'Engineered' wooden floors

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tallpaul

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Looking for some advice please.

We want to get a wooden floor put down in our hallway. We went to a place recently that sold engineered floors which consist of a plywood base with 3-6mm of whatever wood (walnut, american oak etc.) on top. Does anyone have experience of this type of floor and as to how hard wearing it is?? Is this essentially 'semi-solid' wooden flooring?

I'm thinking for the price that we could get solid wood but I'm concerned about the durability of this.

Sorry but I'm looking into a field on this...
 
The wearing for both solid and enginerred is the same. They are both timber on top or solid through. They will both scratch and mark the same.
The 6mm veneer is the same wear layer as a solid floor as you can not sand past the tongue on a solid floor anyway. The 3mm veneer will also last you a life time, how often do you plan sanding the floor once ever 8 to 10 year at most. The only difference is the feel under foot, the solid or 20/6 enginerred will feel more solid while the 15/3 will has a more soft bounce feel.
Fitters will always recommened enginerred because it is alot easier to fit, but you can pick up solid floors cheaper that the enginerred.
What ever you do, put down ehat you like as it will be down for a long time.
 
I have been told that if you have UFH that engineered is best because its less likely to warp I am currently looking at floors I found the hardwood floor company were good to talk to I have no connection with them
 
We've just down engineered solid oak flooring all throughout the downstairs of our house, it's just as hard wearing if not more than the solid version. Main difference being this didn't have to go down on batons but could be floated instead which I find makes the floor a little quieter underfoot.
 
Both solid and enginerred can be used with UFH, and both can wrap if the fitter does not check for mositure first.
You do not have to put down battons for solid floors, they can be floated or stuck directly to the concrete floor.
Try Irwin's 0429740278 they helped me out alot when I was looking for flooring.
 
We put both engineered (6mm) and semi-solid (4mm) in and have found them both equally hardwearing. The main difference is that the engineered is good for underfloor heating. If you don't have that, then why not just go with the semi-solid? It's far cheaper and you will be able to sand it down once (if it's 4mm) which with oak you should only need to do within 20-30 years.
 
We were advised to put down engineered boards on our floor as we wanted wide boards, the carpenter putting them down advised that engineered boards were more stable and less likely to buckle or warp.

Ruam
 
I am a flooring contractor, hopefuly you find the following information helpful.

Engineered boards are by far the best for stability when it comes to UFH or installing in a newly built property.
The probem you usually get with a newly built property is the moisture levels in the property are to high in the concrete floor and concrete has a very slow drying time, engineered boards can usually be installed on a concrete floor with moisture levels of up to 6%. Solid floors need the levels to be less than 4%.

Semi solid floors (3-4mm top layer on a 2 ply softwood backing) are about the same as a solid floor when it comes to moisture levels but specifications vary a lot from different manufacturers so you will need to check. They are usually cheaper but to often give problems with expansion especially with the very cheap ones.

Solid floors should never be installed as a floating floor, if anyone advises you differently do not use them (I can show some real disasters people have had from doing this). Solid floors can be installed over under floor heating but it will be a lot more expensive because there is a lot of preparation to be done first. If you are installing a solid floor over under floor heating make sure your contractor will give a written guarentee and get a VAT receipt off him as proof he did the job before you make the final payment.
The best way for installing a solid wood floor is to sheet the room out in 15mm plywood and nail/staple the floor to the plywood. The reason for this is if you get any damage in the future (ie. leaking radiator pipe or water coming down from bathroom upstairs) it is very easy to replace a small section of the floor with minimal disruption to your house. Also it will be much quieter under foot.
You can also bond it directly to the concrete but make sure the concrete is sealed first with a suitable primer and a flexable adhesive is used. Good manufacturers of these products are Sika, F. Ball and Bona Kemi, we use these products all the time and never get problems.

With any flooring installation your fitter should check the moisture levels of the Sub-floor the floor being fitted and the relative humidity levels of the room where it is being installed. You should always ask for a VAT receipt as proof the job was done and a written guarentee. The fitter should give you details of what is included in the price - The floor itself, cutting doors, new skirtings/scotia, underlay/glue/plywood, door trims/reducers, all labour for the job, VAT, taking away the rubbish, all of this is very important as I hear about people being ripped off by someone sounding like they had got the cheapest price but when all the extras were added on it worked out a lot more expensive and the home owner was left with a pile of rubbish to deal with
 
That's a very comprehensive post above. I'll only add that I put engineered boards (walnut) in my house last year and I'm really happy with them. Fitted easily too. And, yes, they do scratch just like solid floors as I have found out repeatedly!
 
Hello, it's very helpful to read the advice above. I am buying an engineered floor at the moment to go over UFG. I am wondering if any of you above, when you bought your wood, went with varnished or brushed and lacquered and which would you recommend (i.e. which is more longlasting, easier to maintain, will scratch less, will take spills better, etc.etc.) Thanks very much.:confused:
 
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