The difference between solid wood flooring and engineered wood flooring is that solid wood floors are made from planks that come from a single piece of timber, whereas engineered wood is made up of several layers of different wood types, with the layer you see and walk on being the “top layer”.
Should I choose solid wood or engineered wood flooring?
The main benefit to solid wood flooring is that future repairs are relatively easy and cheap, especially as the material can be sanded, resurfaced, oiled and refinished many times. With engineered wood, repairs and maintenance can be more difficult and expensive, depending on the thickness of the top layer.
However, engineered wood flooring can look just as good as solid wood flooring but is often less prone to changes in moisture and heat, and is therefore suitable on top of underfloor heating systems (whereas solid wood isn’t).
Engineered wood is still created from real wood, except it’s made of several layers, with the top layer being the one that you are really paying for, which means it can be less expensive than solid wood.
At Wood Floor Solutions NW, we offer you many choices of wood for both solid wood flooring and engineered wood flooring, including:
- Oak is a very popular choice and available in a large range of colours. It is distinctive for its straight and swirling graining patterns, and gives a traditional look.
- Walnut gives the floor a luxurious dark timber look, which many homeowners now prefer.
- Ash flooring is a light, creamy wood colour, often with darker and distinctive knots and patterns. The wood is both flexible and very strong, and often an ideal choice for floors that need to withstand heavy foot traffic.
- Beech flooring is pale with a slight hint of pink, to give the room a warm feeling. Beech is great at resisting dents, and has a straight, regular grain.
- Maple is generally light and pale in colour, with darker graining to give the room a clean and airy feel. Maple is one of the hardest woods available for flooring, and is very durable to dents and knocks.
Whichever you choose, the fully qualified fitters at Wood Floor Solutions will ensure your new solid wood or engineered flooring is installed to an exceptionally high standard, and is built to last.
See some of our solid wood and engineered wood flooring work. Contact us today for a free quote or to simply discuss the pros and cons of each option.