Engineered wood flooring and solid wood flooring are very different although they may look similar on the surface. The construction of engineered wood flooring consists of 3 to 10 layers of structural wood layers (usually 5) including a prefinished veneer face layer. Each layer of wood is called a "ply" and is oriented in different directions for strength and then glued under high pressure.
This laminated construction technique results in engineered wood flooring that is more stable than a solid wood floor. By stable, I mean an engineered wood floor is less susceptible to shrinkage and expansion movement due to fluctuations in humidity or temperature.
Since prefinished engineered wood floors are constructed and finished in a factory you will end up with a more durable finish than a site applied finish used with solid hardwood floors. Factory prefinished floors are rich in aluminum oxides and are cured under ultraviolet lights. Also, prefinished floors allow you to walk on the floor as soon as it is installed unlike site finished floors. Site finished floors have a smooth surface between boards as a result of plank design and on-site sanding but prefinished engineered wood flooring looks different in that it has a small bevel at the joints. These joint bevels are actually helpful as dirt and dust tends to get caught in the small joints as opposed to setting on the surface and getting ground in with foot traffic as with flush surface field applied finishing.
Engineered wood flooring is a beautiful flooring product and provides you a few different options regarding installation. You may direct glue-down the wood floor as when installing over a concrete slab, or when installing over wood subfloors you may install using a nail down or interlocking floating floor.
Let’s take a look at some installation issues and a summary overview of different engineered wood flooring installation steps.
