If you are in the process of selecting new wood floors for your home, you are probably focusing on the type of wood, the color, how large you want the planks and what style to select – traditional, distressed, and contemporary? But, another important consideration should be engineering versus solid wood. Any good designer or contractor will tell you that selecting the proper material for your job is as essential as what the material looks like. So, what is the difference between engineered wood and solid wood?
- Solid wood means that each plank is made from a solid piece of wood. Each plank ranges from 3/8″ thickness to 1″ – but the majority is 3/4″
- Engineered wood flooring consists of a top layer of solid wood over a multi-layer construction beneath. The top layer is known as the wear layer or veneer. The wear layer can range anywhere from .6 mm to 6 mm thick. The wear layer is the wood you will be walking on once the floor is installed. The other layers can be a solid piece of softer wood and/or cross laminated plywood construction.
At Rite-Loom we suggest purchasing and installing engineered wood because engineered wood has several benefits over solid wood. The most important one is how engineered wood reacts to temperature and humidity. Wood is a natural product and it will expand and contract with changes in temperature. When this occurs, the wood planks can sometimes warp, cup or buckle. Engineered wood is much less susceptible to these issues due to the multi-layer construction which is laid in alternating grain orientation. This feature makes each plank much more stable and less prone to warp. Engineered wood is also much easier to install than a solid plank floor. Solid wood floors usually require a plywood subfloor that the planks can be nailed to. This is a costly and tedious step. And, solid wood cannot be glued down because most adhesives will not hold down a 3/4″ thick plank. Engineered wood can be glued down directly over a level concrete floor, saving homeowners substantial time and money. Click together products can also be floated over a padding or underlayment, without requiring the use of glue or nails.
Ease of installation and overall performance are the two BIG reasons that Rite-Loom guides or customers to quality engineered wood lines from top manufacturers including Mirage, Lauzon, Mannington, Johnson Hardwood, Du Chateau, Pinnacle, Mullican, Reward, Alston, L&M Flooring and California Classics.