Engineered wood floors

[Anonymous]

Looking at flooring options. Totally clueless. Is there a substantial difference in the appearance between solid and engineered hardwood floors? Quality?

Thanks!

[Anonymous]

Engineered wood looks comparable but is not as durable. We had to put them in our family room over concrete slab, and they got scratched and dented much more easily than our original hardwoods. But for us, it was still a better option than laminate or carpet. You just have to be careful with them. They can be refinished too.

[Anonymous]

You can refinish it anywhere from 1-5 times (average of 1/32" removed per sanding). So, the thicker the top layer veneer, the more times you can sand it. I would never install a floor with less than 4mm on top if you want longevity.

As with solid flooring the hardness of the wood will determine its durability. I put Brazilian walnut engineered flooring in my basement family room and have yet to see damage in 7 years. Main floors still have solid wood, perhaps more out of habit than anything else.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:You can refinish it anywhere from 1-5 times (average of 1/32" removed per sanding). So, the thicker the top layer veneer, the more times you can sand it. I would never install a floor with less than 4mm on top if you want longevity.

As with solid flooring the hardness of the wood will determine its durability. I put Brazilian walnut engineered flooring in my basement family room and have yet to see damage in 7 years. Main floors still have solid wood, perhaps more out of habit than anything else.

Not all of them can be refinished. If you do a click-lock floating engineered floor as we did, we can't refinish them. We can however, pop planks out when they get damaged. I will say that they are far less durable, even in a "strong" wood. We have a 50 lb dog and the floors have scratches from her nails (no matter how often we clip) in certain places. We bought extra wood, so when we sell (or they become really badly scratched), we will pop out and replace