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What is engineered wood flooring?

Engineered wood flooring is a type of wood flooring comprised of layers of timber bonded under high pressure to form a plank/board, thus 'engineered'. Timber is a hygroscopic material meaning that it absorbs and expunges moisture from humidity in the surrounding atmosphere. When timber absorbs moisture typically in the summer months) the plank will expand and then will shrink again when there is little moisture in the air (typically in the winter when central heating is turned on and removes moisture). By bonding layers of timber together the plank is more dimensionally stable.

The diagram below illustrates an engineered wood floor:

1. Hardwood wear layer on top
2. Counterbalance timber on bottom
3. Tongue and Groove 4 Sides
4. Central support layer

Why use engineered wood flooring?

An engineered wood floor can be used with an acoustic underlay - A solid wood floor needs to be bonded to a subfloor (either by secret nailing, face fixing or gluing). In some situations it is not possible to bond the floor to the subfloor, for instance if an acoustic layer needs to be installed between the wood floor and the subfloor. Thus an engineered wood floor is ideal as the wood floor can be 'floated' on top of the acoustic layer (there are some underlay's that use a combination of underlay and adhesives which enable bonding a solid wood floor yet still offering acoustic protection). The wider the plank the more dimensionally unstable the floor is, thus an engineered plank can be much wider than a solid plank.

Different types of engineered wood floor?

• 2 or 3 Strip plank floors are when each plank is made up of strips of timber in 2 or 3 rows on each plank
• Full Plank floors are when a single piece of timber is used on the top layer
• Click system boards is a patented technology that requires no glue when installing the floors
• Tong and groove engineered boards require the tongue and grove to be glued if floating the flooring
• 2 layer boards or 2 ply boards are when the top layer (typically 4 - 6mm) is bonded to 10 - 15mm birch plywood
• 3 Layer boards are when the boards are when there are 3 distinct layers of timber
• 3 layer with either top and bottom layer in same timber. This is the highest quality because by using the same timber on the bottom layer provides an equal counter balance to the top layer.
• 3 layers same timber - as above but using the same timber throughout. Typically this is reserved for using extremely wide boards over 250mm wide.
• Structural engineered boards are those that can be installed directly to joists or battens to provide a structural floor. these boards are typically 20mm thick.

The diagram below illustrates a 3 strip click system floor:

How much does it cost?

2 or 3 strip boards are the cheapest type of flooring as there is minimal waste from cutting the timber. Full plank boards are tend same price as a solid board or more expensive due to the additional manufacturing required to make each board.

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