Engineered wood flooring – a guide

If you want to find out why engineered wood flooring is a better choice than solid wood flooring, then the best person to ask is a carpenter. And that’s exactly what I did back in 2012 when I was looking for ideas on wooden flooring for my own home. Luckily I didn’t have to search too much as my brother-in-law is a talented carpenter and has worked on some of the most stunning properties over the past 15 years. Mark advised me to go with engineered wood flooring over solid wood flooring for one main reason; it won’t move.

gohaus flooring

Solid wood is unpredictable as it’s a living product and it still ‘breathes’ after it’s cut and laid as a floor. Solid wood will absorb moisture in the air and expand which can lead to it warping. Solid wood floor can also shrink which will leave gaps between the planks. If you’re adamant about using hard wood flooring, Mark’s top tip is to unpack the planks and leave them spread out in the space where it’ll be laid for a minimum of three weeks to allow it to acclimatise. This will reduce the likelihood that the wood will move, but it won’t guarantee non-movement.

gohaus engineered wood flooring

Engineered wood flooring on the other hand is designed to be less susceptible by moisture and heat. The top layer is solid wood and looks no different to solid wood flooring. But underneath is a layer of engineered ply which in layman’s terms (which I could understand) keeps it from moving. You can buy engineered wood flooring with different thickness of solid wood and a general rule of thumb is the thicker the solid wood layer, the more expensive it is. This means that you can treat it like any solid wood flooring and sand it if it gets marked – say every 10 years or so. Mark’s top tips for engineered wood flooring are:

• Leave the engineered wood flooring in the space where it’ll be laid for three days to acclimatise it. Spread the packs out around the room so they each get plenty of air flow. This will reduce the change of any movement.
• Leave a 6-8 mil gap around the room for any expansion and so the wood won’t warp.
• Take off all skirting boards and replace them over the engineered wood flooring. Otherwise you’ll need to add a quadrant which can look ugly.
• Add an extra 5% when measuring your space as you’ll get wastage when cutting the engineered wood flooring. Buying an extra pack of flooring is even better as if you have a leaking pipe and need to replace some planks it can be very difficult to match your existing flooring!
• Lay the flooring in the direction of the furthest wall in the room so that your eye is lead along the space making it seem larger and flow better.
• Don’t forget to order underlay

Engineered wood flooring from GoHaus

Engineered wood flooring comes in many varieties. The type of wood, colour and finish you opt for is entirely down to your own personal style. You can contact GoHaus for free samples from their vast range of engineered wood flooring options. I ended up opting for a wide plank oak and the flooring is the same today as it was three years ago when it was laid – no gaps either!
I’m so glad that Mark talked me out of buying real wood flooring as the benefits of engineered wood flooring were so clear. And I’ll always champion engineered wood flooring too!

Natalia xo

Disclaimer: This post was sponsored by GoHaus.com and all words are my own. I carefully select sponsored partners and will only include products on this blog that I would happily have in my own home.