Semi Solid or Engineered Tmber Flooring

J

joshea

Registered User
Messages
183
Can some one tell me is there a difference between
Semi-Solid and Engineered Tmber Flooring

Which is best for underfloor heating?

Any experiences shared on both of these would be appreciated
 
suggest u go direct to the timber flooring companies and ask what they recommend and what they guarantee.. have heard many issues with timber flooring on underfloor heating so best to get guarantee. As mate of mine went for solid floor and didnt have an issue
 
Leo said:
Semi-solid and engineered are the same thing.
Leo
Click to expand...

Leo,
This statement is not correct.

I am in the tile & wooden floor business for a while now and will attempt to add to the following explaination (which I believe to be excellent):

Hello.
Your question is excellent .
Engineered can be used to describe any product with more than 1 layer, hence laminate, semi solid and solid engineered are all engineered.

The term solid engineered usually means 15mm of birch plywood [11 layers]with a 5.5mm/6mm wear layer of hardwood.
These are usually sold 6 feet long and 7.5 inches wide.
They are termed solid because they are structural (i.e. if you wanted to install them on joists/battens they will support a humans weight).
They can be floated on underlay, glued down, nailed to plywood or stapled.
A semi solid is 14 or 15 mm in total with an approx wear layer of 3mm.
These are usually of pine construction, 3 layers in total.
These must be installed over a solid superstructure (i.e. plywood or concrete).
They can not be nailed or will not be suitable on joists.

The advantages of solid engineered is a thicker hardwood layer which when sanded in years to come will not "railroad track" because of its plywood base.
Semi solid has a tendency to do this because of its structure.
Engineered are more suitable for underfloor heating as they were specifically designed to take stress of heating/cooling and are generally better timbers than their semi solid cousins.

LAMINATE usually has a syntethic surface laid onto a hdf or mdf base, very few have a hardwood layer.
Almost all engineered flooring is suitable for underfloor heating provided it is a hot pipe system which will not exceed 27 degrees celcius.
Seperate conditions and warranties apply for electric underfloor heating.
When pricing flooring in general the budget floors are usually from the far east in origin.
Flooring which originates in Europe or America will generally be of greater structural integrity, better timber, longer, wider and consequently more expensive.
Click to expand...

I generally agree with everything in this explaination but as it was from last year, items such as thicknesses and widths have become a little more varied.
I by no means believe I know 100% about it all as things change/update so quickly but the general rules of thumb tend to remain constant for the most part.

I'll do my best to answer follow on questions as and when they occur.

Hope this helps in some decision making.:D
 
Last edited:
gocall01 said:
Leo,
This statement is not correct.
Click to expand...

In terms of the wooden flooring that is for sale in this country, what is the difference between that labelled as engineered versus that labelled as semi-solid?
 
Firstly, the thickness of the boards;
- the engineered boards generally range from 18mm to 22mm with 6mm of this being solid wood.
- the semi-solid boards generally range from 12mm to 14mm with 3mm of this being solid wood.

Secondly, the length of the boards;
- the engineered boards can generally range from 400mm to 2200mm in length providing a mixture of lengths when laid.
- the semi-solid boards generally are all the same lengths which doesn't allow for a mixture when laid.
(How this looks is of course all down to personal choice).

Also, board widths are generally wider in the engineered range.

The main difference between the two is the strength of board.
This strength is achieved in the engineered/multiply boards by the 12mm to 15mm of quality plywood made up of up to 20 layers bonded to each other and in turn bonded to the solid wood top layer.
My understand is that the solid board wants to expand in a width-ways direction which can cause cupping, crowning and creaking.
The next 6/7 layers (of plywood) run parallel to the solid wood grain.
The next 6/7 layers then run perpendicular to this with the final 6/7 layers running with the grain again.

The semi-solid product generally either consists of 3 layers all running with the grain or just conpressed chipboard.

You will pay more for the engineered board but as usual you get what you pay for in life (supposely!!!)

That's all for now folks.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top