What is Engineered Wood Flooring?
Quick introduction to the engineered wood plank and blocks
Despite the fact that engineered flooring is made from various layers it remains real wood flooring. For many who will hear the term for the very first time, it sounds artificial and nothing close to a natural wood product. But it is in fact a timber planks, just designed in a way that makes it less sensitive to humidity.
Timber is affected by warmth, dryness, moisture - they affect it in various ways - it expands and shrinks and this can cause problems to fitted wooden floors. It has always been like this and to resolve the problem floor fitters will make sure new floors are well bonded to the subfloor using nails, adhesives, etc.
Engineered flooring has resolved this problem by combining 2 or more layers of solid timber together, covered with a protective finish. A careful selection of raw materials and a tightly controlled manufacturing process guarantee optimum stability and durability.
Depending on the parquet floor you choose, this finishing layer may consist of:
Surface Finish
Lacquer - up 7 layers of UV-cured lacquer, which make your floor easy to clean and provide protection against wear, scratches and stains.
Oil - two layers of quality oil which ensure graceful aging as well as an extra matt and natural look.
Top layer: selected based on the lifespan / guarantee of the plank the solid wood layer can be between 3 mm and 6 mm. The 3 mm products are available in a vast array of colours and finishes, there is less variety in 4 and 6 mm products.
Core layer - the core can consists of spruce, hevea or HDF and makes your floor stable and durable.
Veneer backing - this layer is optional with thicker products, typical for those with 3 mm top layer. Comprise of spruce or pine, which – in combination with the other layers – prevents the floor from cupping or warping.
Plank Standards Engineered Floring
14 mm flooring will usually have a 3 mm top layer and offer widths of 120 mm to extra wide planks of 240 mm
18 mm flooring will usually have a 4 ro 5 mm top layer and is usually narrow plank of up to 150 mm
20 mm flooring will usually have a 6 mm top layer and have widths of 180 mm to 240 mm.
Engineered Parquet
What about those who want to have parquet flooring and underfloor heating? Yes, they are covered with our parquet floor fitting service with unfinished and factory prefinished herringbone engineered products. These products are available in 2 options - smaller blocks, which go with glue-down installation and fixed planks (approx. 1 meter), which can be laid as floating with underlay.
The engineered flooring like any other real wood flooring is available in Prime, Natural and Rustic grades.
