Old vs. New, Solid vs. Engineered - Featured in Condo Magazine

The question has been asked and the debate started: What is an engineered hardwood floor and what makes it any better than solid hardwood flooring? Solid hardwood flooring has been around for hundreds of years and uses relatively little technology in its design and production. Engineered hardwood flooring, the next generation of hardwood, was developed through years of research and testing. Because of technological advancements, engineered hardwood, available in glue down and floating options, outperforms solid hardwood in the key areas of stability, durability, versatility and ecology.

Although solid wood floors can be quite beautiful, there are issues with solid hardwood, the biggest being lack of stability. Wood is a living material, and is sensitive to changes in the humidity of the surrounding air. When the relative humidity is high, wood adapts by absorbing excess moisture thereby expanding its structure. When the humidity is low wood performs oppositely and contracts in size. Therefore, wood undergoes changes in its structure over time and the result is that solid hardwood flooring tends to warp or cup. When one decides to sand and refinish the floor to restore it to a flat surface, a significant layer of wood must be removed in order to achieve a flat surface again. Furthermore, because solid flooring is nailed or stapled, it can only be sanded until the staples or nails are reached. As a result, despite their thickness solid wood floors can only be refinished a few times. The nailing or stapling installation method also makes it difficult to install solid hardwood in condominiums or over other types of concrete sub-floors. The expansion and contraction of solid hardwood combined with different pressures exerted in different areas can also cause the staples or nails to move over time. This may cause the floor to squeak and develop a less stable feel when walked upon. Lastly, with solid hardwood, a thick piece of precious and rare hardwood is wastefully used as a support for the wood floor, even though it is inadequate for this purpose. With tree regeneration growth periods of 50 - 180 years for hardwoods, it often becomes difficult to sustain or manage forests and thus new areas are constantly being harvested. 

The solution: engineered hardwood flooring. There are two main types of engineered hardwood flooring; glue down engineered and floating engineered. Glue down engineered hardwood is a revolutionary two-layer floor consisting of a sawn hardwood wear layer usually 2mm to 5mm thick supported by a multi-layer plywood support. This proprietary technology stabilizes the top layer of solid wood against expansion and contraction from changes in humidity resulting in a product that ensures stability and durability in every installation. Higher quality brands use only marine birch plywood for the support layers because it possesses superior mechanical properties to other woods. The added stability of engineered hardwood means that products with a 3.5 mm wear layer can be sanded at least as many times as solid wood. Furthermore, brands such as Listone Giordano with a square edge profile instead of a bevelled edge profile can be sanded an additional 1 to 2 times. As the name implies, engineered glue down hardwood is installed with a glue-down method. The result is a quieter floor that will always feel stable and firm. Furthermore, because it is installed using adhesive, engineered hardwood can be laid in places where solid wood is usually not possible such as in condominiums, in basements, over radiant heated flooring, or over existing ceramic tile. Finally, the use of a plywood support layer is important because hardwoods typically come from trees that may take over 100 years to mature, whereas woods like marine birch come from trees that grow much more quickly. Thanks to a more efficient use of precious hardwoods, engineered flooring uses substantially less hardwood to cover the same area.

Engineered floating hardwood is another revolutionary solution that has gained prominence in recent years to meet many needs that solid wood can not fulfill. Its construction consists of a top hardwood layer with either 1 or 2 support layers that provide stability. The bottom layers can be either plywood or high or medium density fibreboard (HDF/MDF) which helps reduce the expansion and contraction of the top layer of wood due to seasonal environmental changes. The real hardwood top layer on most floating floors can be sanded and refinished just like solid wood. Some floating hardwood floors feature boards that simply "click" together without the use of any adhesives making for a relatively hassle-free installation while others are glued together. The stability and installation methods for floating floors make them versatile enough to be installed over plywood, concrete or tile on above or below grade. As such, they are the perfect solution for condominiums. Lastly, the use of only the thin top layer of actual wood, make this revolutionary product an environmental one as well. Because floating and engineered floors have a thinner top layer of actual wood, it makes it possible to cover roughly 5 times the area that traditional solid wood can cover from the same amount of wood.  

When you compare solid hardwood to engineered glue down or floating hardwood, it is easy to see why engineered flooring is truly the next generation of hardwood flooring. Please visit www.europeanflooring.ca for more information or to find a European Hardwood Flooring Centre near you.