Engineered wood flooring – tips for choosing the right products

Solid vs Engineered Choosing The Right Hardwood Floor | ProSource Wholesale

There are some things that you will need to consider when buying an engineered wooden floor. To help you out, I have bought together tips to keep in mind before choosing the right engineered wood flooring for your home. Engineered wood floors are real wood floors manufactured using three or more layers of different wood veneers.

The top layer of engineered wood flooring consists of high-quality wood, and the section of flooring underneath the solid hardwood wear layer is made up of plywood, MDF, or HDF. First of all, when choosing engineered wood flooring, consider that the thickness of the top layer of solid wood is crucial to the overall quality and longevity of your engineered flooring.

The thicker top layer provides more ability to sustain damage and can be sanded more times.  Secondly, take into account that floor stability depends on the middle layer, which, as mentioned above, can be made from plywood, MDF, or HDF. 

Medium-density fiberboard is a common middle layer, but it is very reactive to humidity. High-density fiberboard is more resistant to moisture. And the last plywood is the most stable because of its alternating layers of thin wood. Depending on the number of plywood layers, there are two types of engineered floors: 3-ply boards and multiply boards.

Thirdly, When you are deciding between three-ply and multi-ply engineered wood flooring, it’s important to consider your budget and the conditions in your room. Keep in mind that a 3-ply board will be cheaper than a multi-ply board, but it suits only in places where your subfloor is dry and level because it is more sustainable to humidity and temperature fluctuations.

That said, the multiply boards are also more suitable for installation over underfloor heating.  Fourthly,  engineered wood floors do not always have a bottom layer. Finally, consider engineered wood can be nail down, glue down, or floating. If you are in any doubt, you should check with your flooring supplier. Good luck with finding the best product.