What is Engineered Wood Flooring?
Engineered wood flooring is fast becoming a desirable alternative to solid timber floors in the modern home. Engineered wood flooring has qualities that make it an ideal alternative to solid wood floors with many of the same features but with added benefits.
What is Engineered Wood?
Engineered flooring consists of a base made up of many thin layers of plywood with a real solid wood veneer on top. This means engineered wood flooring looks like solid wood flooring when laid. The thickness of the veneer can vary in quality and style but usually falls between 3-7mm, though thicker styles are also available. The layers of thin wood are glued together and sit 90° to each other, making them more sturdy and less likely to move when exposed to humidity, unlike solid wood boards.
The Benefits of Engineered Wooden Flooring
One of the benefits of Engineered wood flooring is that it is readily available in a wide range of styles, colours and effects, meaning you can find any style to suit your home. Engineered wood flooring can also be laid over existing flooring like concrete, which is usually not the case for solid wood flooring. Most engineered wood flooring also now comes with a pre-finish, meaning no additional waxing, lacquering or oiling costs. It’s also hardier against humidity and water giving it an advantage over solid wood flooring which needs more care.
Which Style Should You Choose?
The style you choose will come down to your personal tastes, but with such a large variety of colours and finishes to choose from you’ll no doubt find the perfect engineered wood flooring for you and your home. In recent years dark wood has been a popular option, as it can give a modern house a luxury feel, though a surge in lighter woods has been growing recently for a more contemporary feel. If you want a more rustic looking flair to your home, engineered wood flooring also comes in many effects, such as distressed or brushed, which offers a more vintage look rather than being too sleek. For engineered wood flooring that isn’t pre-finished, a variety of surface treatments can be applied to get the exact look and feel of wood you’re after if you have something specific in mind.
How Long Does Engineered Wood Flooring Last?
How long your engineered wood flooring lasts depends on where the floor is being laid. High traffic areas will always take more of a hit than low traffic areas. Generally the thicker the veneer is on engineered wood flooring the longer the wood will last. The guarantees for engineered wood flooring can vary between 10-30 years based on the type and quality of the flooring you choose and how many people will be walking on it regularly. Some styles of engineered wood flooring can be sanded and retreated to last longer, though this is usually for thicker types and has limitations of how many times it can be performed before the veneer is too thin.
Engineered Wood Flooring from Floor Factory
At Floor Factory we have a huge range of engineered wood flooring to choose from. Read more about engineered wood here. To find the perfect engineered wood flooring for your property, get in touch with us at Floor Factory! Come to our showroom in Derby, give us a call on 01332 986261 or fill out our online contact form and we’ll get in touch.
