What is the difference between hardwood and engineered wood floors?

Answer 1

Engineered wood floors are made of a plywood with a layer of solid wood on top. These floors allow wood to go where traditionally it could not like a cement sub floors or a sub grade level of your home.

Engineered wood is sometimes called a remodel floor because it is more often thinner then solid hardwood. This allows a homeowner to more easily transition between floors that are close in height. They can be refinished, although depending on the thickness of the wood top, it may need to be professionally done. These floors are almost always prefinished. You will find engineered wood floors that are glue down, floating, and staple down.

Another benefit of engineered wood is cost. Some more exotic species of wood are very expensive. Engineered woods allow manufactures ways to produce floors in a more budget friendly floor.

Solid hardwood floors have time on their side. The tongue and grove style boards have been used in homes for generations. The live expectancy of the floor is 100 + years with proper care. They allow for much easier repair then a laminate or engineered wood and can be easily refinished my an informed DIY.

In the past, you only saw solid would in floors 3/4" or even thicker. Today though, there are solid wood floors as thin as 3/8" which allow it to go into an area a ticker floor couldn't.

You can find solid wood unfinished if you wish to stain it and polyurethane it yourself or prefinished for quicker installation.

Engineered wood floors are made like plywood. They are made up of several layers, mostly of a less expensive wood. The top layer is made of hardwood.

Solid hardwood floors, on the other hand are solid hardwood the entire thickness.

An engineered wood floor may have only 1/16" or so of hardwood on the surface, where a solid wood floor might be a 1/2" or more.

Engineered wood tends to be more stable - it is less likely to move or warp with changes in humidity or temperature. This is because the different layers of wood have the grain running in different directions. They are a good choice over a cement slab floor, and are frequently installed by being glued down.

Answer 2

Engineered flooring is a hard solid nice top with a plywood center and bottom. Used in many different climates that humidity and temperatures vary.