There’s actually not that much difference between the two. For a long time, people only seemed to think about solid but, more and more, engineered has become the hardwood of choice for floors, especially in the Baton Rouge home, because it stands up to the hot, humid storm-prone Louisiana weather better than the other version.
Myths still abound, however, so Wholesale Flooring & Granite wants to answer these questions once and for all.
This way you can get the best engineered hardwood for your flooring needs.
Yes, it’s real wood
When you buy the engineered version, you can be confident that this is real wood. Only the construction is different, being a layered product which causes the wood fibers to cross each other. That’s what gives it the stability, and the ability to stand up to weather better than some flooring types.
It also has a wider range of installation possibilities because, unlike solid, it won’t warp or expand, and contract when it comes into contact with the weather.
In fact, it is so considered real wood that real estate sales associates are legally allowed to state it as such in their marketing materials, and it adds the same kind of value to your home as solid hardwood.
But buyer beware! Thickness matters here and the best engineered is a ⅜ to ½-inch thick wood. The thickness is what determines the strength, moisture resistance, and the number of times the flooring can be refinished.
So avoid those ultra-cheap, two-for-the-price-of-one-room deals. Something is sure to suffer, and that will most likely be in the thickness.
What about installation?
There are more options of installation methods including: stapling, nailing and fold-and-lock. With a few exceptions, it can be “floating”, that is, put down over something else. (If it’s concrete, be sure it’s very dry first.) Solid is only nailed or stapled, and never, ever, floating.
Feel free to come into the Wholesale Flooring & Granite showroom in Baton Rouge, LA, and we’ll tell you all about it.
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