Solid vs. Engineered Construction

On the surface (no pun intended), both solid wood floors and engineered wood floors display gorgeous striations and natural variation. However, their respective structural differences make for specific home applications. The two biggest factors to help determine which type of hardwood planks will work best are location within your home and the type of subfloor.

Solid Hardwood Floors:

• are one solid piece of wood and are generally 3/4" thick
• are produced from the finest domestic and exotic hardwood floors and are available in several widths
• can generally be recoated and refinished several times
• are more susceptible to humidity and temperature changes
• should only be installed above grade over approved wooden subfloors and must be nailed or stapled down

Engineered Hardwood Floors:

• have cross-ply construction which reduces the expansion/ contraction of planks caused by variations in humidity
• are produced from the finest domestic and exotic hardwood floors and are available in several widths
• are available in plank and longstrip format, in a wide variety of widths, thicknesses and colors in both North American and Exotic hardwoods
• can be installed on any level in the home