Traditional hardwood floors better watch out – there’s a new kid on the block! Engineered wood flooring is a relatively new type of flooring that performs better than solid hardwood flooring in many respects. Considering its growing popularity and great performance insofar as durability and looks, it’s worth investigating the particularities of this type of flooring so you can make the most informed decision on flooring for your home.
Purchases of engineered wood flooring doubled in just 5 years, from 2002 to 2007. No doubt the number of consumers are even more now. In terms of its share of the market, it just claimed over half of hardwood flooring sales, thus dethroning the king, solid hardwood.
Why is this type of flooring becoming so popular? Well, a number of improvements have been made to engineered hardwood over traditional hardwood flooring. For one, the installation is much easier than solid hardwood flooring, as it doesn’t typically require any sanding or finishing on site. It can also be installed over concrete subfloors and radiant floors. Additionally, it’s less prone to shrinking and buckling, due to its being composed of many layers of wood rather than a single solid one. Also, due to its many layers, it is more durable than hardwood floors.
Since we’re discussing the advantages of engineered hardwood, maybe we’d better dissect what exactly goes into it. As mentioned, the flooring has many layers rather than one. The majority of these layers are plywood, 9 layers of them. These are laid so the grain alternates every other one, making for a stronger plank. Then, they are glued and pressed together. On top of the plywood layers is a single solid wood veneer, the part that will be visible once it’s installed. The veneer should be 4 mm thick and finished with polyurethane of at least 2.5 mil and which is also free from volatile organic compounds, or VOCs. All the wood used in the plank should by certified by the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) to ensure it’s up to quality standards.
So we’ve established the ways that engineered hardwood is superior to solid hardwood in terms of longevity and ease of installation and maintenance – now we need to ask whether or not it is cheaper. The answer is: it depends. Most solid hardwoods will end up costing more, with the type of wood and the services needed to properly treat and install it. So typically, you can count on engineered hardwood being cheaper.
Consider engineered wood flooring in your future flooring plans to get quality flooring for a reasonable price. This type of flooring is especially appropriate for those who want wood flooring with little hassle.
If you want to learn more about engineered hardwood flooring, take a look at the infographic below.
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