Engineered Hardwood Flooring

Hardwood Flooring adds an elegant touch to any space. The biggest things to consider when choosing your hardwood, though, are often overlooked. Many times, consumers will purchase their wood based solely on the color and thickness. The thickness of the wood can be very misleading.

It is often perceived that thicker wood means greater stability, and a more structurally sound product. In reality, a 3/8" engineered wood product can often be much more stable structural wise than a 3/4" solid product. The type of wood, and the type of construction can influence this.

For instance, if you have a 3/4" solid russian birch (which is one of the softest woods sold as flooring), the product will wear much, much faster than a 5-ply engineered 3/8" brazilian cherry wood.

For this reason, it is a much better rating system to view the wood's overall performance ability, which is evident through the warranty offered on the product. This can be much harder to judge when comparing cabin/tavern grade woods, as they often do not come with a warranty. In that particular situation, you can consider the warranties offered with the product's first quality counterpart.

Generally speaking, the longer the warranty, the better the structural ability of the wood. If it were likely to fail (show major signs of wear), then the manufacturer would be less willing to stand behind the product.

To this effect, engineered woods often come with a 25 year residential warranty, while many solid wood products carry only a 15 year. Also, most all commercially warranted hardwood flooring products are engineered. It is uncommon that you will find a solid wood floor that is recommended in a commercial application.

Going by these indicators, it can be seen that engineered wood is just as much structurally stable as solid wood, and should not be feared because it is not as thick.