Hardwood Flooring

Consumers confront many choices for flooring materials. But industry experts and consumers agree that hardwood flooring is still one of the most attractive options. Just look over real estate listings and you’ll find hardwood flooring listed as one of the most sought after features of a home.

Why is that? Because hardwood flooring adds value to a home compared to vinyl, laminate flooring, or even carpeting. Anyone visiting a century-old home may find an original hardwood floor still going strong. That’s because solid wood flooring can be restored multiple times throughout its useful life. Are today’s engineered hardwoods any better?

Better Living Through Engineering

Engineered hardwood flooring is made with a hardwood veneer on the surface and softer wood underneath. The top layer can usually be refinished one to three times depending on the thickness of the veneer layer. That is not as often as solid hardwoods, but the truth is engineered hardwood flooring doesn’t need to be sanded as often. Why? Because the quality and durability of the finishes are so much better now that refinishing is not required as often. These improvements in the finishes have enabled manufacturers to offer residential warranties of 25 to 30 years or more. As a consequence, homeowners may never even need to refinish their floors.

Over the last decade, engineered hardwood flooring has outpaced solid wood flooring and has become the hardwood flooring of choice. Below are some of the reasons why.

• They come prefinished and ready to install without as much sub-floor preparation
• There is much less waste because the planks are factory finished to perfection
• They are designed to be very stable in all climates and elevations
• They install more quickly and easily and are often ideal for DIY
• They can be installed over most other types of flooring
• They efficiently utilize hardwood on the surface layer only, reducing the number of hardwood trees to cut
• They can be made without formaldehyde or other hazardous chemicals
• They have state-of-the-art finishes with long warranties
• They are sustainably harvested with responsible forestry practices