When it comes to hardwood flooring there s solid hardwood and engineered hardwood.
What is engineered hardwoods.
These planks are man made with a top layer of solid hardwood with more layers of less expensive composite woods.
Solid hardwood flooring boards tend to be narrower than engineered hardwood flooring.
Each layer is positioned in a different direction.
Solid hardwood flooring.
Also be aware that floating engineered hardwoods can not be sanded refinished even if the top wear layer is thick.
Solid hardwood generally has very tight seams between boards and there is a great range of colors and species than is found with engineered hardwood flooring.
Better still it s competitively priced compared to solid hardwood flooring.
Many engineered hardwoods can not be sanded and refinished.
Solid hardwood boards are milled from a thick piece of lumber so its thickness varies from inch to 7 16 inch.
Engineered boards on the other hand are constructed by joining multiple high density fiberboard layers sandwiched inside a solid wood top layer and hardwood backing making it extremely tough.
The best engineered hardwood.
People are always asking me which one is better but both have their pros and cons.
If you ve already started reviewing your options in the hardwood flooring market then you ll be well aware that engineered hardwood flooring is an increasingly popular product.
An engineered flooring construction which is popular in parts of europe is the hardwood lamella softwood core laid perpendicular to the lamella and a final backing layer of the same noble wood used for the lamella.
Solid hardwood is available in both pre finished and unfinished boards.
Shaw engineered hardwood flooring shaw s engineered hardwood core is made up of multiple layers of wood stacked in a cross grain configuration which minimizes expanding and shrinking.
This construction prevents the engineered hardwood from warping and bowing the way a hardwood floor might in moist areas.
Generally cheap engineered hardwood can not be refinished and more expensive ones can be.
Upwards of 2 20 per square foot for engineered hardwood compared to upwards of 3 40 per square foot for solid.
It all depends on the thickness of the top layer.
The answer is engineered hardwood.
Other noble hardwoods are sometimes used for the back layer but must be compatible.
The result is a locking plank system with actual hardwood with less cost.
Engineered hardwood construction has durable high performance qualities.