When it comes to flooring, choices for home owners are numerous. Some of the popular flooring options are hardwood or solid wood, laminates, vinyl, bamboo, cork, engineered wood, etc. Though there are several factors that influence the choice of flooring for a home owner, engineered hardwood flooring has emerged as a popular choice over the years.
Engineered hardwood flooring is created by putting together several layers of plywood in different directions with a top veneer layer of hardwood. They come in strips that have tongue and groove on opposite sides so that they are interlocked with adjoining strips when installed. This type of wooden flooring has several advantages. We discuss them below:
- Less expensive
This flooring is much less expensive than real hardwood or solid wood floors. They are competitively priced and extremely affordable. Home owners can opt for this kind of flooring for bedrooms, kitchens, etc. and go for more expensive floors for the living room.
- Easy to install
Engineered wood flooring is very easy to install as compared to other options. Installation cost is also pretty low. This installation does not require high professional expertise and can be done in less time as well. These floors are mostly pre-finished so does not require anything additional effort for a finished look, leading to substantial savings in time and money.
Also since these are pre-finished, there is no mess involved in installing them while in case of other floors processes like sanding, staining and polishing result in dust and fumes. This also requires cleaning up all the mess post installation.
- Good quality
These floors score high on quality as compared to their other counterparts. Their construction imparts strength and durability to it. They are all pre-finished and do not require processes like sanding, staining or varnishing for finishing. Since they are finished in factories, the look is uniform and close to being perfect. Also these floors are not susceptible to changes in external temperatures and humidity like solid hardwood options that expand and contract. Engineered wood floors are stable and remain unaffected by climatic changes.
- Easy maintenance
These floors are easy to maintain as they do not need regular waxing or polishing. They can be maintained with ease with regular floor care products. Simply sweeping or vacuuming these floors is sufficient. It is better not to mop these floors owing to possibility of water ingress. However, polishing or waxing them once in a while is a good idea to retain their look.
