Why Engineered Wood Flooring Is the Best Choice for Your Home?
In recent years engineered wood flooring continues gaining more and more popularity as a great domestic flooring option on the market. Engineered wood flooring rises more and more in popularity exactly among the homeowners, who strive to get the look, beauty, and unbeatable style of real wood and still be able to experience all the benefits of this significantly less prone to moisture issues flooring product. Engineered wood flooring shouldn’t be confused with laminate flooring. Unlike laminate, engineered wood is made from natural, lumber products, usually including plywood, softwoods, and hardwoods in its structure.
However, unlike solid wood, engineered wood is not cut entirely from a single timber piece. Thanks to its advanced and innovative structure of layers, engineered wood flooring minimizes all the risks and issues due to moisture and temperature fluctuations that usually cause issues with solid wood flooring. Engineered wood flooring is very versatile and it is available in a great variety of styles, designs, colours, textures. The top layer of this flooring option is called lamella and it is a thick layer of hardwood, which allows you to have your engineered wood floor in the exact wood species available for solid wood flooring too.
Because of its production method and structure, engineered wood flooring is often deemed as the most versatile flooring option allowing a lot of flexibility and freedom in the context of the floor’s installation and usage. Engineered wood flooring, as already mentioned, is not very susceptible to moisture level and temperature fluctuations thanks to its innovative structure. The core structure of engineered wood flooring is made out of layers of softwood or plywood that are glued together crisscrossed.
This pioneering idea allows engineered wood flooring to be installed even in areas of high moisture levels and temperature fluctuations, including the kitchen, bathroom, basements, conservatory, etc. The crisscrossed structure of layers of engineered wood flooring minimizes the impact of moisture and humidity and guarantees the flooring boards won’t get damaged and distressed due to the expansion and contraction caused by moisture. While this movement of the boards can be really turbulent for solid wood floors and cause a number of issues, some of them even beyond repair, engineered wood flooring is significantly less prone to such damages and problems.
The Manufacturing Process
The manufacturing process of engineered wood flooring generally consists of adhering several layers of real wood that are the core structure of the engineered wood floorboard. Every floorboard is then topped with a thick layer of hardwood that is called the lamella. By this, the authentic look of solid wood flooring is achieved, however, engineered wood flooring is more flexible and convenient flooring option than the classic timber flooring. In addition to its amazing durability, hard-wearing, and long-lasting power, engineered wood looks as good as solid wood and can be re-sanded and refinished several times in its lifespan for removing of small imperfections, refreshing the finish, adding extra protection, updating the look, the colour, and the texture of the floorboards. There is no wonder engineered wood flooring is something very innovative, beautiful, and highly sought after these days when more and more people discover how many benefits and advantages this flooring comes with.
The Desired Look
Fortunately, engineered wood flooring allows a really impressive variety of options and alternatives so you can achieve the desired look and find the perfect match to your existing interior design or the one you are planning to make into reality. As we have already mentioned, engineered wood flooring looks exactly like solid wood when installed. This means that you have all the choice of styles, patterns, colours, textures, and finishes that are available for solid wood flooring too. The lamella layer of engineered wood flooring can be made from different wood species with classic oak being the most popular one. In addition, if you get tired from the look of your engineered wood floor, you can easily change things around and refresh its appearance with a new colour, new finish, or re-texturise the floorboards.
The Right Finish
Just like solid wood floors, engineered wood floorboards can be finished with all the different products available. From wax and oil to polyurethane, varnish, and lacquer, and everything in between, you can choose your engineered wood floor to be extra glossy or make the natural texture of wood stands out, you can go for a matt option or a satin finish, you can choose an extra durable and protective product or go for a more eco-friendly option. It is absolutely up to you since engineered wood flooring looks and feels great with all types of finishes. When choosing the right finish for the floor keep in mind the lifestyle and habits of your households.
If it comes to a floor installed in busier areas of high traffic in your home, make sure to opt for a more durable and hard-wearing finish that will withstand all the wear and tear and protect the floorboards. You can also go for a finish with an added UV filter that will protect the engineered wood floorboards from fading of the colour and drying out. Households with young children and pets are not recommended to opt for very glossy finishes, because these are not particularly good at camouflaging all the scratches, marks, and stains.
