If you’re one of the many people who’s thinking about fitting engineered wood flooring, it’s highly likely that you’re keen to seek out the best option. That said, it’s important to appreciate that the best engineered wood flooring for your project mightn’t be the best for the next person, so you need to be very wary of assuming that someone else’s “best” will be your best.
Engineered wood flooring comes in a whole host of wood species, grades, finishes and board sizes as well as in 3 or multi-ply options. Add to this the need to consider things like guarantees and delivery times and you start to see that ascertaining what might be best for you really is a case of working through the options in detail and one-by-one. Here’s a checklist that will help you:
There is a whole host of different species of wood available as engineered flooring these days. Woods such as oak and walnut rub shoulders with acacia, maple and hickory, so you really will be spoilt for choice. Add to that, the fact that even within each species, there is a broad range of grades, colours and finishes and again it becomes clear that there really is no such thing as the “best engineered wood flooring” across the board.
Wood is graded into four different categories. They are: prime or AB; select or ABC; natural or ABCD and rustic or CD. Prime grade woods are, generally speaking, the most expensive option and rustic the least expensive. The main differences between the two are the size of the knots, the consistency of the colour and the amount of sap in the wood. The best grade of wood for your project will depend on the look you’re hoping to achieve, as well as your budget.
Finishes on engineered wood flooring range from the highly practical and hard wearing lacquered finishes to brushed, natural oiled finishes. In between you’ll typically find options such as brushed and lacquered, white oiled and unfinished, leaving you plenty of choice. Once more, the best finish for your floor will depend on how much traffic you anticipate in the room you’re planning to re-floor, as well as the overall style you’re hoping to achieve.
Engineered wood flooring not only comes in a wide variety of board widths, it also comes in different thicknesses of board and lamella, or top layer. Making the best choice for you is both a matter of style and practicality. While thicker boards will last longer, if you have under floor heating for example, you need to respect maximum thickness recommendations in order to ensure efficient passage of heat.
Once again, it is reasonable to expect 3-ply to be cheaper than multi-ply, but you need to bear in mind that 3-ply won’t withstand moisture and temperature changes as successfully as a multi-ply board. As well as this, if you have under floor heating, 3-ply is generally not recommended. So once again, there is no single “best” option.
Add to all of these things, the difference in price and the difference in service from different providers as well as delivery delays and you will start to believe that “best” engineered wood flooring truly is a myth. That said, work your way through these choices one by one and do a good amount of research and the best engineered wood flooring for you will soon become apparent.