Engineered Wood Floor and Solid Wood Floor. Which is Better?

Recently, we have been asked on the difference between engineered wood flooring and solid wood by local home designers and architects. As solid wood flooring is a whole chunk of wood while engineered wood floor comes in layered format, does it mean that solid wood floor is better than a good quality engineered wood plank? Well the opposite may stay true strongly. 

Here are the difference. 

1. Finishing

Engineered wood flooring is prefinished with more than 5 layers of UV coating while solid wood flooring is to be finished on site normally with 2 layers of non UV or UV coating. As engineered wood is prefinished at the manufacturer's factory, the sheen levels are more uniform than solid wood due to high quality control at the manufacturer's side. The prefinished nature of engineered wood therefore making it precision finished with tight tolerances as well as making it ready to us.

2) Installation

Engineered wood flooring is faster and easier to use than solid wood flooring. This is because solid wood floor requires a longer time to install in order to set aside for acclimatization and professional work. Therefore engineered wood floor is highly suitable for projects especially those that required a tight schedule to complete. Site delivery is very important to designers and contractors today, as any delay in the job may result in monetary fine for the contractor. Hence, engineered wood flooring solves the issue of delivery.  

3) Raw Material Source

Good quality engineered wood flooring brands such as BKB sourced their raw materials from sustainable resources that is audited by forestry organizations such as the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC). On top of that, a square feet worth of solid wood timber can actually be made into at least 4 times of engineered wood plank. Hence, this make engineered wood flooring a recommended green product among today's architect and designers.

4) Stability and Reliability

Due to the structural integrity of a good quality engineered wood flooring, compare to solid wood, engineered wood has relatively slower for moisture migration with minimal expansion. Hence, engineered wood has much less occurrence such as cupping or warping as compare to solid wood when it comes to uneven moisture conditions.

In summary,

both engineered wood flooring and solid timber floor are high end real wood products today. However, in terms of usability, long term cost effectiveness and Eco-friendliness, a good quality engineered wood floor would stand at a better advantage than a full solid wood.