Solid, semi solid or engineered wood floors

C

cake

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I need some information on the different type of wooden floors.

Is an engineered wood floor the same as semi solid?

What are the principal differences between solid, semi and engineered?

Where are the best prices available - we are most likely going to go for an oak finish. Cheapest price I've seen so far is €25/sq yd from Bearfoot for engineered oak. How much more expensive for standard quality solid oak?

Thanks

Cake
 
Hi Cake,
Solid wood flooring speaks for itself really. It has to be laid and then finished when it is down, but the advantage is you can sand it and revarnish it as many times as you want.
Semi solid flooring allows you to resand and varnish but there is a limit to this.
Engineered flooring is solid wood but it is finished before it is laid so that you can walk on it immediatley. It can also be resanded and finished.

There is a great product on the market called Quick Step, which I have used. It is a laminate but it is completely scratch resistant and looks like real wood.

Good Luck.
 
Thanks for your replies. My preference is to use solid wood or real wood. I understand that one of the reasons for engineered wood for doors is so that they do not warp, but think is probably less likely to happen with floors unless you get a leak (we are planning a wooden floor in the kitchen, but will probably have the current deal floor under kitchen units, sink, washing machine, etc.).

Is there much of a difference between engineered and semi solid - I have looked at both and they seem to have a layer of oak, for example, on top of plywood or something similar.

Cost is also a factor for us.
 
cake, engineered flooring is not solid wood. Like engineered doors, it consists of layers of material glued and compressed at angles to avoid warping. The top (wearing) layer is usually a veneer of hard-wood, which can sometimes be re-sanded and finished once (depending on damage / wear). So semi-solid and engineered are pretty much the same thing.

Your observation "they seem to have a layer of oak, for example, on top of plywood or something similar" is accurate.

The difficulty with engineered / semi-solid / laminate flooring getting wet is not just that the boards swell like solid wood, but that they begin to de-laminate and disintegrate. Unless you use a product like the Quick Step mentioned above, it is usually impossible to replace a single board in the middle of an engineered / semi-solid / laminate floor if this happens.
 
We wanted a wide board for our house and were advised to get an engineered board as we were told it was more stable i.e. less likely to warp.

Was this advise correct?
 
Hi just re read your post ,an engineered board is less likely to warp on wide boards.And it is recommended with underfloor heating
 
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