You'll have to navigate through choices in wood species, color, composition and finish, as well as installation methods to come up with a wood-floor decision that will suit your circumstances, your taste and your budget. Unfinished flooring is still the most popular type of wood flooring. But unless you plan to install, sand and finish the floors yourself, figure on that price at least doubling when the installer and finisher weigh in. With unfinished floors, the quality of the final finish depends entirely on the installer, the type and grade of finish used, the number of coats applied and the care taken with the application. That adds up to a lot of variables.
Polyurethane is the most common finish, and polys are either water based or oil based.
Oil-based polys take longer to dry and produce noxious fumes, but they penetrate better into the wood surface. Water-based polys dry quickly and produce fewer fumes and a harder finish, but the water tends to raise the grain in the wood, so the floor requires more sanding between coats. Some installers will also do special oil or wax finishes. These finishes are not as harsh looking as the more shiny polyurethanes. Also, high-traffic areas can be refinished and blended in seamlessly with the rest of a floor that has a wax finish.