Every home and personal taste is different when it comes to wooden flooring. Each home owner will have their own ideas on what will work on what won’t work in their home. The final choice on whether to use solid wood or engineered flooring will need some research. To help you make this decision below is a description of each type.
Solid Wood Flooring
Hardwood flooring seems to be the most popular choice for most homes. The planks are produced from a single piece of hardwood with a protective layer over the top. Each hardwood wood strip is approx 3/4 inch thick. The thickness means that they can be treated over and over again by sanding and re-treating to keep them looking as new. Regular maintenance of the wood means that it will last longer in your home.
Solid wood flooring is installed by nailing the planks to a subfloor, although sometimes they may be bonded too. Wooden flooring is prone to expanding in different environments so an expansion gap is left around the edge of the floor.
Solid wood flooring is available in an array of different colours and types to suit any home. Having a professionally fitted floor in your home will help to increase the value and saleability of your home as it is seen as a mark of quality in your home.
Engineered Wooden Flooring
Engineered flooring consists of up to 15 layers of wood, bonded together in several directions to form a wooden flooring stronger than solid wood flooring. Extreme pressure is used to bond the layers of wood together and the top layer is a veneer to mimic the wood type. Engineered fooring can be up to 22mm thick for the more expensive ranges.
Engineered flooring is easier to install than solid wood flooring and is generally a DIY job for enthusiasts although fitting the floor badly can have a negative effect on your home and can also devalue it.
Cheaper engineered flooring tends to wear quicker due to them being thinner with a thinner top veneer. This cheaper flooring is generally easier to damage and will not last too long in high traffic areas.
There are several reasons to choose which type of flooring and these depend on how they fit into your homes decor, cost and durability.
