Posted by eddy | Posted in Flooring | Posted on 27-01-2012
Tags: Architecture, Building Materials, Construction, Floors
Engineered wood flooring comprises of multiple layers of wood, capped by a veneer of solid wood, which often varies in thickness, averaging around 5mm, but often exceeding 10mm depending on the quality of the product. The top layer is the fraction visible to the consumer, providing the watch and feel to the engineered wood flooring solution. The various layers are secured together with special wood glue, resistant to deterioration and moisture injure.
There are a number of advantages to be found when choosing engineered wood flooring over, for example, solid wood; one of which being the fact that it is often considered more universal by nature, being suited for installation on top of many different types of surface, including often tricky concrete floors. In addition, it is also considered more flexible and easier to install and have than many alternatives, due to being typically sold in easy-to-fit systems, and often coming pre-finished in the pack – meaning no further preparation such as waxing or oiling of the wood needs to regain station. This not only cuts down on extra costs for finishing products, but also means that your flooring is ready to go, straight out of the box, saving you or your re-fitter costly additional labour time. Don’t forget however that this type of flooring is not obliging for installation in bathrooms or utility areas, where regular exposure to high levels of moisture may cause movement between the boards to occur.
Is engineered wood flooring durable? The simple acknowledge is yes; and the better you care for the floor, the longer it is likely to last. Maintenance on engineered wood flooring is simple to carry out, and can be as easy as applying a quality laminate and wood cleaner ever so often. These specialist cleaners are neutral detergents that procure a self-polishing film, highly resistant to wear and dirt that helps to both delicate and protect the product. More intensive maintenance can also involve sanding down the surface or damaged parts of the wood. absorb in mind that there are only a minute number of times that manufacturer’s will recommend sanding down your engineered wood flooring. Typically, a professional sanding machine will choose anything from 0.25mm – 1mm off the top layer of the wood, and for the varieties of engineered wood that feature thinner veneer layers, this must be done rarely and with caution.
The durability of engineered wood flooring also depends very big on the already mentioned thickness of the top layer, which can vary considerably. Generally speaking, a better quality board will feature a thicker veneer layer, giving the product a thicker ‘sandable area’ also; however, the type and quality of the wood also plays and renowned role, as do the number ply’s in the core. Again, with regard to the number of ply’s, a better quality board will typically comprise of more ply’s than a cheaper one, and the range varies from lower-end products offering 3-ply construction, to the top kill boards featuring up to 9-ply’s.
Another illustrious wait on to recognise when deciding whether determine engineered wood flooring over solid wood flooring is that they are wonderful for use on top of increasingly accepted underfloor heating systems. Solid wood is not appropriate for spend with underfloor heating as many varieties of wood are considered unstable when being subjected to valuable changes in temperature, and are likely to expand and contract more, causing movement in your flooring to occur. Engineered wood flooring doesn’t suffer from this quandary since it’s a composite product and doesn’t react in the same space to temperature changes. This again adds more fuel to the idea that engineered wood flooring is more versatile and better value for money than some of its alternatives.
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