Hardwood Flooring: The Basics

With the increased popularity of porcelain tiles, luxury vinyl, and plastic laminates—all of which can now be manufactured to look remarkably like wood flooring—genuine hardwood flooring has become slightly less common in recent years. But real hardwood flooring remains a premium flooring material that is still the preferred choice whenever a truly genuine look is required. After all, the goal of newer flooring products is to look like wood—no one develops a flooring material with the goal of making it look like plastic.

Solid Hardwood vs. Engineered Wood

A floor that appears to be solid hardwood may be exactly that—solid planks of a hardwood such as oak, maple, birch, or mahogany that fit together with tongue-and-groove joints and nails. But it is equally likely that the floor is made with a form of engineered wood—planks that have been manufactured by bonding a thin layer of real hardwood over 5 to 7 thin layers of plywood glued together with the grain direction alternating from layer to layer. This construction give engineered wood flooring remarkable stability and resistant to warping.

Advantages of solid hardwood flooring include:

    Can be sanded and refinished several times over the lifetime of the floor
    Thick flooring layers offers a solid feel underfoot
    Sound transmission is better than engineered hardwood
    Normally sold unfinished, so can be stained in any color desired

Advantages of engineered hardwood flooring include:

    Extremely stable flooring especially when in contact with concrete subfloor
    Cheaper than solid hardwood
    Easier installation than solid hardwood; amateur DIY installation is possible
    Generally sold prefinished, reducing work required for installation

Environmental Issues

Solid hardwood is a truly natural product, and disposal of old flooring is no problem when the floor ends its useful life. Many old solid hardwood floors are recycled for other purposes. Engineered hardwood floors, though they consist primarily of wood products, also use a variety of glues in the plywood layers that form the core. These adhesives may outgas formaldehyde or other toxins in small amounts, and people who are sensitive to these substances may experience health issues.

Subfloor/ Underlayment Requirements

Both solid hardwood and engineered hardwood flooring require solid, sturdy subfloors, and may require some form of secondary underlayment installed over the subfloor. In many cases, an existing old floor, if solidly attached and in good condition, can serve as the base for new solid hardwood or engineered flooring planks.

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