“Why choose engineered wood flooring over a solid oak floor and does it really feel and look as beautiful?”

Here at JFJ Flooring we often have customers calling us because they are interested in a solid oak floor. More often than not we end up suggesting they go down the engineered route and then being asked the same thing, ‘why choose an engineered wood floor over a solid oak floor and does it really feel and look as beautiful?’ We are writing this article to briefly outline the main advantages of our engineered wood flooring and why now so many people are choosing the engineered over the traditional solid oak flooring. Throughout this article I will write in reference to the flooring that we supply here at JFJ Flooring. The reasons I will be doing this is, firstly, I know the specifications and quality of our product, and secondly I have 100% faith in our product. I can not speak on behalf of other suppliers as their flooring differs massively in quality and price. In all cases you need to check thoroughly the specifications of the product on offer.

So let’s start off this article with talking about the number 1 reason our engineered oak floors have the upper hand over solid oak floors, this being it’s stability. The engineered boards that we supply are made up of 10 layers of multi laminated hardwood ply. These layers are stuck in opposite directions with a moisture resistant adhesive and this gives the floor an immense amount of stability. We have been asked before by customers who have researched the market how strong the adhesive is as they have heard of stories of engineered wood flooring de-laminating. We have 100% faith in our flooring, in fact we have even gone as far as to boil a piece of our floor for 30 minutes and the board still did not de-laminate. This 15mm ply wood under core is what gives the flooring the strength and stability is has. Oak is a natural product and when used for flooring the board widths can change in size. This can cause gaps between boards or the floor to buckle and this movement is most commonly caused by the changing of humidity in the environment. Because of the stability of a quality engineered oak floor it is far less prone to this movement. This stability is also becoming of greater importance today due to the fact that an increasing number of properties are having under floor heating systems installed, which of course causes a frequent change in humidity. Having said this I would again like to reiterate that I am writing in regards to a quality, higher spec engineered oak flooring, such as the one that we supply, and I can not talk for all engineered wood floors.

“We have 100% faith in our engineered wood flooring, in fact we have even gone as far as to boil a piece of our floor for 30 minutes and still the board did not de-laminate”

Let’s move onto another reason why engineered wood flooring is now classed as a superior product to solid oak. The main reason why people will go for an oak floor is that they love the timeless natural beauty that European oak has to offer. What many people are unaware of is the fact that the top layer of our engineered wood flooring is the same quality European oak as our solid oak flooring. This means that when it has been laid it looks and feels just the same and more and more customers are saying they prefer the look of the longer and wider boards. So, our oak engineered flooring will look the same but will it actually last as long?. How long a floor will last is mostly down to something called its ‘wear layer’. The part of the floor that is classed as the wear layer is from the surface of the board down to the tongue and on a solid oak board this would be around 5-6mm. Now, the wear layer on engineered wood flooring is the top layer of oak, which on our flooring is 5-6mm of solid oak. In conclusion the wear layer on an engineered board is the same as the solid oak flooring, resulting in the floor lasting just as long.

“the wear layer on our engineered wood flooring is the same as the solid oak flooring, resulting in the floor lasting just as long.”

Laying the floor is also another area that is worth thinking about when comparing the 2 types of oak flooring. We supply two different sizes of engineered oak boards, 190mm wide and 1900mm long and 220mm wide and 2200mm long, both being longer and wider than most solid oak boards. This means the flooring is quicker and easier to fit. Another aspect that makes this floor easier and quicker to fit is how well machined the boards are. Our engineered oak flooring is machined to perfection and we have had nothing but fantastic feedback regarding how easy the flooring was to lay. Given that engineered flooring is quicker and easier to fit, any extra money that is spent on purchasing an engineered oak floor is often compensated in the time that is saved fitting it! This is something to keep in mind when comparing prices.

The final advantage of engineered wood flooring over solid oak flooring that I am giong to mention is how an engineered oak floor is more environmentally friendly. The hardwood plywood that is used is made up of a mixture of faster growing and less valuable hardwoods with a poplar hardward underface. This is what the under side of our engineered wood flooring is constructed of. This gives the benifit that far less of our valued oak, which has taken hundreds of years to grow, is used. Here at JF Joinery and JFJ Flooring sustainability and maximum yield from our timber has always been a priority for us. We have even gone as far as to invest £40,000 into machinery that turns timber waste into briquettes which are a carbon neutral, eco friendly heating fuel.

We hope that this article has been of some use to you and may have answered a few or your questions. We are always available to offer help and advice and pride ourselves on our customer care. We would ask that if you are interested in either solid or engineered wood flooring, and would like any further information, that you please feel free to give us a call or drop us an email