Working in the flooring industry we often have customers calling us because they're interested in a good oak floor. Generally we end up suggesting they go down the engineered route and then being asked the same thing, 'why select an engineered hardwood floor over a solid oak ground and does it really feel and look as gorgeous?' We are composing this article to briefly outline the primary benefits of our engineered solid wood flooring and why today so many people are choosing the built over the original solid oak flooring. Throughout this article I'll write in reference to a top quality constructed oak flooring with multiple layers of ply wood under primary and a thick, long lasting wear layer. I can not speak with respect to all engineered wood floors because they differ massively in quality and price. In all cases you need to check thoroughly the specs of the product available.
So let's start off this article with talking about the number 1 cause our engineered oak floors have the upper give solid oak flooring, this being it's stability. A quality engineered board will be made up of around 10 layers of multi laminated birch https://newliberian.com/flooring-company-choose-it-intelligently/ ply timber. These layers are stuck in opposite directions with a wetness resistant adhesive which gives the floor an immense amount of stability. We've been asked before by clients who have researched the market how solid the adhesive is as they have heard of stories of engineered hardwood flooring de-laminating. However in the event that you get a quality engineered wood flooring you can also gone as far as to boil a piece of our ground for thirty minutes and the board still won't de-laminate. The 15mm ply wood under primary is what provides flooring the power and balance is has. Oak is definitely a natural product so when used for flooring the board widths can transform in size. This may cause gaps between boards or the ground to buckle and this movement is most commonly due to the changing of humidity in the environment. Due to the stability of a quality engineered oak ground it really is far less prone to this motion. This stability is also becoming of higher importance today because of the fact that an increasing quantity of properties are experiencing under floor heating system systems installed, which of training course causes a frequent transformation in humidity. Having said this I would again like to reiterate that I am writing in regards to a quality, higher spec manufactured oak flooring, and I can not chat for all engineered hardwood floors.
Let's move onto another reason engineered real wood flooring is now classed as an excellent product to a solid oak floor. The main reason why people will choose an oak flooring is that they love the timeless natural splendor that European oak provides. What many individuals are unaware of is the fact that the top layer of an excellent engineered oak flooring may be the same quality European oak as you'll find in solid oak flooring. This means that when it's been laid it looks and feels just the same and a growing number of customers are saying they prefer the appearance of the longer and wider boards that many engineered wood floors offer. So, a top quality oak manufactured flooring can look the same but does it actually last for as long?. How long a floor can last is mostly right down to something known as its 'put on layer'. The area of the floor that's classed as the use layer is from the top of board down to the tongue and on a solid oak board this might be around 5-6mm. Now, the use layer on engineered timber flooring is the top layer of oak. If you purchase an engineered oak flooring that includes a 5-6mm solid oak top layer it'll result in the flooring lasting simply as long. In conclusion if you would like an engineered flooring that will last so long as a normal solid oak floor after that make sure it has a nice thick top layer of wood, ideally 5mm+.
Laying the floor is also another area that's worth considering about when comparing the two types of oak flooring. The majority of engineered wood flooring are longer and wider than most solid oak boards because this is the look that a lot of people are wanting currently. The flooring being much longer and wider means the flooring is usually quicker to match. Another aspect which makes this floor less difficult and quicker to match can be how well machined the boards are. From our experience in the flooring sector we have had nothing but good opinions regarding how easy our engineered flooring was to lay, and this is down to how well machined the boards are. Considering that engineered flooring is definitely quicker and simpler to fit, any extra cash that is allocated to purchasing an manufactured oak floor is frequently compensated in the time that is saved fitting it! This is something to bear in mind when comparing prices.
The final advantage of engineered wood flooring over solid oak flooring that I am gong to mention is how an engineered oak floor is more environmentally friendly. The plywood that can be used comprises of fast developing softwoods which are plentiful which is certainly what the under side of our engineered hardwood flooring is constructed of. This means that far less of our valued oak, which has taken more than 100 years to grow, can be used resulting in a a lot more environmentally friendly flooring.
We hope that this article has been of some use for you and may have answered a few or your questions. We are constantly available to offer insight and ask that if there is anything you are unsure of regarding manufactured oak flooring please experience free to contact us.