The benefits and uses of engineered wood flooring.

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Benefits and uses of engineered wood flooring

Engineered floors are becoming more popular due to their stability and adaptability in both commercial and residential projects.

Engineered floors are made from a top layer of real wood (ie oak, walnut) which can vary in thickness between 1mm – 8mm. The thicker the top layer, the longer lasting the boards as they can be sanded down more times.
The base of the engineered boards are made from either cross birch ply or from a birch blockboard. The base is structured so it runs at right angles to the top layer of hardwood therefore eliminating a lot of the movement found in solid hardwood.
There are different types of engineered wood floors ranging from two ply (one layer of real wood and one layer of ply, three ply (one layer of hardwood on top then two layers of ply laid at opposite directions to multi layer – one layer of real wood on top and then numerous layers of ply laid at opposite directions underneath. The more layers the more sturdy the floor.

Engineered boards made with a multi ply backing and which are 18mm thick in total or more are also classed as structural boards – this means they can be used directly onto joists or battens and so keeping the height of the finished flooring lower.

Due to the nature of real wood such as oak it is a living and breathing product. It will expand and contract depending on its environment.
When solid timber floors are laid, there is more movement between each board and too many environmental changes can lead to problems with cupping and warping.

Due to the structure of the engineered boards the timber cannot move as much as they have been glued onto timber which is laid at 90 degrees to it. As the oak tries to expand, the ply beneath it stops it from widening therefore eliminating the movement.

The engineered floor boards have been favourites for use with under floor heating. Due to the regularly changing temperatures of the under floor heating the solid boards are not recommended as it can cause them to either dry out too much or expand and contract so many times that they start to split and warp. The engineered boards do not have this problem and are therefore perfect for under floor heating.

Due to the stability in engineered floors they are more popular in commercial applications which have a high amount of traffic and spillages such as restaurants and public thoroughfares.

Engineered parquet is now available and the exquisite look of a hand crafted floor can be achieved simply by gluing the panels together rather than having the floor individually laid – it makes the process of having a parquet floor a lot quicker and cheaper.

There are now a number of click fit floors which are also simple to fit – these boards simply click into place just like the laminate style click system. These boards are a firm favourite for DIYers.

The installation methods for engineered floors make it a lot simpler to lay than solid floors. The easiest method and the one chosen by most DIYers is the floating method – the flooring is glued along the tongue and groove and laid over an underlay to stop any excess noise and echoing.
Another method of floating is by using an adhesive underlay such as envoy multi or the acoustalay 300. The underlay comes with one sticky side which is laid face up for the floor to be laid to the sticky side. By doing this the whole base of the floor is stuck down to the underlay and ensures a good base for the boards.
When the engineered flooring is 18mm thick or more, the boards can be laid onto joists or battens and nailed down. The best method for this is to secret nail the boards down using either a flooring nailer or a pneumatic nailer. The nails are fitted into the tongue at a 45 degree angle and are hidden from view of the surface of the boards. It can also be drilled and nailed if nailing by hand, or screwed into place.

The floor can also be glued down directly to the subfloor using a flooring adhesive. The adhesive is applied using a trowel to ensure full and even coverage and the floor sticks down directly to this.

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