Thursday 4 April 2013

The Advantages of Engineered Flooring

While remodeling your home, you may prefer Hardwood Flooring as it lends a rich look to your house. However, solid hardwood floor is too cumbersome to be installed; hence you would need to hire people to do that for you. On the other hand, laminate flooring looks a lot like real wood and pretty easy to install as well as simple to maintain.

Engineered Timber Flooring can also be called real wood, as it actually consists of a layer of finished wood on the top combined with a layer of unfinished plywood beneath. So, in effect, it is actually 100% genuine wood. Having the layer of plywood underneath has its advantages as it provides additional strength to the flooring.

For all types of solid hardwood, there is an equivalent type of Engineered Timber Flooring. Some of them include hickory, that lends your house an eternal feel, oak which always looks good, bamboo which is cost-efficient and eco-friendly, and maple which has an elegant touch.

Another fact about Engineered Flooring is that it is pre-finished, essentially the top layer which is sealed, so that means that you can walk on the floor as soon as it has been laid. On the other hand, unfinished solid hardwood needs to be sealed with adhesives, which require time to dry up and it may be a while before they can be used.

Another advantage of Engineered Flooring as opposed to laminate flooring is that engineered wood can be refinished by sanding, if scratches develop. However, be careful not to do the sanding more than twice or three times, as otherwise it may lose its sheen. Also, while sanding, it is rather easy to dent the engineered wooden layer, hence it is better to call in a professional who knows the job.

Engineered Timber Flooring can also be used in areas prone to moisture, such as kitchens, bathrooms or basements. However, it may not lend itself well to areas that are frequently flooded such as lower basements or children’s bathrooms where a lot of water may be spilled around. For such areas, it is better not to opt for any wooden flooring, but stick to tiles, concrete or non-organic products.

Unlike solid wood, which needs to be nailed to or glued to an underlying wooden sub-floor, engineered wood can be installed in a different number of ways. Depending on the type and thickness of the wood you opt for, engineered wooden flooring can be nailed down or glued down to the underlying substrate, or be simply used as a floating floor, which means that the wooden planks need not be attached to the underlying sub floor.

All said and done, Engineered Flooring is value for money. Although it can be more expensive than laminate flooring, yet it has a better value in the long-run, and is easy to install as well as maintain, because it can be sanded from time to time to revive the grainy wood effect and also to remove scratches.

To know more about Timber Flooring and to gain some insightful knowledge on Engineered Timber Flooring then please Check This Out

This content has been taken from http://victoriandesignerfloors.wordpress.com/2013/04/04/the-advantages-of-engineered-flooring/

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