Solid Hardwood Flooring vs. Engineered Wood Flooring

Hardwood floors are a great investment for your home. Not only do they add to the look and value of your home, but they are also affordable, durable, and versatile. There are many decisions that go into installing a hardwood floor, and one includes whether you should install solid hardwood flooring or engineered wood flooring in your home.

While both solid hardwood flooring and engineered wood flooring will add to the value of your home, which floor you choose will depend on a number of factors—including where you want to install your hardwood floors and what kind of subfloor you have in your home.

Installing Engineered Wood Flooring

Engineered wood flooring is made up of wood pieces that each consist of 3-12 thin layers of wood. Each wood layer is placed in a different direction and is bonded together using heat and pressure to create a very strong and durable piece of wood, preventing the wood floor from warping in high moisture and high humidity environments.

Known for their durability, engineered wood floors can be installed anywhere in your home, including basements. Additionally, some engineered floors can be sanded and refinished—extending the life of your wood floors.

Installing Solid Hardwood Flooring

Solid hardwood flooring consists of single slabs of wood, as opposed to engineered wood flooring, which is made up of wood pieces that each consist of 3-12 thin layers of wood. Typically 3/4 in. thick, solid wood flooring can be sanded and refinished many times—extending the life of your hardwood floors and making them a great investment for your home.

Because it consists of a single slab of wood, solid wood flooring will expand and contract when the humidity changes in your home. This can make your floor more likely to shrink, expand, or warp. When you have solid hardwood flooring installed, it’s important to leave expansion gaps for when the humidity changes.

Unfortunately, solid hardwood flooring cannot be installed on top of a concrete subfloor. Therefore, solid hardwood flooring is not ideal for basements, sunken living rooms, or other below grade rooms.

DC Hardwood Floor Companies

If you’re ready to improve the look of your home with solid hardwood flooring or engineered wood flooring and are looking for DC hardwood floor companies, contact Elegant Floor Service today and we’ll walk you through the wood floor selection process. Not only will we help you choose the best type of wood flooring to install in your space, but we’ll walk you through the entire wood floor installation process. Customers throughout Washington, D.C. have come to rely on Elegant Floor Service for all their wood floor installation needs. Many of our first-time wood floor installation customers become life-long wood floor clients – call today and find out why we’re one of the top DC hardwood floor companies!

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