The Ins and Outs of Engineered Hardwood Flooring

Posted by Flooring Superstores on 20th Mar 2019

The Ins and Outs of Engineered Hardwood Flooring

If you are looking for a timeless and versatile flooring option, engineered hardwood could be the perfect solutions for your needs. This type of flooring begins with a bottom core of pressed wood or plywood layers and then topped with a nice wood veneer – the top part that gives the flooring the warmth and looks of solid hardwood.

To help you understand engineered hardwood and how to choose the best, we are going to take at the quality, finishes, plank sizes, and installation methods.

Quality

How do you know the best quality of engineered hardwood flooring? The main thing to look at is the composition. See, engineered hardwood flooring can be made from a combination of different wood materials. It can be low-grade softwood plywood or the quality plywood like Baltic birch.

Finish

Engineered hardwood flooring comes in either pre-finished boards or unfinished boards, which you can finish after installation. The pre-finished boards are available in a range of stain colors, with some of the most popular options being “smoked oak” and “harvest.” If you install the unfinished counterparts, you’ll have a chance to choose a perfect shade that matches the rest of your home flooring, but with some extra work.

Plank Sizes

Engineered hardwood floorboards usually come in varying lengths, mostly ranging between 12 inches to 49 inches. The width, on the other hand, is pretty much straightforward. The width depends on your needs, and you can get some sizes.

Installation

There are various ways that your flooring contractor can choose to install the engineered hardwood flooring. These include:

  • Floating: Just as the name suggests, the boards literally “float” above your subfloor. This type of installation ensures that the plans don’t wrap easily compared to the glued down options.
  • Click Clock::This one entails joining the boards over the subfloor. The pieces lock together in a groove and tongue system.
  • Glue Down: This method involves gluing the boards to the subfloor directly. For this, you have to purchase the glue separately, and the installation can take longer.
  • Nail/Staple Down: Just as it sounds, this is simply nailing or stapling down the floorboards to a wood subfloor.

Are you looking to install engineered hardwood flooring? Our team is experienced in all flooring and can guarantee you impeccable results on your engineered hardwood flooring. We can advise you on the quality and the best installation method for perfect results.