Arguably one of the most mis-understood flooring options available today, engineered wood flooring is also probably one of the most popular and most flexible solutions you can choose for your home. So why is engineered wood flooring mis-understood and what makes it so popular?
First and foremost it’s mis-understood because people have a tendency to confuse it with the likes of laminate flooring, which couldn’t be further from the truth. Engineered wood flooring is a man-made product, but it is made from natural ingredients, using a method that has been developed to create a highly stable and durable product. Made up of layers of ply, topped with a solid wood lamella or top layer, engineered wood flooring is highly resistant to expansion and contraction, even when exposed to pretty extreme fluctuations in temperature and moisture.
Second, because of it’s resistance to moisture and temperature rises and falls, engineered wood flooring can be fitted in rooms where solid wood flooring wouldn’t normally be recommended eg. bathrooms, kitchens and rooms where you have under floor heating. What this means is that engineered wood flooring can be used throughout the home, making it one of the most flexible flooring products on the market.
When people first get introduced to engineered wood flooring, they worry that it will be much less resilient than solid wood because, rather than being made of solid oak throughout, it is simply topped off with solid oak. When you buy engineered wood flooring, you’ll see a figure in the dimensions that are expressed like this: 14/3, 18/5 or 20/6. The first of these figures tells you the overall thickness of the flooring board and the second tells you the thickness of the top layer or lamella, which is made of solid oak (you’ll see other species, but oak is the most common). This is the wear layer, the layer that is made of solid oak.
Why is it called the wear layer? It’s called the wear layer, because it is this top layer that will gradually get worn away with time from the passage of feet and the movement of furniture etc as well as being the layer that will deliberately get removed (in part) should you decide to re-sand and re-finish your floor. When it comes to day-to-day wear and tear, there are a few things you can do to keep wear to a minimum. Typically, you should think about investing in a couple of good quality doormats, one to place outside and one to place inside. Much of the harsh wear that your engineered flooring suffers on a day-to-day basis comes from outdoors. By placing a scouring doormat outside, the worst of the outdoor dirt that will eat away at your floor’s surface will be removed. Thereafter, by putting (and encouraging the use of) a soft, absorbent doormat indoors, you’ll be able to remove grit and grime as well as moisture, giving your floor the best possible chance of lasting as long as possible.
When it comes to deliberate erosion of the wear layer of your floor, how often you sand will be what determines your floor’s lifespan. To put this into context, if you imagine a solid wood flooring board that is 2cm thick, with a tongue and groove construction. This type of board will have a wear layer of around 8mm. What this means is that somewhere around 5mm of it’s surface can be removed in its lifetime through sanding without risking exposing the tongue and groove structure or causing the floor to significantly weaken. In real terms this represents anywhere between 5 and 7 professional sandings where no more, and in some cases substantially less than one millimeter of floor is being removed with each sanding.
As you can imagine, with an engineered wood floor, if you removed anything like 5mm, in most cases, you’d be down to the man-made core board. So, when you buy your flooring, unless you have under floor heating (or another good reason not to), choosing a thicker lamella or top layer will give your floor a longer life, due to more opportunities for sanding. The wear layer being the top layer, if it is 3mm thick, you should really only expect to sand it once or maybe twice, but if it is 6mm thick, you’ll probably get away with 5 or so professional sandings in its lifetime. What this means is that you can expect your floor to stay looking good for even longer.
When it comes to choosing the right thickness of wear layer for your particular needs, you need to consider three main things:
- The footfall in your home.
- Whether or not you have under floor heating.
- Your budget.
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FAQ
What is engineered wood flooring?
Engineered wood flooring is a man-made product made up of layers of ply, topped with a solid wood lamella or top layer. Engineered wood flooring is highly resistant to expansion and contraction, even when exposed to fluctuations in temperature and moisture.
How is engineered wood flooring different from laminate flooring?
Engineered wood flooring differs from laminate flooring in that it’s made from natural ingredients. It is a highly stable and durable product, made up of layers of ply, topped with a solid wood lamella or top layer. On the other hand, laminate flooring is typically made from synthetic materials, usually with a photographic applique layer under a clear protective layer.
Can engineered wood flooring be fitted in rooms where solid wood flooring isn’t recommended?
Yes, due to its resistance to moisture and temperature fluctuations, engineered wood flooring can be fitted in rooms where solid wood flooring wouldn’t be recommended, such as bathrooms, kitchens, and rooms with underfloor heating.
What is the “wear layer” on engineered wood flooring?
The “wear layer” refers to the top layer of the engineered wood flooring that is made of solid oak. It’s called the wear layer because this is the part of the flooring that gets worn away over time from foot traffic, furniture movement, etc., and is the layer that gets removed if you decide to re-sand and refinish your floor.
How can the lifespan of the engineered wood flooring be extended?
The lifespan of engineered wood flooring can be extended by minimizing the day-to-day wear and tear with the use of good quality doormats to remove dirt and moisture. Furthermore, the thickness of the top layer or lamella will also determine the lifespan of the floor; a thicker lamella will provide more opportunities for sanding, extending the floor’s lifespan.