What is ‘engineered’ hardwood flooring?
Real wood is used to produce this flooring. The process involved in creating this flooring is to build layers and bond them together. The hardwood layer on top is available in almost any hardwood species including oak, and reveals all the beauty and characteristics of the natural wood just as if it were genuine oak flooring.This creates a product with all the elegance of solid wood flooring without the photographic look. Under the top layer are multiple layers of strong ply creating a board that has more strength and is more stable than a solid wood board or laminate.
How stable is engineered wood flooring?
The stability created in the engineered wood flooring makes it suitable for areas that see extreme temperature changes or high humidity. This means you can install this beautiful engineered oak flooring just about anywhere; even areas prone to moisture such as basements where one would never expect to see oak flooring. The engineered hardwood flooring can also be installed over radiant heating systems and will not dry out like a solid hardwood floor would. Solid hardwood installed over a heating system would dry out and shrink, making the boards buckle or cup. Engineered hardwood flooring is ideal for a concrete floor and can either be a floating floor or be glued down.
With solid hardwood flooring you get a floor that is going to be affected by moisture and heating. These floors can warp, swell, split apart or cup. The engineered hardwood flooring is constructed with a multiple-ply plank that counteracts twisting allowing it to lay flat and intact. Stability is increased by the layers and the engineered hardwood floor typically involves 5 or more layers.
Engineered hardwood flooring gives you the same classic look of a solid hardwood floor.
Even though the engineered hardwood flooring is not a solid hardwood does not mean that you are not getting a genuine hardwood floor. You still get the classic look, warmth, beauty and lifetime value in your home as with the solid hardwood flooring. The top layer is a hardwood veneer which is the same as you would get in a solid hardwood floor. The hardwood veneer is typically .5mm to 6mm in thickness. This type of quality lasts for years and is generally installed with a 25 year finish warranty. You are even able to refinish these floors, just not as often as you would with the solid hardwood. Depending on the thickness of the hardwood layer will determine the type of refinishing process to take and the number of times it can be done.
You can have that oak flooring you’ve always wanted and now with engineered hardwood flooring, you can have it in on budget and in nearly all the rooms of your home
