In discussions about laminated vs engineered floor some might like to put engineered hardwood in the laminate flooring category. Some might suggest engineered is just an inferior version of solid strip hardwood flooring. But in reality it is neither. In fact, the original engineered hardwood floor was a sophisticated answer for difficult installation environments, environments where solid wood could not be used.
It was designed for the wood snob, those that enjoyed fine wine and had an Audi parked in the driveway, clients that owned high rise condominiums in exotic locations. They decorated with silk Venetian blinds, and cultured marble fixtures. For their floors they were looking for real wood with all its subtleties of colour and richness of grain. These clients wanted the Real Thing but couldn’t install it!
Suggesting a laminate floor for them, was like saying all wine is “fine” and all cars are a Lamborghini! Laminate flooring is made by taking a picture of a real wood and reproducing it photographically on the surface of plywood. It offers some great features (and some poor ones) but it’s not the real thing, any more that U-brew can equate to a find bottle of Australian Shiraz.
So engineered hardwood flooring came to be! Wood techies took a slice of real wood, whether that be a traditional American red oak or an exotic wood like Brazilian cherry and found a way to adhere it to a wood underlay. But why would you bother? Why couldn’t these clients just use regular strip hardwood flooring?
The answer is easy. Condominium dwellers have cement floors, likewise for those sophisticated builders that install in-floor heating systems on poured cement foundations. Standard Strip flooring cannot be nailed over a cement slab. Engineered floors offered a solution. They are designed for glue down or floating applications so that clients get a real wood floor with a design that fits their installation needs.
Now that’s not all that is great about engineered hardwood flooring. Its greater dimensional stability also allows it to be installed in a basement, or adjoining sun rooms. It is the perfect answer for decorative borders. It offers wide plank options that would not be wise in environments where the humidity is in constant flux.
So sure you can put in laminate flooring but that’s not the real thing! Engineered hardwood flooring is a solution that allows you to install real wood in areas where solid strip hardwood is not suitable. So in a comparison of laminated vs engineered floor, these are two different products like buying ceramic tile versus real marble slabs. Your choice!
Having said all that, the actual construction of an engineered floor can be flawed or fantastic, just depending on who and where it was made. It is critically important to know what to look for.
Some of the more recent entries into the engineered flooring market have been made with an eye to saving money and not with the original intend to produce a superior dimensionally stable product. Do your homework and find out everything there is to know about engineered wood flooring
