All about Engineered Wood Flooring

When you are thinking about home renovation, remodeling, or improvement, engineered wood flooring is one of the best options.

It is durable, easy to maintain, and low cost.

What is Engineered Wood Flooring

Engineered wood flooring is a type of hard surface flooring. When you want to install hard surface flooring in your beautiful home or office, engineered wood flooring is one you can choose.

Engineered wood flooring constructed with a multi-layer of solid wood and plywood. Each layer is positioned in a different direction. This construction method prevents engineered hardwood from warping and bowing.

Things Should Be Consider for Engineered Wood Flooring

While you are going to setting engineered hardwood, you need to know the requirements of site condition as follows

• The sub-floor must be level. There should be no more than 3mm in height variation in 1m length. The uneven floor must be repaired with the self-leveling compound or plywood.
• Air humidity must be 45%-65% in the site tested using a hygrometer.
• The timber sub-floor must be moisture tested and MC (moisture content) should be within 12%.
• The concrete sub-floor must also be tested and MC (moisture content) should be within 12%.

Acclimatizing of Engineered Wood Floor

Only when the site condition is correct and you are satisfied with your flooring, then you need to acclimate wood flooring. It is a very important part of installing. Acclimatizing have an effect on how well the floor performs.

To acclimate engineered flooring, open the boxes and flat in the room of installation in piles of 3. Leave at least 5cm between the piles, so that, the air can circulate around the boxes.

It takes 7-10 days to acclimate the engineered wood floor to a room.

Types of Engineered Wood Flooring

Engineered hardwood is offering a variety of styles for your home.

• Available in multiple finishes; matte, semi-glossy, and glossy.
• It is also available in multiple surface effects like distressed, wire brushed, hand-scraped.
• Engineered wood flooring is available in multiple species; oak, maple, hickory, American cherry, walnut, rosewood, pine, etc.
• It is offering you a wide range of colors like, black, grey, orange, red, brown, white.
• You can find three types of engineered hardwood floors considering installation process glue-less, glued, and pre-glued.

Available Thickness of Engineered Wood Flooring

Engineered wood flooring comes in various thicknesses from a very thin ¼ inches thick to a higher quality ¾ inches thickness. The comparison of the ranges are given below –

Thin engineered wood board: ¼ inches thick

Medium thickness: ½ inches thick

Thick: ¾ inches + thick

Engineered wood flooring cost

Engineered wood flooring average cost is around $3 to $10 per square foot. The cost depends on the installation cost, place or location and the property in which you are planning to get the engineered wood flooring done. Property location is also one of the important factors. Note that the cost mentioned is for the materials only; it does not include the installation cost.

How much to install engineered wood flooring?

There are varieties of factors about installing engineered wood. Like where you live, the complexity of your project, etc. The cost of installing is given below:

Low: 1/16 – to 1/12-inch thick engineered hardwood costs an average of $3 to $5 per square foot, with installation costs between $3 and $10 per square foot.

Mid: This type of engineered hardwood generally has a thicker veneer and a 5 core and costs an average of $5 to $10 per square foot, with installation costs running $3 to $10 per square foot.

High: The top-of-the-line engineered hardwood has 7 or more with a top veneer that’s around 1/6-inch thick. It costs around $8 to $13 per square foot, with another $3 to $10 per square foot in installation costs.

Important Tips for Engineered Wood Flooring

Caring for your newly installed engineered wood floor is an important task to keep your floor looking great in the coming years. Caring for engineered wood is very similar to caring for wood floors. But if you are new to the wood floor, you may feel a little lost about which products to use and how to prevent damage during everyday use.

Here are some important tips for maintaining engineered hardwood floor:

1. Most manufacturers recommend cleaning hardwood and engineered wood flooring with a damp mop or cloth only. If you feel, you need a little bit extra power, you can use a finished wood cleaner.
2. Always sweep or dust before moping. Remove as much dirt and debris before moping as you can for preventing damages of your floors.
3. Clean up spills as early as possible. Engineered wood flooring is less susceptible to water damages but prolonged exposure to moisture can result in damage.
4. Protect your engineered floor from UV damage by using blinds or drapes during pick sunlight hours.
5. Place all houseplants and furniture on a soft coaster or felt pads to prevent nicks and scratches.
6. Wipe in the same direction as the wood grain while cleaning your wood flooring for the best result.
7. Regular care is the best for wood flooring. Cleaning every day will help to prevent the buildup of dirt that will require hard scrubbing or cleaner to remove.
8. Keep pets’ toenails trimmed and field to avoid damage to your floor.

How Long an Engineered Wood Floor Last?

Lasting of an engineered wood floor depends on three factors.

1. How you maintain it
2. Quality of flooring used
3. The thickness of the veneer that tops of the flooring

If you can follow the above three points, your engineered wood floor can last long.

Pros and Cons of Engineered Hardwood Floor

Pros

• Engineered hardwood flooring is cost-effective. Comparing to its counterpart solid wood, you can install engineered hardwood flooring within a minimum budget.
• Unlikely other solid wood floorings, it has different types of installation processes.
• It can install over any floor without limiting the viability.
• Engineered wood is easy to clean and maintain. Just need regular cleaning.
• Dissimilar to other flooring materials engineered woods contain no allergic elements so it is ideal for sensitive people. Owing to the melamine barrier, the floor is mold resistant.
• The top covered layer of designed hardwood flooring is resistant to daylight beams. Moreover, the melamine covering is tough and withstands abrasion as opposed to wood flooring which gets scratch marks easily.
• The top layer is a wood facade, while the center layers are made out of plywood, particleboard or fiberglass. These layers are glued together in opposing directions. So when there is high humidity, each layer counteracts the other’s natural tendency to expand or shrink.

Cons

• Engineered wood flooring is difficult to repair. Once damaged, you have to change the entire block.
• It is difficult to install. If it is not installed properly, there would be a chance of cracking. As a result, it will limit the durability.

End Words

There are many flooring options in the market. But engineered hardwood is becoming very popular as it is low cost, easy to maintain, and aristocratic look. You can use this flooring in bathrooms, kitchen, underground, anywhere in your home.

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