Why Engineered Wood Flooring, When I Really Want.....

If you could have the choice to lay any flooring in your home today, many people would jump at the chance of having a real wood floor in one room or another. No other flooring, I don't think can quite compare to solid wood. It has natural beauty, warmth and strength that speaks for itself.

So what's the problem you say. Well for all its great features it is not always possible to install in all locations. Being an organic material, solid wood is very prone to problems where there is large temperature and moisture variations. This can be evident in certain sub floors such as concrete where moisture levels can be too high.

People are also looking at more efficient methods of heating in their homes. One of these is underfloor heating which is a big no go area for solid wood. Well the alternative we have is engineered wood flooring.

Sounds a bit painful, but don't be put off. An engineered wood floor has all the beauty and warmth of solid wood. And don't let me forget strength. Usually it's actually stronger than its solid wood counterpart. The difference is, it has an engineered part hidden under the surface.

Made from layers of ply wood which are real wood themselves. These layers are bonded together in different directions from each other called cross ply. This is where the added strength comes from. The top layer of this sandwich is the important wear layer that everyone sees when the floor is laid. Boards are usually comprised of three layers or five, with the wear layer being as thick as 6mm. These factors all determine the end cost of the product to consumer. The more layers and the thicker the wear layer the more expensive they are.

So on top, just as beautiful as a solid wood floor, but underneath the extra stability of the ply wood to cope with alternate conditions below.

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