Engineered Hardwood Flooring – Understanding the Basics

You have decided that it is time for an update to your home and you are pretty sure you want to redo your floors, but where do you start? You have heard so much about these engineered floors that are so much like real solid hardwood but cheaper and potentially less for installation. Engineered hardwood flooring is a fantastic alternative to solid hardwood floors, with the benefits of both solid hardwood and laminate flooring. There are several aspects to understand about engineered flooring before you can decide if this type of flooring is the right selection for you.

Location

The great thing about these floors is that, while the top layer is solid wood, they can be installed in places that are not recommended to have solid hardwood floors. For areas of your home that are prone to dampness, like basements, it would not be a good idea to install solid hardwoods but you can install engineered flooring in these areas. Further, they may also come with a click and lock installation that can be installed as a floating floor overtop of your subfloor. This makes these floors a possibility to install yourself (although there are still professionals for this) so you might be able to save a little on your budget for installation.

Materials

There are a lot of options to choose from when it comes to the materials your floor is going to be made of. The materials will range in price and finish, so it is all dependent on what you are comfortable with and what you expect the finished result to look like. The top layer of engineered flooring will be made of similar, or even the same, material as solid hard wood floors so you can have the look of the same material with only part of the cost. The downside to this is that because the top layer is solid wood you are prone to the same issues as having complete solid hardwood: warping or bubbling when moisture is left on the floor for too long or gets in-between the planks.

Construction

As touched on briefly this type of flooring has a top layer of solid hardwood to make it look as though it is real wood flooring, but what is the rest of it made up of? The bottom is a plan of tough plywood, and the middle is made up of real wood products but not finished, or solid hardwood. This way of constructing flooring produces a flawless product consistency and allows for gorgeous flooring to be installed.

Maintenance

Arguably the very best thing about this type of flooring is that this product is more stable than solid hardwood, and stays looking better for longer than the alternative flooring product. Further to this, these floors are so easy to clean: they can be maintained with sweeping or quick vacuum daily. And, if your floors need a deeper clean than this you can contact the manufacturer of your floors to determine which cleaning products they recommend to keep your floors spotless.

Overall engineered hardwood floors give you the best of so many flooring worlds: they look like you invested big and installed real solid hardwood floors, but with the easy maintenance benefits of laminate flooring. They also stay looking brand new and spotless for longer, like laminate, but because the top layer is real wood they can be refinished later on if you do not like the finish any more, like hardwood. What is more is that you can quickly install them yourself if you are handy, or you can have them installed by a professional; because these floors are less complicated than solid hardwoods the installation cost will most likely be less, too. Regardless of the style you choose, engineered flooring will completely change the look of your home, and will ensure your friends and family continue to admire your brand new floors.