Which is better solid hardwood or engineered hardwood?
Engineered Wood Flooring is widely considered to be the better construction method for wood flooring with only around 5% of the market still opting for Solid Wood Flooring instead. There are a few reasons for this. Firstly, thanks to the extra versatility and dimensional stability Engineered wood flooring offers, it can be installed where traditional Solid Wood Flooring would fail such as bathrooms and kitchens. Secondly, Engineered Wood Flooring still has a real wood top layer, so once installed you would never notice that it wasn’t a Solid Wood Floor. As well as this, Engineered floors can be sanded and re-finished nearly as many times as Solid Flooring. Lastly, because Engineered Wood Floors are made of mostly Plywood, they are much cheaper than Solid Wood Floors.
Is Engineered Wood Flooring better than laminate?
The biggest advantage of Engineered Wood Flooring over Laminate is that it features a real wood top layer. Even with the advances in Laminate flooring over recent years, it’s not as authentic as the real thing. However, Engineered Wood Flooring’s biggest advantage is also its biggest disadvantage, as high-end laminate products are typically more hardwearing and less susceptible to water. That being said, both flooring types will wear over time, but when Engineered Wood Floors begin to show their age, they can be sanded and re-finished bringing them back to life.
Do Engineered wood floors scratch easily?
Like most floor coverings, Engineered Wood Floors will scratch and wear overtime. Some finishes are better than others e.g. Oiled floors, thanks to their texture, hide scratches very well. There are a range of products that can be applied to an Engineered Wood Floor to give it an extra layer of protection and or refresh slightly worn floors. The great thing about real wood floors is they can be sanded and re-finished to look as good as new again.
How long will an engineered wood floor last?
Engineered Wood Floors will last between 20 and 100 years if properly and regularly maintained. Depending on footfall i.e. high traffic areas such as hallways, floors may need to be sanded and re-finished more often. Other maintenance products, such as Wood’s Good Refresher, give an Engineered Wood Floor a new lease of life with ease.