Many people starting a remodel want hardwood flooring in their homes, but solid, traditional hardwood floors come with a few real downsides.  For instance, hardwood is hard to install by yourself, and a contractor to do it can be costly.  Plus, they can be touchy about moisture.  Laminate flooring is a popular choice - it looks like real wood - but there’s not much in the way of wood in this product.  That’s where engineered wood flooring comes in.

This compromise between the convenience of laminate and the quality and real wood of a solid hardwood floor has been getting a lot more popular, and for good reason.  It’s real wood - non-finish plywood on the bottom and a sixteenth to an eighth of an inch of high grade finish wood.  Laminate, by contrast, is chip board composite underneath and melamine inflused paper on top.

Unlike traditional solid wood floors, engineered wood flooring is prefinished on the top layer.  The wooden surface has been sealed and sanded already, so you can walk on it as soon as you’ve laid it.  Unfinished hardwood needs sanding and sealing, which can produce dust, fumes, and a lot of inconvenience.

Laminate can never be refinished.  Unlike solid hardwood and engineered hardwood flooring, laminate flooring must be replaced when it’s damaged.  Engineered hardwood, since there’s real wood on top, can be sanded and refinished a number of times if dings and scratches show up.  You have fewer sandings available than with traditional hardwood, and it’s helpful to know what you’re doing or have a professional do it, but engineered hardwood can be refinished.

Engineered flooring is also excellent for areas where light moisture might be a real problem for solid hardwood.  Basements, bathrooms, and similar areas can now be floored with wood.  Of course, rooms that floor frequently or are very moist aren’t suitable, but engineered wood flooring is the most stable wood when it comes to dealing with moisture.

You have a number of different installation options, depending on the kind of flooring you buy.  Solid wood must be nailed to the wooden subfloor.  Engineered wood flooring can be nailed down - these are 3/8″ thick, and the nailing gives the planks stability.  It can also be glued down, in the case of a 1/2″ thick floor, or floated in the case of 5/8″ planks.  That allows you to decide which option is best for you.

Engineered hardwood flooring has a number of advantages that have boosted its popularity, and make it a great choice for many homeowners.  If you’ve always wanted wood floors, but haven’t been willing to put up with the expense and inconvenience of solid wood, engineered flooring might be the perfect compromise.