When it comes two hardwood flooring, there are two main types; Engineered and Solid Hardwood Flooring. In this blog we will discuss the major differences between the two types and the advantages of engineered wood floors.
Engineered and Solid Hardwood Flooring
Composition
Engineered hardwood flooring is more long lasting. Solid hardwood is just of one solid piece of hard timber. On the other hand, engineered hardwood is a thin layer of solid wood (often Oak), on top of layers of grained wood. The top layer will be 2,3,4 or 6 millimetres thick. The layers underneath are grains of different types of wood. The grains are glued and compressed tightly in right-angled and crisscrossing manner. The engineered floorboards, therefore, do not shrink nor expand when exposed to change in temperature and humidity. In hardwood floors, however, change in temperature may result in gaps forming between the timbers.
In terms of scratched, engineered and hardwood floorings are the exact same as both are real wood. Some people think they can sand and polish hardwood timber as many times as they want, but it’s not like that. Hardwood timbers are nailed down into the tonguing root, so you can only sand and polish them as far as that interface (around 3 mm) which is the same with engineered!
Versatility
Another advantage of engineered floorboard is the width. Engineered hardwood planks can be up to 220 mm wide; whereas, traditional hardwood timber is only up to 110 mm wide. Engineered floorboards are also more eco-friendly. They require less trees for manufacturing because only the top layer needs to be solid.
More importantly, hardwood flooring costs more than engineered (around 40%) and you can save your money to change the timber after couple of years as new models and styles are coming every year.
Taking everything into consideration, there is almost no benefit of using hardwood over engineered. With engineered, however, you’re going to have more option which mentioned above.
If you have any enquiries, want to see our samples in your home or want to get a quote, feel free to call MR Floor on 0427 882 737, or send an email to info@mrfloor.com.au.
