Engineered Flooring: Easier Hardwood?

None can deny the appeal of a hardwood floor. It has a long tradition of luxury, and a timeless beauty. It is also expensive and difficult to install. Those looking for that classic look and feel might do well to consider engineered hardwood.

Engineered Hardwood Properties
Unlike conventional hardwood, which comes straight out of a tree and into your home, engineered hardwood is a more complex product that consists of several layers. The outermost is a hardwood veneer, a thin slice of wood (less than 1/8") of whatever species you desire. The inner layers are made of plywood, high density fiberboard, or hardwood. The layered core of engineered hardwood makes the product more stable than regular hardwood, while the outer veneer surface adds beauty and authenticity.

Engineered hardwood is different than a hardwood laminate because the surface is made of real wood. While laminate has a core of high density fiberboard, its surface is basically a picture of wood (or any other material, for that matter). Laminate is less expensive than regular and engineered hardwood, but has a different look and feel due to its make up.

Advantages of Engineered Hardwood
Engineered flooring is designed to reduce the moisture problems associated with conventional hardwood. Its layers block moisture and provide added stability to your floor. Engineered flooring will not swell or warp, making it very low maintenance.

The price of engineered hardwood is another selling point. In addition to reducing upkeep costs, engineered flooring is less expensive from the start. This becomes even more true as the type of wood gets more exotic. Rare hardwood is very expensive. Since engineered hardwood requires only a thin slice of the desired wood, the cost decreases dramatically.

Sanding and Refinishing
The option of sanding and refinishing engineered hardwood will depend on how thick the outer veneer is. Refinishing should remove about 1/32 of an inch of wood. If the veneer is 1/16th of an inch, you may be able to sand and refinish the surface 1 or 2 times. How thick the layer of veneer is will depend largely on the initial investment made.

Environmental Advantages
Choosing engineered flooring is considered more environmentally friendly than traditional hardwood for a few reasons. Veneer is sliced rather than cut with a saw. This process produces no sawdust, which means that all of the tree's wood can be used. The sawdust produced making hardwood boards is wasted wood (and adds up to a significant amount). Also, hardwood trees grow much more slowly than the trees used to make engineered flooring cores. Because more surface area is produced making veneer, installing traditional hardwood uses many times the amount of slow growing tree. This makes the replenishing time much longer.