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Solid Wooden Flooring or Engineered?

With such an array of wood flooring products on the market in an alarming variety of species, widths, types and finishes, how on earth do you know which one is right for you?

Fashion fads wax and wane with the moon but generally, hardwood floors can all be grouped into two main categories; solid wood floors and engineered wood floors.

Solid hardwood floors are made up of one piece of wood all the way through, from top to bottom regardless of width or length. Solid boards will range in thickness from between 18mm – 22mm and thinner overlays are also available from 10mm – 15mm. Well made Engineered wood floors consist of 3 separate sandwich layers; a real hardwood veneer layer at the top to act as the wear layer, ranging from 3mm to 6mm in depth; then a core layer of Heavea Brasiliensis (other wise known as Rubberwood) and finally a stabilising backing layer of edge glued hardwood. Typically engineered hardwood floors range from 9mm – 22mm in thickness.

So is engineered or solid hardwood flooring best?

The current wood flooring trend is for long, wide planks. Solid hardwood boards that are very wide widths are less stable than narrower boards and in the wrong hands are at higher risk of ‘bowing’ or ‘cupping’ if environmental factors are not exactly right. Any wood, but especially solid hardwood will readily absorb any moisture present in the subfloor or ambient environment causing permanent distortion. That said, correct acclimatisation and installation by a professional is the key to success. Solid hardwood floors tend to be fitted by ‘secret nailing’ on to a plywood laid over the concrete sub floor or nailed directly to batons. A solid hardwood floor will last for generations when cared for properly and can be sanded down and resealed for years to come to revitalise the look of the floor.

Engineered hardwood boards are generally more stable and are perhaps more suited to the climate in the UK and the concrete floor construction of our houses. They can be glued, nailed to a subfloor or floated over a suitable underlay. The better engineered hardwood boards are made up from 100% hardwood, such as theBlueridge engineered White Oak and Black Walnut hardwood flooring range from Blue Evolution. The 100% hardwood manufacturing technique results in a super stable engineered hardwood board since any expansion or contraction takes place in the layers at the same rate; resulting in less stress on the glue layer which in turn reduces the likelihood of ‘bowing’ or ‘cupping’ or ‘delaminating’.  A 100% hardwood construction is more sustainable than using plywood or softwood since more of the log is used in the construction of the board, cutting down mill waste.

Some professional installers insist that they can identify whether a floor is solid or engineered hardwoodjust by how it feels and sounds when they walk on it. To most of us though any type of hardwood flooring is not just super hard wearing and structurally robust, it is an investment which will stand the test of time.

In all cases the secret to a beautiful, lasting and problem free hardwood floor is in the correct acclimatisation and fitting. Try to select an installation professional who can point you to plenty of happy customers for references!  Visit this link to find out more about hardwood floor installation.