Answering this question in a way that answers every possible scenario is nigh on impossible; it’s a bit like that old adage, how long is a piece of string?! However, if you’ve decided that engineered wood flooring is the way ahead for your project, we can certainly help you work out what affects the price and what the final cost is likely to be made up of.
If you’re shopping around for engineered wood flooring right now, you’re highly likely to be pretty much astounded at the difference in prices that you can find, both online and off. In this article, we’ll demystify the pricing policy surrounding engineered flooring as well as giving you a checklist of things you should include when calculating your overall estimate. Hopefully the information we give you will help you decipher what you get for your money and what you mustn’t forget when setting your budget.
Here are the main things that influence the price of engineered wood flooring:
Thickness
Although like all things in life, there are exceptions, generally speaking, the thicker your engineered wood flooring board, the higher the price. The overall thickness of an engineered board will be expressed like this: 14/3, 15/4, 18/5 and so on. While a thicker overall board doesn’t always mean a higher price tag, it’s reasonable to assume that as the board itself and the lamella or top layer get thicker, the price is likely to rise.
Board width
Broad board engineered wood flooring is really popular right now and has a tendency to be more expensive than narrow boards. The reason for this is twofold. First, a broad core board needs to be even more stable than a narrow one in order to avoid damage through wear and tear and secondly, producing the wider, solid wood top layer calls for a broader plank, which comes from a thicker tree, which takes longer to grow. It’s quite simple really.
Species
The species of top layer you choose will also affect the price of your engineered wood flooring. Oak is one of the commonest top layers and is arguably the most affordable. When you get into more exotic or more rare lamellae, you should expect the price tag to rise, reflecting the rareness of what you’ve chosen.
Grade
When wood is lumbered it’s graded according to how it looks. There are four grades of wood: prime, select, natural and rustic. Prime grade wood has very few, small knots, a highly regular colouration and a low sap content. Rustic grade, at the other end of the scale, normally sports big knots that are visible throughout the wood as well as inconsistent colour and quite a bit of sap. Not surprisingly the higher up the grade ladder you go, the higher the price of the flooring.
Finish
Engineered flooring comes in a whole host of finish options from a simple, unfinished solution right up to highly processed finishes. Not surprisingly, an unfinished option will be considerably cheaper than an option that has been hand finished to create an artisanal product.
Things to bear in mind when you’re working out the final price of your engineered wood flooring:
The size of your room
Engineered wood flooring is normally priced according to how much floor it will cover and comes in packs that are labeled with how many m2 it will make up. The only way to determine the (pretty accurate) price of your flooring is to work out the exact size of your room and multiply it by the number of packs you’ll need. At Wood and Beyond, we have a calculator on our site to help you as well as an article, that you’ll find here explaining how to work out the area of your room. Clearly, the bigger your room, the bigger the total bill.
Delivery costs
No matter whether you buy on the High Street or online, there’s no getting away from the fact that a wood floor is a big item and can’t be sent using a first class stamp! Delivery costs vary significantly from supplier to supplier and this well worth bearing in mind when estimating your overall cost. At Wood and Beyond we’ve worked our socks off to keep our delivery costs to a minimum without compromising on quality of service. You can find our delivery costs here.
Underlay
Depending on your fitting method and sub-floor, you’re likely to need to invest in an underlay to go with your engineered flooring. Which underlay you choose will depend on your personal circumstances and prices vary according to the purpose and quality of the underlay, but again it’s important not to forget this element in your calculations. You’ll find a guide on how to choose a suitable underlay.
Fitting
The final thing that’ll affect the overall price of your floor is the fitting. Irrespective of whether you choose the DIY option or plump to bring in the pros, there’ll be costs involved. It’s important not to underestimate this part of your project and work on real and achievable costings and don’t forget any accessories you might need for finishing your floor.
So how much is engineered wood flooring?
True to the time of writing this guide, engineered wood flooring from Wood and Beyond start at just £20.60m2. Price depends on the various considerations mentioned in this guide.