The Basics of Engineered Wood Flooring

What are Engineered Wood Floors?

These floors are constructed from several wood plies that are glued together. The centre core is generally a softer wood material and is used to make the tongue and groove. A hardwood finish layer is glued on top of the centre core and another softer wood ply is attached underneath the core. This top ply is also called the finish layer and can be constructed of almost any wood specie.

Wood always wants to expand in a certain direction. In the presence of moisture solid wood planks will always expand across the width of the planks, rather than down the length of the boards. To avoid this problem, manufacturers of engineered planks place each ply in the opposite direction of each other. This is called cross-ply construction. Once the wood layers are glued together the plies will counteract each other which will stop the plank from growing or shrinking with changes in the humidity. Engineered wood floors are designed for the floating installation and can be glued together or some now come with a click system.

Engineered Wood Flooring Has a Range of Installation Options

Unlike solid wood, which must be nailed to a wood sub-floor, engineered wood can be installed in a different number of ways. Depending on the type you buy, it can be either:

A nail-down floor. This is for the 3/8" thick floor--its thinness requires nailing to enhance stability;

A glue-down floor. The 1/2" thick floor can be nailed down; or

A floating floor. The 5/8" planks are thick enough to act as a floating floor.

Maintaining engineered flooring

• Keeping up with your hardwood flooring is pretty easy.
• Sweep, vacuum, or use a dust mop every day or so.
• Clean spills immediately and make sure the surface is dry.
• Place a door mat on both side of exterior doors to pick up as much debris. It cuts down on  dirt throughout the house.
• Damp mopping is discouraged, but if you must, use a mop that is just barely damp and be sure that no water remains on the floor when you're done.
• Recoat floors to prevent wear to the veneer. If you keep up with them, your floors will be fine for a long time and refinishing won't be an issue.
• Train people to take off their shoes when they come and go. It will cut down on wear and be easier to keep the house clean too.
• Make sure dogs have their nails clipped otherwise expect extra wear and unnecessary dings.

Advantages and Disadvantages

The advantages of an engineered hardwood floor include being able to use your flooring throughout your home on all levels without the constraints imposed by hardwoods. With a range of colors, engineered hardwoods provide the same design flexibility and style as solid hardwoods.

Because engineered hardwoods are created in layers that alternate lengthwise with crosswise grain, they are considered dimensionally stable. In other words, the boards are resistant to the type of seasonal contraction and expansion seen in solid hardwoods. As hardwoods age, they shrink slightly; engineered hardwood boards won't. They are also very strong and add structural integrity to any installation. Because of the moisture tolerance, engineered hardwoods can also be used with radiant flooring.

Engineered floors are prefinished often with extremely durable finishes including UV-cured polyurethane and aluminum oxide for extra wearability. Many are guaranteed for 25 years or more. Using a prefinished floor also means that there is much less mess and it takes less time to install.

Other benefits include the reduction of allergens and dust which enhances indoor air quality.

Disadvantage is engineered flooring less environmentally friendly than sustainable harvested wood flooring simply because it is more highly processed.

Summary: - Selecting an engineered wood floor is similar to selecting a hardwood floor. The two primary considerations for most homeowners are cost and appearance. Engineered hardwood floors run about the same range as hardwoods, so a cost savings between solid and engineered hardwoods is hard to realize. Appearance is nearly identical to solid hardwood. With engineered hardwood flooring, the determining factors are more likely to be location or the type of installation. It's a better choice for installation over concrete slab construction or finishing a basement. For rooms that are likely to be higher humidity such as kitchens, it's also likely to be the more practical choice. For remodeling projects where flooring is to be installed over existing flooring, the less height added to the floor, the better and engineered hardwoods fit the bill better than solid wood.