Understanding Engineered Oak Flooring

When considering timber floors, you might realise that the recommended wood to use is hardwood. Softwood may not be able to withstand different floor uses, meaning you would need to replace it frequently; it is not as durable as hardwood.

Another thing you might notice is that you may mostly come across oak hardwood. The reason is that oak trees are more common to find than other hardwood trees.

When in the market for hardwood floors, you might come across two options: engineered flooring and natural/solid hardwood flooring

Here's what you need to know to make the right choice:

Natural/Solid Hardwood Flooring

These are planks of wood that have been cut from hardwood trees. They are smoothened to achieve a straight and smooth floor surface, treated to protect them against insect attack and cut thick to ensure they last for a long time. You might also find that they can be expensive.

Natural/solid hardwood flooring needs to be installed by a qualified flooring expert because some important factors have to be considered:

They should not be installed in rooms that get wet all the time (like bathrooms and laundry rooms) or rooms with high humidity

You need to leave some space between the planks of wood for expansion and contraction

You need to apply a sealant to prevent water damage

Engineered Flooring

These are planks of wood that are engineered to mitigate the challenges or limitations of natural/solid hardwood flooring:

Some people may find natural/solid hardwood flooring to be too expensive; engineered flooring is a cheaper alternative. What happens is that instead of cutting thick planks of hardwood trees, thinner planks are cut and then thickened with layers of plywood. This makes them affordable to many people.

When installing natural/solid hardwood flooring, you are required to leave some space for expansion and contraction. When installing engineered flooring, this space is not required.

Engineered flooring is also not affected by moisture like natural hardwood flooring. The many layers help block moisture, thus preventing swelling that occurs when natural hardwood flooring absorbs water. This means that you can install engineered flooring in rooms with high humidity. A sealant should, however, be applied.

The only thing you might want to consider when installing engineered flooring is to avoid installing them in high-traffic areas. They are not as durable as natural hardwood flooring because the plank of hardwood used is thinner, meaning the number of times you can sand it is limited.

Contact a supplier of products like Preference engineered flooring to learn more.