Engineered Wooden Flooring
Posted: Thursday, February 11, 2010
by Anthony Davis
Have you been thinking about engineered wooden flooring? If you haven't, then you should. Compared to the other solid flooring types out there, engineered wooden flooring will be more likely to please the most people. However, don't go buying your engineered wood floors before you check the competition out, as well. Engineered flooring competes primarily with solid wooden floors, as well as laminate wooden flooring.
Direct comparisons between solid wood floors and engineered wooden flooring don't always make sense. After all, the part of engineered wood flooring that you step on is solid wood. Engineered often looks a lot more realistic than laminate, mainly because it is. From the same outlet, and sometimes the same manufacturer, you can often purchase a laminate wood floor which is very obviously fake, and one that actually looks better than either a real or an engineered wood floor, although it still won't actually be real, but merely a picture. Between solid and engineered wooden flooring, though, it's tough to say that one looks better than the other, until they begin to show wear.
Did You Hear That?
Strange as it may seem, sound does play a factor in choosing your wooden flooring. After all, the thing one does most with their floor is walk on it, and that will create a sound with every step. This is where all three options can vastly differ, both from each other, and from different brands. Laminate wooden floors are associated with hollow sounds. Some manufacturers claim that their newer models don't have this problem. A solid wooden floor will typically not produce any sound other than the noise your foot makes when it hits the surface. That is, of course, until it gets a bit older. Then it may start to creak, a problem that laminate does not share. Engineered wooden floors can run the gambit from one to the other; some may sound hollow, some may not. They're also less likely to creak as they age, but it is feasible. As far as desirability and sound goes, engineered wooden flooring would come in second best, just after solid wooden floors.
Durability
When it comes to durability, the solid wooden floor is king. Even if it becomes damaged, simply buff and refinish. It's really that simple. Engineered wooden flooring shares this trait, but only to a degree. Because the top layer is rather thin, it can only be sanded a few times. This means that regular, deep gouges or scuffing may end up causing you to have to replace boards. This is still better than laminate, though, which cannot be sanded at all.
Price
You'll find, when pricing engineered wooden flooring, as well as solid wooden floors, that there's no telling what the prices are going to be from month to month. Wood is a natural product, so availability plays a huge role in prices. Solid wooden floors are worse about this than engineered since engineered uses some processed materials, and laminate is generally more stable than the other two, unless a factory explodes or something. All other things being equal, solid wood floors are usually a lot more expensive than either of the other two, and engineered wooden flooring is generally a touch pricier than laminate.
To learn more about engineered wooden flooring, check out Wooden Flooring Info.
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Top-level comments on this article: (1 total)Some good food for thought if you are considering a wooden floor. I never would have thought about the sound differences. Thanks for sharing.
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