Wood flooring has always been very popular. Wood flooring has a formal, beautiful and warm look that is ideal for all kinds of rooms. They are also eco-friendly, affordable and the best part is that there is a lot of variety available. Wood floors are also relatively easy to maintain. Additionally, wood floors increase the value of a house and are therefore an investment. These days, wood flooring is being done in unique and custom designs like borders, medallions, hand-distressing, painting, mixed media, stain and exotic wood. Engineered wood floors are made from layers of wood that are pressed and glued together. Each layer is stacked on the other in a cross-grain configuration and then pressed using heat and pressure. The thickness of this kind of wood varies greatly. Three- and five-ply flooring are the most common engineered wood flooring. Engineered wood flooring is suitable where solid wood flooring is not, including basements, kitchens, utility rooms and powder rooms that are likely to be moist or those which have high traffic. These floors can endure changes in humidity and temperature effectively and can thus be installed at any level in the house. Another advantage is the thickness of engineered wood floors which are just 3/8 to 5/8 of an inch, allowing them to be installed on existing floors. Engineered wood flooring is available in finished as well as pre-finished forms. Pre-finished engineered wood flooring is very popular since it is very easy to install. All the sanding and finishing is done in the factory itself. The quality of the finish and the thickness of the wear layer are important aspects to be considered. Engineered wood floors are also categorized as parquet (series of flooring pieces arranged in a geometric design); plank hardwood flooring (linear and wider planks of wood); and strip (linear flooring that is not as wide) styles. Engineered flooring is available as tongue-and-groove strips. There are also longer panels available for floating type of installations. Here, the boards are glued to one another and not to the substrate. The beauty of engineered floors depends upon the wear layer, which is actually the veneer. The veneer ranges from around 1/12 of an inch to of an inch. Engineered floors can also be abraded and recoated. Flat-cut veneers look better than rotary-cut veneers though they are more expensive and rare. |
