Solid or Engineered?

[JimmyDick]

We want to put a real wood floor in throughout our recently extended home (approx 100m2). We now have a mix of floorboards and concrete (unlevel). We would prefer solid but would go with engineered if necessary - some people have said we have to have engineered, are they correct?

 

[WoodYouLike]

Wood-engineered is:

• more stable than solid floorboards due to the construction of the boards. They are less prone to seasonal movements due to changes in humidity
  you have more choices nowadays in wood-engineered than solid floorboards due to many manufacturers switching to wood-engineered boards (less hardwood needed and fewer complaints)
  you have more options in installations methods, some solid floorboards should only be installed fully bonded to the underfloor and seeing you have different underfloor types this could give you a headache
  you can have wider widths - again due to the stable construction, less prone to cup

 

[Floormaker]

I would recommend Engineered flooring.

Why? It's simple, solid wood is aesthetically pleasing, yes, but the amount of expansion and contraction it goes under during summer/winter is abysmal .
You can get Engineered flooring which looks just as good (Most of the time even better) it's guaranteed there will be less problems to run into during winter/summer months.
Not just that - engineered wood is cheaper and much easier to lay.
You can get engineered boards that are simply click to click (Like a laminate) and make your whole project 10x easier.
Any more questions please do not hesitate to throw me a PM

Luke

 

[WoodYouLike]

beg to differ on the click being 10x easier. T&G still beats any click system in easiness, specially the last row and around, near obstacles.

As for Wood-engineered looking just as good, of course it does! Top layer is solid, once installed that's all you see: real wood surface

 

[Floormaker]

beg to differ on the click being 10x easier. T&G still beats any click system in easiness, specially the last row and around, near obstacles.

As for Wood-engineered looking just as good, of course it does! Top layer is solid, once installed that's all you see: real wood surface

I would agree that old click Engineered wood can be less convenient than T&G. These days though, it's a simple case of knocking the boards together. No Glue, no nails and certainly no clips. Less cost in materials? Yes. Less time spent laying and fiddling about with glue/nails? Yes.



-Luke

 

[WoodYouLike]

So how do you knock the boards together next to the wall, in between doors, etc etc.

Sorry, but you can't convince me on the easiness of any click system. It's a nice sales talk but that's all it is.

 

[Floormaker]

There are certain tools that help you fit click flooring on the walls and around doorways. For example.

You can see the bar there? It let's you get around tricky instances like you mentioned.

You are not limited to just a saw, the floor fitting industry is constantly getting more and more convenient for DIY novices and experts.

Claiming that Solid Wood Flooring is easier to fit in this instance could also be posed as a sales pitch considering its more expensive than engineered flooring.

Luke

 

[WoodYouLike]

Claiming that Solid Wood Flooring is easier to fit in this instance could also be posed as a sales pitch considering its more expensive than engineered flooring.

Who's talking about Solid Wood Flooring here? Not me.

The tool set you show is indeed aimed at DIY'ers and the bar will definitely not help install the last row when you have a click-system. More chance it will damage the surface of the board.

Sorry Luke, being in the supply and install trade for over 11 years now we've seen it all - and nothing beats the proper T&G, in Solid Wood Flooring and in Wood-Engineered flooring.