Engineered vs. solid hardwood flooring info

There’s nothing quite so exciting as being able to select the hardwood flooring you’ve always wanted. Solid hardwood is undoubtedly one of the most sought-after floor coverings on the market, but it’s important to know the limitations of this material. Sometimes, you need something different. That can come in the form of engineered hardwood flooring. This material looks and performs much like the solid variety, but with different characteristics and benefits. There are some places it might be a necessary alternative, offering the continuity you want and need for your home’s flooring options.

Solid hardwood flooring is a solid piece of wood, of a species of your choice, that you can stain, sealant, and finish, all to your liking. There is a great variety of options available in each of these to help personalize the look and functionality you most prefer.

Engineered hardwood flooring also features a veneer of real wood in your choice of species. And you still have options regarding stain, sealant, and finish. However, the veneer is attached to layers of wood plies that give this flooring excellent stability and particular benefits that allow our installers to place it in areas where solid wood cannot go, such as below-grade rooms.

Both materials must be acclimated, and this process can take from one to three days or more, depending on the humidity levels at the time of installation. Both floors can also be refinished. Solid wood can sustain several refinishes in its lifetime, but the number of times engineered flooring can be refinished is solely dependent on its veneer thickness.

For even more great information on solid wood floors, be sure to visit us at your convenience.