Can someone tell me what the difference is from Engineered Or Solid Hardwood floors ???

135 Comments

1. jim says:

   May 21, 2010 at 6:59 pm

   Engineered floors are made up of some wood or are made up of resins to look like hardwood floors. They often are better at resisting blemishes such as scratching and staining better than hard wood floors. Hardwood floors are made up of stained wood. The need to be well maintained to look their best. Spills need to be cleaned up ASAP to avoid damaging the wood.
2. dawnb says:

   May 21, 2010 at 7:29 pm

   Pre-engineered only means they are cut, sanded, and polyurethaned (tons of coats) in the factory rather than on site. I have had these floors in my last two homes over 13 yrs. The multiple coats of poly really make the difference in their longevity and retaining their beauty.
3. BABALOO says:

   May 21, 2010 at 8:00 pm

   1. Solid hardwood is just that – sawn out of SOLID hardwood.
   Since they are solid wood, they tend to expand and contract with the moisture levels in the air. They can be pre-stained in the factory or stained on site. the advantage is that they can be sanded and re-stained many times in the future if needed.
   2. Engineered hardwood floors are made out of layers of different wood, glued together; the cheaper less expensive wood is on the bottom (not seen) and the more expensive wood is on top (veneer). These sometimes cost more than the solid wood alternative because they look better, easier to maintain and do not expand and contract much. For your dining room, go with a engineered hardwood.
4. tara m says:

   May 21, 2010 at 8:54 pm

   The difference is in the layers. If it’s engineered, it will have several layers, and the top one is the most important. Solids are just that – solid. Look at the side of the product, and see how many layers are in it. If there is one solid piece, it is solid hardwood. If there are several layers, it is engineered. Solid is great, if you have zero moisture in the home, but engineered is probably the way to go if you don’t want warpage later on. If it’s sandability you want, remember that solids can only be sanded down to the point of where the nails/staples/tongue is.
5. Felieca C says:

   May 21, 2010 at 9:43 pm

   The difference is….solid is just that….one solid piece of wood.
   Usually 3/4″ of an inch thick…but some manufacturers have 5/16″ and 7/16″ thick solids.

   Engineered wood is comprised of several different layers of wood. On the top you have an actual layer of whatever species of wood….brazilian cherry, oak, hickory….etc. Then you will have layers of wood, in some manufacturers….the layers underneath are comprised of a substandard wood….especially the woods made from a particuliar Asian country….but the manufacturers of engineered in the US and Canada are made of birch, or another stable wood.

   These layers of wood are laid with one going one direction, and the next layer going the opposite direction. What this allows the engineered wood to do, is get the moisture out of the wood, and remain stable.

   The nature of a solid wood is to want to absorb all of the moisture it can find. It’s not a fault…it’s just the “nature of the beast”. If you are installing on a concrete slab, you must go through several steps to insure the wood will not draw moisture from the slab. If installing on a crawlspace…different precautions must be taken….such as plastic put down under the crawl space….under the entire home.

   Engineered woods have many advantages over solids. In today’s market where wider planks are more fashionable….they are more dimentionally stable. A solid plank of 5 – 7 inches….has more area to soak up moisture…and can be problematic. An engineered wood is designed to help the moisture get out of the floor….creating a more stable floor that will not allow “cupping”…..the edges raising up. The thickest engineered is usually around 1/2″, so you won’t be raising the height of your floor too much. Engineered floors for the most part(except for one manufacturer)are prefinished. This allows you to have a more consistant color and finish, because, and I hate to say this, a machine is more consistant than a man in the field.

   One of the arguments you will often hear against engineered woods is that they can’t be refinished. Not necessairly so. Mirage and Forest Accents both make engineered floors that can be refinished 3 times. Which is the same number of times a 3/4″ solid can be refinished, because you can’t go past the tongue and groove.

   HOWEVER….when you start to see traffic patterns in an engineered floor….it can be buff and coated. This is where a sand and finisher comes in, buffs off the top layer of urethane, and puts another coat on. Since you’re not getting into the wood layer….you can have an inexpensive engineered floor, with a thinner wood layer….buff and coat it once a year (you won’t need to, but you can) and no one will be the wiser.

   Engineered woods are also considered to be more environmentally friendly, because they can get more footage out of a piece of timber using a layer of wood rather than a whole chunk.

   Go for the engineered.

   http://www.boa-franc.com/
   http://www.forestaccents.com/site/
6. floor.refinisher says:

   May 21, 2010 at 9:50 pm

   you need to remember is that engineered is only a thin layer of real hardwood on top of other layers of cheap wood. its that way because its cheaper to make and doesn’t tend to cup like real wood. but if you damage a piece it is harder to replace. real wood is better in the long term. it raises the value of the home. it doesn’t matter if its pre-finished or unfinished you can resand it several times and will last for many years. Yes the finish on the engineered wood is tough, but it is also tough on prefinished because they are baked on finishes. the prefinish flooring has something going for it because you can get the colors you want just like engineered but with prefinish unlike engineered you can’t do anything to it but replace it if you wanted to chage color or have it resurfaced.