Rather than being solid hardwood through and through engineered wood floors bond a relatively thin layer of true hardwood over a substrate of high quality plywood.
Is engineered flooring as good as hardwood.
Solid hardwood generally has very tight seams between boards and there is a great range of colors and species than is found with engineered hardwood flooring.
Because of this process engineered hardwood flooring isn t affected by humidity as much as hardwood.
Upwards of 2 20 per square foot for engineered hardwood compared to upwards of 3 40 per square foot for solid.
Solid hardwood flooring boards tend to be narrower than engineered hardwood flooring.
This construction prevents the engineered hardwood from warping and bowing the way a hardwood floor might in moist areas.
6 best engineered hardwood flooring options.
Solid hardwood is available in both pre finished and unfinished boards.
It is constructed with multi layers of wood.
The main reason for this is the greater ability to handle moisture.
Engineered hardwood construction has durable high performance qualities.
Each one is reviewed and displayed to help you decide which brand to look closer at when choosing your next hardwood floor.
Engineered flooring is mainly available prefinished for ease of installation but if you look hard enough you can find a handful of companies that offer unfinished engineered flooring as well.
Engineered wood looks just like natural hardwood because the surface is natural wood.
Better still it s competitively priced compared to solid hardwood flooring.
The norwegian based european flooring company boen has some of the best engineered hardwoods around.
Engineered hardwood floors are suitable for installation on all levels of the home and over plywood wood osb and concrete subfloors.
The word better is a relative term however many people do consider engineered hardwood floors to be superior to standard hardwood floors.
Engineered hardwood can be used in a variety of situations that would likely not be a good candidate for hardwood floors.
If you ve already started reviewing your options in the hardwood flooring market then you ll be well aware that engineered hardwood flooring is an increasingly popular product.
It doesn t shrink or expand which makes it resistant to warping and cupping.
Below i show you the 6 best engineered hardwood flooring brands.
This gives the flooring good dimensional stability and it certain applications it is an even better choice than solid hardwood flooring.
As for those finishes aluminum oxide is the best from a durability standpoint and found on flooring in the budget and premium classes.
It is even permissible to refer to engineered wood floors as hardwood floors in real estate ads.