Engineered wood IS real wood. It's just layers of real wood rather than a solid plank that changes and warps more with swings in humidity and temperature. Engineered was developed to be more stable than solid wood. It's the whole reason that cabinets are constructed from plywood rather than solid pieces of wood. It is by far the better choice in most of the US unless you have a conventional foundation, and low swings in indoor humidity.

Hello Heidi!

An engineered wood floor would be the better option for you. If you choose a good quality engineered floor you will get the same look as a solid wood floor but with added stability. Read more about the differences here - https://www.woodco.com/news/solid-vs-engineered-flooring/

If I can help answer any further questions feel free to reach out to me.

Happy New Year,

Debbie George
210.298.9663
debbie@woodco.com

Engineered wood can't be refinished as many times as traditional, I believe. Other than that, you're looking at cost, most often. If you're doing a basement, you want to use engineered or faux. At least, that's my understanding.

"These kerf grooves work as stress relief and help prevent cupping and crowning of the boards."

May not be important, but the original purpose of this was to reduce shipping costs. Surprised me as well.

"Engineered wood can't be refinished as many times as traditional, I believe." Most people don't live in the average house for more than seven years anyway. May not be an issue for Heidi.

As far as extreme conditions, even an engineered hardwood can be affected with long term low humidity. I often refer my customers in arid climates to the humidifall product.

"Is one more resistant to damage? Is upkeep the same?"

Yes and no. Yes

There is a difference in quality of engineered hardwood flooring. Look for one where the hardwood is more than just a veneer. Some are made with thicker hardwood than others. That would make a difference on how many times you're able to refinish them. Also research the finish and durability

Thank you for all the comments this has all been very helpful. I will reach out again if I need further assistance.

Prefinished floors--solid or engineered--have edges that are beveled or eased in some way to allow for minute differences in manufacturing. The grooves that form between every board make it a bad choice for a kitchen because they are hard to clean and keep clean. Mopping the floor does nothing to clean the grooves. You're better off with a site-finished floor in the kitchen.

Just how often do people refinish their wood flooring? We put down wood plank flooring that had to be sanded and stained after install in a whole house remodel. I can't envision going through that process without moving everything out of the house. We have engineered flooring in our current home and I'm thinking about having that all taken up and replaced and that somehow seems less of a mess.

I live in the midwest and this part of the country handles traditional solid hardwood just fine as long as the homeowner has AC and heating. Your indoor floors will not be exposed to outdoor humidity or temps. Actually, old homes that were built before AC have floors that survived midwest weather just fine.

Solid hardwood can be refinished many times - so a forever floor in the sense you never have to replace it unless seriously damaged. Many homes over a hundred years old still have their original hardwood floors. They probably will need to be refinished at some point if you have an active household. A good quality engineered floor can be refinished a few times - has a thick enough wear layer. It won't likely last a hundred years.

What are the key things to look for in an engineered hardwood? I can't see us wanting to redo our floors for at least 20 years. The amount we are spending on this kitchen....wowzer! Either way I want to make sure that the product I buy is still of good quality. I have picked out two engineered hardwoods that I like. They are from the same company. I just want to make sure that they are of quality.

Found this

If you take care of your floor, properly, you won’t need to refinish for 20-25 years. That may include an interim step of screening and recoating at 8-12 years.

A medium quality engineered floor can be refinished 2-3 times, meaning you’d have 60-80 years of life out of it before it needed to be changed. A high quality engineered can be refinished 4-5 times, the same as a solid wood floor. That effectively gives it 100-120 year life span.

All bets are off if you don’t have walk off rugs at the entrances, keep your pet’s nails clipped short enough to not hear them, don’t have a humidifier in the winter, or don’t use AC in the summer, and pour buckets of water on them to mop, use Orange Glop or Murphy’s Evil Soap, or use a steam cleaner. All of those things will ruin wood floors. Some sooner than later.

Abused floors of any kind can have a very short life indeed.

What Sophie said. A medium quality engineered = $7/sf and up (I prefer to see it around $9/sf). A high-quality engineered = $15+/sf. If you see something for $4.99/sf or less, then please walk away. As good as it sounds, it will fall under the category of "too good to be true".

Refinishing Engineered

What most don't take into account with engineered hardwoods, and this includes manufacturers, is a number of other factors.

1. Condition of the original sub floor (flat works ideally)

2. Refinisher skill knowledge

3. Others

"Engineered wood can't be refinished as many times as traditional, I believe."

That's not even a disadvantage, to me. There is no way I would even consider refinishing my floors while living in my house. I know folks do it, but the mess is way more than I would ever even think about dealing with. If the house was empty, then that would be a different story.

A good refinisher uses equipment that captures the majority of the sanding particles. Putting in a new floor is also messy.

Engineered flooring cannot be refinished as many times as solid hardwood. It does not have the same thickness of wear layer. Engineered flooring has its place, and and can be used in many places solid hardwood cannot.

Today, many are used to throwing out floors with trend changes, but as people become more concerned about the environment, hopefully that will change. People often think in terms of how long they will live in the home, not what impact their decisions have long term on environment. My hardwood floors will outlive me, and no new flooring will be needed in my home for many, many decades.

"A good refinisher uses equipment that captures the majority of the sanding particles. "

Not enough for me. I actually know someone that just had it done with supposedly that sort of equipment. No thanks.

"Engineered flooring cannot be refinished as many times as solid hardwood. It does not have the same thickness of wear layer. "

Of course it can't. And as I said, that will not be an issue for me. I plan on getting engineered in the near future, and it will certainly outlive me.

As far "throwing out floors with trend changes" yeah that would not be me. I don't give a rat's you-know-what about trends. :-)

I live in Illinois so I’m going to chime in because what we are dealing with is extremes of contraction and then swelling in walls, wood floors, etc. By that I mean -12 degrees with zero humidity in the winter followed by 104 degrees with 100% humidity in the summer. I just looked at my crown (new) in my master bedroom and it has separated from the caulking due to the extremely cold weather and zero humidity. I went with solid prefinished hardwood floors and my neighbor has finished on site hardwood floors. If I had to do it over again, I would go with solid hardwood floors finished on sight because they contract and swell the least in our environment. Never again would I put in prefinished in this environment, engineered or solid IMO.

Heidi are you asking between solid or engineered or prefinished vs unfininshed (on site), Persoanally I prefer solid on site finish. I get to pick the wood (typically higher quality than a factory finished product) , also I get to pick the color and finish (sheen) (actually the boss will pick color and sheen , but you get my drift?) solid wood will last a lifetime with proper care . and most times cheaper than eng, wood. As far as conditions go, rule of thumb, the wider and harder a wood is the more moisture it holds so more sensitive to expanding and contracting. Engineered wood is more stable in that sense, but not immune to moisture/condition changes. Good luck

P.S. We are close by if you have any question or would like to look at samples.

Choosing the right flooring type isn't enough for your living condition. You will have to consider the types of cut: flat sawn, rift and quarter sawn, quarter sawn or live sawn. Quarter sawn and rift & quarter sawn will be best choices, because expansion and contraction is along the thickness of the wood.

You will need climate control all year round. 70 degrees at 40 % relative humidity is where you want to be throughout the year. The use of a humidifier/dehumidifier will be needed year round.

Although, engineered flooring is more stable than solid. Using the wrong wood specie in your living condition can run the risk of de-laminating with engineered wood. If, the top veneer is more or less stable than it's core and backing. You will experience de-laminating in extreme humidity swings. Take in account of what the engineered flooring is constructed of: mdf or plywood.

The width of the flooring will account for how much expansion and contracting also. 2 1/4" strips are the most stable. As you go wider, expect to see more wider seasonal gaps.

Proper acclimating is critical, should be performed with a moisture meter. For 2 1/4" strip flooring , sub-floor and flooring moisture should be within 4%. For all other widths 2% moisture differentiation is allowed or should not be exceeded.

Don't forget proper expansion gaps, which is the thickness of your flooring, example: 3/4" thick = 3/4" gap.

Sub-floor type and condition will affect the performance of wood floors.

All this needs to be considered for the proper and successful performance of your wood floors.

G & S floor serve, if 2 1/4" strips are the least prone to seasonal gaps, does this imply we perhaps should go for solid wood wider than 2 1/4" or engineered wood < 2 1/4"?

I would use 2 1/4" quarter sawn solid hardwood, for the least amount of risk. I am not sure if, engineered is available under 3".

We are currently looking for hardwood flooring for our new build. I think I like the Quarter Sawn White Oak, looking for a good source in Ohio, any suggestions? My builder is still trying to get us to do pre finished, but we are doing hardwood in the kitchen.

Todd,

Here are some distributors I purchase my Rift and Quartered materials from. Though you may have to purchase through a licensed flooring contractor.

https://frankmiller.com/    http://muscanell.com/    

Simple answer, a well made engineered floor is best for any situation when shopping for new flooring. People mistakenly believe a solid floor can be sanded lots of times because it is so thick. The truth is, it can only be sanded down to just above the tongue and groove where the cleats are. That said, there are plenty of better quality engineered floors, both finished and unfinished that can be sanded as many times as a solid. There are engineered floors that are 3/4" thick, which is the same thickness as a solid floor. There are lots if better quality 1/2" and 5/8" floors with veneers that can be sanded at least 3 times. If you are getting strips of wood, like 2 1/4" or 3" widths, go ahead and get a solid when installing above grade. Less mass means less shrinking and expansion with changes in relative humidity. For 5" and larger, engineered is a must here in the Southeast. Also, I recommend a better quality pre-finished floor. Think about it; which is more durable the paint on your car, which is a factory finish, or the paint on your walls, which was applied on site? Floor finishes are the same. The factory finish is much more durable on good flooring. A premium quality, pre-finished, engineered floor can be refinished, but won't need to be unless you decide to change the color. It is permanent flooring, unlike the cheaper flooring sold at outlets, clearance centers, liquidators or big box stores. You get what you pay for. Shop at showrooms of authorized flooring dealers to find the best flooring.

Pick Engineered for Stability

I also live in the Chicago area and I had both types of wood floors in our old house, finished in place downstairs and engineered upstairs. We FAR preferred the finished in place. We felt it looked better and held up better. I know people say the engineered is supposed to be harder but I think our finished in place held up better, and it got more traffic. Yes, we had to refinish it before we sold the house due to a few areas of wear, but the engineered had to have boards replaced due to pock marks and scratches that the downstairs never had, even though the downstairs got a lot more traffic, dog, etc. We also liked the look of the finished in place better, without all the grooves at each board. In our new house we went with all finished in place.