Engineered Hardwood Flooring The Advantages And Disadvantages
This article looks at the advantages and disadvantages of engineered hardwood flooring, which is often preferable to solid hardwood flooring because of its improved qualities. The engineered wood flooring is a plank that is made up of two or more layers where the top layer is a thin strip of hardwood that is adhered to plywood. This kind of flooring should not be confused with laminate flooring although the latter looks like real hardwood. In laminate flooring, an image of hardwood on paper infused melamine is used as the top layer. Important advantages of engineered hardwood flooring over natural hardwood planks is better strength and ease of installation.
If you find out how to install the engineered hardwood flooring and the solid hardwood flooring, you will realize that the former kind of flooring is easier and faster to install because of certain patented installation methods. Hardwood floor repair is also easier with engineered flooring because of floating installations. Moreover, the engineered wood flooring is better than laminate flooring because it can be sanded if dents and scratches develop. However, care should be taken when sanding hardwood floors that are engineered because the top layer is not that thick. One way to improve on this is to specify a 4mm wear surface when buying engineered wood flooring.
With regards to installing wood floors, solid hardwood has to be nailed to a wooden sub-floor. On the other hand, engineered wood can be installed as a floating floor, a glue-down floor or a nail-down floor. In the floating floor, the planks adhere to each other either through the use of glue or a snap on construction but they are not attached to the sub-floor. This permits the wood to adjust in size depending on the temperature and humidity.
Another important advantage of engineered wood flooring is its possible use in basements, kitchens and bathrooms where there is only light moisture. Of course, it should not be used in basement floors that are often flooded and neither should it be utilized in children's bathrooms. This kind of wood flooring can also be used over a radiant heat system without the cupping, buckling or shrinking that often occurs when natural hardwood planks are used.
Engineered hardwood flooring offers the beauty of natural hardwood while providing better strength, ease of installation and durability. The fact that it can be installed easily can allow the homeowner to install the flooring himself and save on the fees that he would pay to a contractor. Moreover, oftentimes there are clearance sales for this kind of wood flooring material so you can buy them at discounted prices. Engineered wood flooring also uses a tongue and groove system that locks the planks together for a floating type of installation. One implication is that you can easily bring along your wood flooring with you when you move to another house because the flooring is not glued or nailed to the sub-floor. It also means that the wood planks can move freely along the horizontal as the temperature and humidity change.
