The Differences Between Solid and Engineered Hardwood Flooring

The decision you take to get wooden flooring for your home will be a great one. It is not just beautiful, but also durable. However, there are two main options available to consider when you proceed with hardwood flooring. Solid hardwood and engineered hardwood are those two options.

You should carefully select the best option out of them and move ahead with hardwood flooring suppliers.

What Exactly Is Solid Hardwood Flooring?

Solid hardwood flooring consists of solid wood planks. This type of flooring usually comes with a thickness of around ¾ inches. The width of a plank varies from 2.5 to 5 inches. When you are getting solid hardwood flooring, the wooden planks will be delivered unfurnished to your home. Then you will need to install, sand, and finish them at the site. During the installation process, the wooden planks will be stapled or nailed down. In case the wooden planks are over 5 inches in thickness, they will be nailed and glued.

What Exactly Is Engineered Hardwood Flooring?

When it comes to engineered hardwood flooring, there are a few different layers of hardwood combined not one plank. On the topmost layer, you can discover sawn or sliced hardwood veneer. It looks pretty much like solid hardwood. Under that, you can find a few layers of wood that are laminated together. As a result, engineered hardwood flooring can deal with temperature changes, moisture, as well as humidity in a better way. You will also notice that engineered hardwood flooring has better design options.

What Are The Differences Between Solid Hardwood Flooring and Engineered Hardwood Flooring?

Now you know what solid hardwood flooring and engineered hardwood flooring all are about. While keeping that in mind, let’s look at some of the key differences that you can find between them.

Appearance

When you get flooring, you pay special attention to appearance. Hardwood flooring is usually available to you in a variety of colour options. You can get unfinished as well s pre-finished panels, which provide better personalization. On the other hand, engineered hardwood flooring looks pretty much like solid hardwood, but provides better options in width. You will only be able to get pre-finished engineered hardwood flooring. There are lesser options available in terms of styles and colour.

Care and maintenance

Cleaning and maintaining solid hardwood flooring is quite an easy thing to do. That’s because you just need to focus on vacuuming and sweeping. However, you will need to use a specialized wood cleaner occasionally in order to get rid of stains. You should be careful not to use steam or water in order to clean your solid hardwood floors. No matter what, it is a good option available for long-term maintenance. That’s because you can sand down your flooring and refinish it several times. You just need to vacuum and sweep engineered hardwood flooring as well. You may mop it occasionally with the help of a wood cleaner. Then you can get rid of stains and make the top layer look good. However, there is no thick layer available on top of engineered hardwood flooring, which you can sand and finish with time.

Durability

You can expect to receive longer durability with solid hardwood flooring. In other words, solid hardwood flooring can last for somewhere between 30 to 100 years. You just need to take good care of it. With proper maintenance, engineered hardwood flooring can last for more than 30 years as well. However, you can easily replace them.

Cost

Cost is a major concern when it comes to wooden flooring. It is important to keep in mind that solid hardwood flooring is quite expensive. In fact, it is one of the most expensive flooring options available for you to consider as of now. On average, you will have to spend around $8 per square foot. The better quality solid hardwood planks would cost you up to $15 per square foot. Engineered hardwood flooring is a better option available for people who are concerned about the budget. In other words, it would cost you around $2.50 to $10 per square foot. In general, you can find decent quality engineered hardwood flooring available for under $7 per square foot.

Final Thoughts

As you can see, there are a few significant differences between solid hardwood flooring and engineered hardwood flooring. You will be able to use both these options interchangeably in your home. However, you should carefully take note of all the similarities as well as differences between them, so that you can pick the right option. If you are getting wooden flooring for a high-moisture environment or if you are concerned more about the budget, engineered hardwood flooring would be a good option available to consider.