| Engineered hardwood flooring is more popular these | | | | engineered hardwood flooring is less affected by |
| days than natural hardwood flooring. This is because | | | | environmental conditions and can be installed in more |
| the construction of engineered hardwood flooring | | | | areas than natural hardwood flooring. For example, |
| gives it qualities that natural hardwood flooring does | | | | unlike a natural hardwood floor, you can install an |
| not have. This allows engineered hardwood flooring | | | | engineered hardwood floor in a humid or damp |
| to be less expensive and more resistant to moisture. | | | | basement. An engineered hardwood floor can also be |
| There are several differences in the construction of | | | | installed over radiant heating system without |
| natural hardwood flooring and engineered hardwood | | | | suffering any damage. If you install a natural |
| flooring. Natural hardwood flooring is constructed | | | | hardwood floor over a radiant heating system, the |
| entirely out of a piece of hardwood. The only | | | | natural hardwood floor could buckle, cup, or shrink. |
| hardwood used for engineered hardwood flooring is | | | | Engineered hardwood flooring can be installed as a |
| for the top layer. The possible types of hardwood | | | | floating floor. This means that you can install an |
| that are used for engineered hardwood include oak, | | | | engineered hardwood floor on a surface without |
| pine, ash, teak, and bamboo. The top layer allows | | | | using glue or nails. A floating floor will allow you to |
| engineered hardwood flooring to have the same | | | | have a floor that is free of gaps between the |
| visual beauty as natural hardwood flooring. There is a | | | | hardwood panels. But before you install the |
| core layer that is glued to the bottom of the top | | | | engineered hardwood floor, you have to place a |
| layer. The core layer consists of layers of | | | | vapor barrier between the surface and the floor. A |
| replenishable and affordable wood. These layers of | | | | tongue and groove locking system allows the |
| wood might be medium-density or high-density | | | | engineered hardwood flooring to be installed as a |
| fiberboard or plywood. The number of layers that | | | | floating floor. With this system, you can just click and |
| are used for the core vary from one flooring | | | | lock the engineered hardwood planks together. This |
| manufacturer to another. Most flooring manufacturers | | | | means that the engineered hardwood flooring can be |
| will use three layers of wood in the core. However, | | | | installed very quickly. Also, if you are moving, you can |
| there are several flooring manufacturers that are | | | | easily take the hardwood planks apart and take it to |
| beginning to construct core layers that consist of five | | | | your new home. This locking system also makes it |
| to seven layers of wood. They are adding more | | | | pretty easy to replace any planks that are damaged. |
| layers of wood to the core because the extra layers | | | | The finish of engineered hardwood flooring is durable. |
| will make their engineered hardwood flooring more | | | | An engineered hardwood floor will still look good even |
| durable. | | | | after years of heavy use. However, if it is necessary, |
| During extreme changes in the weather, natural | | | | engineered hardwood flooring can be refinished. But |
| hardwood flooring can expand and contract so much | | | | this is not a task that you should take on yourself. |
| that it will buckle or warp. The core layer of an | | | | This is something that you should pay a professional |
| engineered hardwood floor gives it the ability to | | | | to do. But each engineered hardwood floor can only |
| expand and contract without buckling or warping as | | | | be refinished a limited number of times before you |
| natural hardwood flooring would. This means that | | | | destroy the top layer. |