Engineered Hardwood Flooring: Who Needs It?

What exactly is Engineered Hardwood flooring? And when should you use it? For starters, Engineered flooring is genuine wood, not laminated, which looks and feels like wood; however, it is fake.

Engineered flooring is composed of several layers of wood, high-density fiberboard, or another type of hardwood, bonded together and a thin layer, also known as a veneer, a specific hardwood flooring species, glued to the top layer. This makes for a more durable flooring. What exactly does this mean? Are hardwood floors unstable? In general, hardwood flooring is an excellent choice for long-term enjoyment, but it's organic and responds to the environment it is in.

Most importantly, the elements of the conditions that cause the hardwood to move include humidity, moisture levels, and temperatures. Wood floors can change throughout their lives! If humidity is in the air, the boards will expand when they are cold or dry. In very dry conditions, they can shrink, leading to what's known as gaps that occur during the season. In extremely harsh conditions, flooring made of solid wood can crack, warp, or cup (edges of boards move upwards) and swell or split. Engineered hardwood flooring is a multi-ply piece composed of multiple layers that are joined to a single piece of wood which moves in a single piece and resists cupping and twisting, and stays solid and flat.

When is the best time to use Engineered flooring? Isn't solid hardwood better? The answer to the question is there are benefits for both; however, there are certain situations in which Engineered flooring may be employed, whereas a solid is not.

1.) Due to its stronger design, Engineered flooring is able to be laid directly on concrete. It does not require an underfloor made of plywood, as traditional hardwood floors do. If you have a concrete slab, it will generally be less costly to install flooring made of engineered wood since it doesn't require the purchase of plywood and/or pay for the labor required to install it. There are also no clearance issues to be faced in the installation of Engineered wooden flooring on the concrete slab. In most cases, putting in the 1/4" plywood subfloor and 3/8" hardwood floor on an old slab with carpeting will require that doors be cut and baseboard heating pipes be raised to allow for the 1.5" rise of the flooring.

2.) The flooring made of engineered flooring is a fantastic option for lower-grade areas for basements, which may be more susceptible to variations in humidity and levels. We don't recommend that you install solid hardwood in below-grade areas.

3.) The trend is adored by people who are towards larger planks. However, larger planks are more prone to massive gaps in the seasons because of their greater surface area. Gaps can make people insane! Since Engineered flooring is made up of an underlying plywood layer that is multi-layered, only a tiny veneer of hardwood is, therefore, less susceptible to gapping that occurs during the season.

4.) Due to its more durable design, Engineered flooring is able to be installed on radiant heating. The only solid hardwood that is suitable for installation on radiant heating will be Rift and Quartered flooring, which is a particular type of hardwood flooring. With extremely wide planks that are radiant heat, it is recommended to make use of Engineered flooring.