finished. They floors are parquet from the early 1950's and generally in very good shape. They just hadn't been refinished in at least 10 years and since we're moving in brand new, seemed to make the most sense to do it now before we have all of our stuff in there.

Should there generally be a difference in the costs for water vs. oil?

do oil with extra coats--don't even blink at this

-the agony of redoing floors esp when living in an apt (basically have to move apt contents in/out of storage) is extreme--while apt is empty, redo with most durable finish OIL, and do extra coats

2 coats will wear through very quickly in hi wear areas, like doorways etc

for a flip, do water, 2 coats---not your problem

I think you better check with management before you finish with oil. You don't want to get an unexpected letter or bill from management claiming they needed to devote extra resources in getting rid of the odor.

Fishermb,

Most buildings do not allow an oil based poly, if they do have your floor guys tape all vents and even outlets to get the oder to a minimum. Most floor guys will say oil is better but the water poly is getting better and better

I'm in a similar situation to you & am looking to get my floors redone before I move into my new apt. From what I've researched, oil based poly is a better finish, but in some situations it can slightly yellow is it ages. I've also read about moisture cured urethane (MCU) which is supposed to be even most durable finish available, but I haven't found anyone with any first hand experience with it. Who are you looking at to do your floors?

May want to look into Monocoat Natural Oil Wood Floor Finish. I've never used it but it claims to be green and LEED certified:
"Monocoat all-natural oil wood floor finishes are plant-based, VOC-free and completely non-toxic oil finishes of extraordinary durability. Available in clear finish and more than 30 color finishes, all apply evenly in a single coating. All Monocoat finishes are easily maintained, and provide a subtle lustre that reveals and complements, rather than covers, the natural grain and patina of the wood."

http://www.monocoat.us/