While some people prefer solid wood due to its natural appeal, engineered wood flooring makes a great alternative. Engineered wood flooring has many of the benefits of solid wood flooring, just without the cost. In some areas, engineered wood may even outperform solid wood options.
Let’s look at some of the main benefits of engineered wood flooring. This way, you can decide whether it is the right choice for you.
Greater Stability in Varying Conditions
Engineered wood, unlike solid wood, is not a single piece of wood. Instead, engineered wood is made up of several layers of wood, all pushed together. The grain of each layer of the wood is perpendicular to the layer underneath it. This isn’t something you can see from the top of the engineered wood, so the aesthetics of the wood are preserved. However, you will notice the benefits in terms of stability.
The design of engineered wood means that it won’t ‘move’ in the same way solid wood does. As you may know, when solid wood goes through extreme temperature fluctuations or deals with moisture, it might buckle and bend. This means that there are limited situations where you can use solid wood unless it has been properly treated. Engineered wood doesn’t do this. Well, it shouldn’t do unless the conditions are extreme. This means that if you live in an incredibly hot, humid environment (or cold and wet), you wouldn’t need to worry about the engineered wood buckling on you.
A lot of people opt to have engineered wood in rooms where moisture might be a concern e.g. bathrooms, kitchens, and basements. However, it is a viable choice for all areas of the home.
Real Wood Look Without the Cost
Most people opt for solid wood because it has that ‘real wood’ look to it. They want those beautiful grain patterns on the floor of their home. It makes everything look natural. The problem is that solid wood is expensive. Very expensive. Just small sections of your home could easily cost thousands of dollars. Luckily, engineered wood offers a solid alternative.
Buy some quality engineered wood, and you will still get the real wood looks without the cost. While engineered wood isn’t 100% the same as real wood in the looks department, you’ll still have the beautiful grain pattern and natural look. If you purchase high-quality machined wood, you’d need to be looking incredibly close to tell the difference.
Easy to Install (Even DIY-Friendly)
If you get solid wood in your home, chances are you’ll need to have somebody come and install it for you. It is complicated, and it takes a very long time. Engineered wood? Not so much. A lot of people DIY their machined wood installation.
Engineered wood is often made with a ‘tongue and groove’ system. This means that you can slot the pieces together. There’s no need to nail anything in place. Once you’ve got one piece of engineered wood where you want it, clip the next piece on. You might need to use a bit of glue to hold everything in place, but even that is easy to DIY.
This means that not only will you be saving money buying engineered wood, but you’ll be also saving cash on the installation.
Compatible with Underfloor Heating
Planning on getting underfloor heating in your home? You can’t use solid wood. When you use solid wood, the underfloor heating will cause the wood to warp. It’ll happen quite quickly too. This isn’t a problem with engineered wood flooring. In fact, many people opt for engineered wood flooring when they have underfloor heating. It means they get that natural look, but don’t need to worry about constant, costly maintenance of their floors.
Underfloor heating is compatible with engineered wood due to the reasons we mentioned before. Engineered wood is made up of multiple layers of wood. Due to the way the layers of wood have been compressed together, it is very tough for the wood to move about. This means that the underfloor heating shouldn’t cause the engineered wood to move about, eventually causing buckling.
Not all engineered wood is compatible with underfloor heating. The layers need to be of the right thickness. Talk to your engineered wood flooring supplier for more information. Mention that you’re planning on having underfloor heating and they’ll help you find the right thickness of wood.
Long-Lasting and Low Maintenance
Engineered wood is incredibly low maintenance. This is thanks to a protective barrier that the engineered wood has been coated with.
The protective barrier prevents moisture from penetrating the engineered wood. This means that you don’t need to deal with staining, buckling, etc. It also means that if you do get a spill on your engineered wood, you can wipe it up with standard cleaning chemicals. Those cleaning chemicals won’t get through the protective layer.
Unlike other types of flooring, including solid wood, you don’t need to do anything too special to keep the engineered wood clean. You can vacuum it, brush it up, or give it a quick mop. No special cleaning chemicals are required.
In addition to all this, it is very tough to damage engineered wood. It is very scratch-resistant. This means that your engineered wood flooring will stay looking pristine for much longer. When scratches do occur, provided you purchased a quality piece of engineered wood (i.e. one with a thick top layer), you can often buff them out.
Why Engineered Wood Flooring is a Smart Investment
Engineered wood may be cheaper than solid wood, but that doesn’t necessarily mean that it is worse than solid wood. There are many benefits to engineered wood that make it a solid investment. For starters, it looks almost the same as solid wood. It is much more durable and doesn’t require much in the way of time and effort to keep the wood looking pristine. Not to mention the fact that engineered wood is compatible with underfloor heating, which more and more homes are now having installed.
If you’re planning to have your home re-floored, then engineered wood is almost certainly worth considering. Just make sure that you buy a quality product from a reputable vendor.
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