What are the Best and Worst Types of Flooring for Allergies?

Here in Medford, NJ, we look forward to the spring time when the Garden State starts to bloom. As much as we enjoy the warm weather, we’re disappointed to wake up to the outdoors coated in a layer of pollen.

Whether your allergies are seasonal or all year round, you want to breathe easy in your home. The type of flooring you choose affects the air quality in your home. Some flooring types make it easy to remove allergens from your home. Other types of flooring trap allergens and release them into the air.

Some floors are high in volatile organic compounds, or VOCs. These chemicals can be released from many products in your home, including building materials like flooring. Products high in VOCs can irritate allergies. Flooring certified by the California Air Resource Board (CARB) are low in VOCs.

If you have allergies, it’s important to pick the right flooring to limit allergens in your home. We’re ranking common types of flooring from best to worst for allergies.

A person sneezing with yellow flowers in the background. Wikimedia Commons

Types of Flooring for Allergies, from Best to Worst

Best Flooring for Allergies: Prefinished Solid Wood Flooring

Prefinished wood flooring is sanded, stained, and finished at the mill, so there is no fumes or dust after the flooring is installed. Wood flooring is easy to clean and doesn’t store allergens.

Solid wood flooring actually improves the air quality in your home. As a tree grows, it takes in carbon dioxide and produces oxygen. When a tree is made into wood flooring, the wood still takes in carbon monoxide out of your home’s air.

Engineered Wood Flooring

Engineered wood flooring has the same benefits of solid wood flooring. It’s easy to clean up dust and other allergens. Like, solid wood, engineered wood removes and stores carbon dioxide from the air.

When gluing down an engineered flooring, some adhesives may irritate allergies, but it will dry and the smell will go away. During a glue down installation, we use a low-VOC adhesive that has a minimal smell that quickly disperses.

You should only buy engineered flooring that are CARB certified and from trusted brands. Between 2016 and 2019, the California Air Resources Board fined 15 companies for violations related to composite wood. We only sell flooring from trusted brands with a track record of safety.

Site-Finished Wood Flooring

After installing unfinished wood, the wood needs to be sanded, stained, and coated in finish. The sanding process creates a lot of wood dust. We use a dustless refinishing system, but even that will create some dust. We use water-based finish that dries with a minimal odor, but other finishes have a stronger odor that may irritate people with sensitivities.

Once the finishing process is over, site-finished wood flooring are easy to clean and great for allergies. Just like prefinished wood, site-finished wood will But if you have sensitivities to dust or strong odors, the process of site finishing a floor may be a problem.

Luxury Vinyl and Laminate Flooring

Luxury vinyl and laminate flooring are hard surface flooring products, so they are easy to clean to remove dust and allergens. However, it does not store carbon dioxide like wood.

You should only by luxury vinyl or laminate flooring that are CARB certified and from trusted brands. In 2016, Lumber Liquidators was fined $2.5 million by the California Air Resources Board for selling laminate flooring that was labeled as CARB compliant, but had high levels of formaldehyde. Avoid liquidator stores that sell store branded or non-branded flooring for suspiciously cheap prices.

A dog on a dirty carpet. Pixel-Shot – stock.adobe.com

Worst Flooring for Allergies: Carpet

Even in the cleanest of houses, carpet fabric traps common allergens. Pet dander, pollen, mold, and dust can cling to the carpet fibers. Stepping on the carpet releases allergens trapped in the fibers into the air.

Regular vacuum brushes and rollers don’t reach to the bottom of the carpet, so allergens and germs stay trapped into the fibers. According to research by microbiologist and immunologist Philip Tierno Jr., Ph.D., the average carpet contains 200,000 bacteria per square inch–4,000 times more than the toilet seat.

What is the Best Wood Flooring Species?

Customers in our showroom often ask, “What is the best wood flooring species for my home?” The species is the type of tree the wood flooring is made from. Each species has unique characteristics that create its own natural beauty and style.

The three most popular species of wood flooring are oak, maple, and hickory. These species of trees are grown domestically in North America, so they are generally the best price and most available.

This week, we’ll discuss the differences between the different species and how to select the best style for your home.

Oak Wood Flooring Species

Oak is the most popular choice for wood flooring, and for good reason. It is grown plentifully in North America, so it is a great option on a budget. Additional materials needed for your project, like transitions, stair treads, and moldings, will be readily available and at a lower price as well.

There are two kinds of domestic oak: red oak and white oak. Red oak has warm, pink, undertones while white oak has cool, green undertones. Red oak is more common, but white oak has gained in popularity as cool colors became a design trend. Flooring products may not specify red vs. white oak once the flooring is stained, since the stain covers the natural undertones.

The most popular stain colors for oak are butterscotch or gunstock. The appearance of these colors will very between manufacturers, but most will have some version of gunstock.

Oak is a popular choice for busy homes and high traffic rooms like your kitchen or living room. Oak has a Janka score–the measure of how hard a wood is–of 1290-1360. Some think that a harder wood will be more durable, but oak is a classic for a reason. The grainy lines create beautiful designs and helps disguise any scratches on the finish.

Oak is the classic choice, which is why you’ll sit it in many older homes and historically preserved buildings. That’s because oak is built to last! Oak floors in many historical buildings have lasted for centuries. The Old Barracks museum in Trenton asked us to install oak gunstock flooring when they were doing renovations.

Maple Wood Flooring Species

Maple is more uniform in appearance than oak or hickory, with minimal color variation and grain lines. Depending on the grade, it may have lots of black mineral streaks, or it may be a clean grade with almost no black at all. Cleaner grades are popular in formal rooms, like dining rooms.

You’ve probably seen maple at your local basketball court or gym floor. Maple is a popular choice for sport floors because of its density that bounces balls well, and its uniform appearance, which makes it easy to paint logos and isn’t distracting to audiences. We installed maple flooring at the Pemberton Borough gym.

Hard maple is the type of maple used for flooring, as other types of maples are too soft. Maple is slightly harder than oak, with a Janka score of 1450. However, because it lacks the grains and color variation of oak, wear and tear can be more noticeable. Dark stained maple is especially prone to showing scratches.

For maple floors, you’re usually better off with prefinished flooring instead of site-finished flooring. Because of its density, maple doesn’t absorb stain very well and the uniform appearance can show sanding and finish lines more. Factory finished maple floors can achieve beautiful, consistent stain colors, so you’ll find many good prefinished options.

Hickory Wood Flooring Species

Hickory is a wood with tons of character. The beauty of hickory is the contrast of the light wood with the black mineral streaks. Hickory is a statement piece in your home design, since the high character floor will catch the eye.

Hickory has a Janka score of 1820, so it’s the hardest of the popular domestic options. But more importantly, the high character and contrast hides wear and tear well.

The black mineral streaks give hickory a rustic look, so it’s popular in rustic designed homes, like log cabins. It is often paired with a handscraped finish for even more character. A stain color gives a more subtle beauty, with the stain reducing the contrast between board colors.

Visit our showroom to see oak, maple, hickory, and more species of wood floors!

3 Myths about “Green” Wood Flooring, Busted

Now that the weather is finally starting to feel like spring, we can start going outside and enjoying the outdoors. It reminds us of the importance of protecting nature. Many of our customers have questions about how their flooring affects the environment. Here are three common misconceptions we hear about how wood flooring affects the environment:

1. Hardwood flooring is bad for trees.

Photo of oak tree by Leif Knutsen via Wikimedia Commons

Humans have certainly had a negative impact on forests over time. But in recent history, we’ve been doing a much better job at taking care of trees. In the 19th century, many North American forests were heavily depleted, partly by irresponsible logging. At the start of the 20th century, forest conservation policies came to the forefront. US forestland stopped decreasing in 1920 after two centuries of decline. Since the 1940s, forest growth has been exceeding harvest, so we’re actually growing more trees than we are cutting down. Most lumber comes from US and Canadian forests, and both countries comprehensive forestry management policies. Much of the production has switched from harvesting public lands to privately owned and managed forests. These companies have an interest in growing at least as many trees as they cut–it’s how they can continue their business. US forests have more trees now than they’ve had in 100 years, and responsible forestry will help continue that trend.

2. Floors must be certified to be environmentally friendly.

Several different organizations certify flooring on the environmental impact of flooring production or how the flooring effects indoor air quality.

FloorScore and GREENGUARD are independent organizations that certify products by measures the emission level of specific volatile organic compounds (VOCs). The most common certification to measure VOCs is the California Air Resources Board (CARB) certification. CARB-compliant materials meet tight limites for formaldehyde emissions. Flooring must meet the CARB requirements to be sold in California, so most flooring sold in the US meets these requirements. FloorScore, GREENGUARD, and CARB certificiations do not measure the environmental impact of flooring production.

The Forest Stewardship Council is an international organization that sets criteria for environmental, economic, and social standards. They accredit other groups as certification bodies. There are many different kinds of certification for different parts of production and distribution of products. Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, or LEED, uses a combination of criteria for both environmentally responsible production and air quality control. Many levels of LEED certification are available.

There is no one certification that tells you everything you need to know about a manufacturer’s environmental practices. When purchasing flooring, research the manufacturer’s commitment to sustainability and how they implement that in their production process.

3. Bamboo flooring is more environmentally friendly than other wood floors.

Bamboo forest. Photo by Bernard Gagnon via Wikimedia Commons

Bamboo is advertised as a “green” floor because bamboo plants grows very quickly, while traditional wood flooring species like oak take longer to mature. However, tree growth is just one step of the process. Bamboo is more like a grass than a tree, so it can’t be made into flooring like a traditional hardwood. It is cut into strips and glued together with formaldehyde-based glue, or made into a pulpy mixture with the glue and formed into planks. This also makes bamboo flooring impossible to sand and refinish, so once the finish wears, the grass-and-glue mixture will end up in a landfill. Traditional hardwood floors can be refinished to last for centuries.

 

Have more questions? Contact Dan Higgins Wood Flooring.

When the “Best Price” for Floors is Actually the Worst

You’ve probably seen your share of poor work done by contractors, and wonder why people would hire someone to do that type of work. Unfortunately, those contractors continue to get work every day by selling on price alone. In the home improvement industry, you will get what you pay for. We cringe every time we hear someone say they got a “better” price somewhere else. They always mean “lower price”, and there is a big difference between the two. Here’s the situations when the “best price” is actually the worst price:

It’s not for the whole job.

Some contractors will bait you by showing a ridiculously low price, leaving out many of the costs associated with the job. The price given may be for just the product, while only giving a per-square foot price for installation. Unless the room is bare to the subfloor, the quote should also include the price for removing and disposing of the current flooring. Trim and transition pieces should also be accounted for. If these costs are not factored into the quote, you’ll either have an unfinished job or be surprised by a ballooning budget at the end. You need real numbers based on your costs to have the work done properly, so that you can budget and make an informed decision.

It’s for the wrong product.

The wrong product at the right price is still the wrong product. Big box stores will sell “house brands” or “private label” brands, which are the lower quality “leftovers” of flooring manufacturers. We install flooring from nationally-recognized brands backed by their manufacturers. Some contractors will install the cheapest flooring they can find so they can underbid the competition, not knowing or caring if the flooring is right for your home.

It’s not from a reputable company.

A job left unfinished by a contractor

Anybody can claim they can install flooring: how do you know the quality of their work? That “great” price won’t be so great when you have to pay another company to fix the work. Do some research before choosing an installation company. Check project photos and reviews on sites like Google, Facebook, and Houzz. Make sure the installer is licensed to work in your state.

Big box companies hire the lowest-bidding contractor, who will work as fast as he can because he gets paid by the square foot. Then when an issue arises with an installation, the store can point the finger as the contractor to avoid responsibility. While writing this article, we received a call from a customer who had a “friend” install their wood flooring for them. When it came time to finish the job at the doorways, he left the job site and never came back. It’s a story we hear time and time again. We offer a lifetime installation warranty, so we stand behind our installations.

Get a free in-home quote from Dan Higgins Wood Flooring.

6 Shopping Tips for Your DIY Wood Flooring Project

Ready to start your DIY wood flooring installation project? Before you start shopping, check out these tips to get your project started off right.

1. Pick the right product.

The type of flooring–solid wood, engineered wood, laminate, or LVT–that can be installed in a room depends on many variables: type of subfloor, grade level, moisture levels, and other factors. Make sure you have all of the information you need before you start shopping.

2. Evaluate installation methods.

Depending on the type of product, your flooring may need to be nailed down, glued, or floated. Floating a lock-and-fold floor is generally considered the easiest of the three methods, since the floor snaps together and does not need to be adhered to the subfloor. Nailing or gluing flooring is more difficult, so consider a professional installation if you’re not an experienced DIYer.

3. Allow for waste.

If your room is 150 square feet, you can’t just buy 150 square feet of wood. Every product is packaged differently, so the amount of square footage per carton varies. Plus, some boards will need to be cut to fit the room. Generally, a do-it-yourself will need to allow for more waste than a professional flooring installer. Factor in a 5-10% waste factor when calculating square footage needed for your project. Then, round up to the nearest carton.

4. Factor in extras.

When calculating your project budget, don’t forget the additional materials and tools that will be required for the job. For a nail-down installation, you’ll need to buy or rent a floor nail gun–we let our customers borrow a nail gun at no charge. You will need some additional supplies: vapor barrier, foam, staples, glue, putty, or others. We offer many of the supplies needed for a flooring installation, so you can order all of your supplies together.

5. Check the manufacturer guide.

Most flooring manufacturers have guidelines that must be followed for installation. If those guidelines are not followed and there’s a problem with the flooring, the manufacturer will not cover the floors under warranty. Before you decide on a product, read the manufacturer guide to make sure you’ll be able to meet the requirements to be covered by the warranty. Most manufacturers have the warranty information available online.

6. Consult the experts.

Need help with your DIY flooring installation? Contact us at Dan Higgins Wood Flooring for all of your do-it-yourself hardwood flooring needs.

 

 

5 Kitchen Wood Flooring Myths, Busted

Too many customers visit our showroom wishing they could put wood flooring in their kitchen but thinking they can’t. The myth that hardwood flooring can’t be used in the kitchen keeps many people from picking a beautiful and practical flooring option. Here are five of the myths we hear about wood flooring in the kitchen.

Myth: Flooring in the kitchen has to be waterproof.

Fact: This myth comes from the confusion between overall moisture levels and occasional spills. Kitchens will, of course, experience the occasional spill. Spills that are cleaned up immediately will not damage your hardwood floors. Limited water damage to hardwood flooring can usually be solved by replacing effected boards. If a tile is damaged, you will likely have to replace a large area, if not all, of the flooring. Some homeowners think they need “waterproof” flooring to protect against a flood. However, most types of flooring–including tile–will not hold up to a kitchen flood.

Myth: Hardwood is too hard to maintain in a kitchen.

Fact: All that is required for cleaning hardwood flooring is floor cleaner and a dry mop, along with a broom or vacuum. We do not recommend using any “refreshers” or wet mops to clean hardwood floors. Hardwood floors are as easy, if not easier, to maintain as other popular kitchen flooring types.

Myth: You need an extra “hard” flooring in a kitchen.

Fact: While a softer wood species, like walnut, is not recommended for high-traffic areas like the kitchen, all wood flooring will dent when heavy objects like pots and pans are dropped on it. Nearly any type of flooring you put in the kitchen will be damaged when hit with a heavy object. Like with limited water damage, single boards of wood flooring can often be replaced when dented. When tiles crack, replacing the cracked tile is much more involved and usually most costly.

Myth: Hardwood flooring in the kitchen needs to go under the cabinets.

Fact: As a rule, we do not install wood flooring under kitchen cabinets. The most obvious reason is that by installing under the cabinets, you’d be paying for square footage that you’ll never see. Some customers worry that they may change their cabinet layout and not have flooring under it anymore. However, any flooring that was under the cabinets will look very different from the rest of the flooring, since it wasn’t exposed to the same light. Plus, if there is water damage to the flooring, it is very difficult to repair any flooring that’s underneath the cabinets. Some kitchen contractors prefer to have the floors installed wall-to-wall before installing the cabinets to make the cabinet installation easier, but it is not necessary.

Myth: Hardwood is more expensive than tile.

Fact: While the product price is often higher for hardwood flooring than tile, installing tile is much more labor intensive. The total project cost is usually higher for installing tile.

Kitchen Hardwood Flooring Installations

Still not convinced wood floors are a great choice for the kitchen? Take a look at these photos of wood floors we installed in our customers’ kitchens.

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Want see more wood floors in the kitchen? See more on our Idea Board.

5 Things to do Before You Shop for Flooring

When customers visit our showroom, they often say, “I don’t even know where to start!” Our sales staff is happy to help guide you through the process, but there are some steps you can take before you leave home to make shopping easier.

1: Take measurements

In order to get a proper job quote, a professional needs to visit your home to measure the areas and evaluate the work to be done. But you can get a better range of your project costs if you know how big the area is, since flooring is priced per square foot. Online calculators—or good old geometry—can help you measure the square footage of your rooms.

2: Identify the flooring you have

If you have flooring in your house you’re hoping to compliment with your new flooring, we’ll need to know what kind of flooring it is. It’s especially helpful if you have an extra board leftover from the previous installation or a piece cut off by your contractor. That way, we can compare the old flooring to our samples in the store. If you can’t bring a piece with you, knowing the species, board width, whether it’s solid or engineered wood, and whether it was prefinished or site-finished can help us narrow down so samples for you to take home and compare.

3: Check your subfloor

The type of flooring you can install depends on the subfloor underneath it.

If you want to replace your current flooring, you need to know what you’ll be installing on: plywood? concrete? radiant heat? Some flooring types can only be installed on certain subfloor types, or the subfloor may need reinforcement. If you have carpet, you can usually lift up the corner to see what’s underneath. You can also up the vent cover and see the subfloor in the vent.

4: Watch the traffic

Take some time to observe the traffic patterns in your home. Where do the kids spend most of the time playing? Where does your dog like to run? These can help you determine what product is needed in which room. Some wood species and flooring types are more resilient than others and better for high traffic areas. Knowing where your high traffic areas will help you pick the best flooring for each room.

5: Plan to visit the showroom

We have hundreds of samples in our showrooms in Medford and Sicklerville.

Many customers think the first step to shopping for hardwood flooring is to get an in-home estimate. However, it’s impossible to give a price for the job without knowing what product we’re installing. We have hundreds of samples in our showroom, so we don’t want to just pick a random product for you. We want to help you find the perfect product for your home.

Ready to start shopping? Visit our showroom.

Why We Hate Carpet

When Dan Higgins started Dan Higgins Wood Flooring Warehouse in 1985, he sold hardwood floors and NOTHING else. We have expanded our product line a bit since then–we started carrying laminate and LVT flooring once they proved their muster in the marketplace. But one fact remains the same: we DO NOT want to sell you carpet. Here’s why:

It’s too much work for you.

If your family is anything like ours, your life includes messy kids, spilled drinks, family pets, dirty sport equipment, and more potential messes. Constantly worrying about stains and cleaning isn’t how we want you spending your free time. Carpet requires vacuuming, shampooing, and periodic professional cleaning–especially if you’re prone to allergies from dust mites and other allergens that get trapped in the carpet fibers. Hardwood, laminate, and LVT flooring require little maintenance and are easy to clean–a quick sweep or dry-mop with the appropriate cleaner will do the trick. We think you’ll be happier without the extra stress.

Ugh. Too much work.

It doesn’t look good.

We think it’s time to leave the shag carpet in the past, and consumers agree. Carpet’s market share in the flooring industry has been steadily decreasing over the last decade while hardwood flooring has been increasing. A survey from USA Today found that 54% of home buyers are willing to pay more for homes with hardwood flooring. Today’s style is function, and consumers appreciate the beauty of hardwood flooring along with the low maintenance and lasting value.

Before: Carpeted Stairs. Meh.

Doesn’t this look nicer? We think so.

It doesn’t last.

At Dan Higgins Wood Flooring, we believe in lifetime flooring solutions. We want to provide you with a floor that will add value to your home, not become another expense. Most carpet manufacturers only offer 10 year warranties. We offer a lifetime installation warranty, and most of our flooring products are warrantied for 25-50 years. Since we have worked in the South Jersey community since 1985, we want to sell and install flooring that we know our customers will be happy with for years to come.

Want to get rid of your carpet? Contact us.

FAQs: Laminate & Luxury Vinyl Tile

Obviously, we’re big fans of hardwood flooring here at Dan Higgins Wood Flooring–we’ve been in the hardwood flooring business since 1985. However, we want every customer to have the best flooring solution for their home and budget, so we offer laminate and luxury vinyl tile flooring as alternatives to hardwood flooring. Here’s what you need to know:

What is laminate flooring?

Laminate flooring is a flooring product constructed by layering synthetic products and laminating them together. Laminate flooring contains a moisture-resistant backing layer, a fiberboard inner core, an image design layer, and a top wear layer.

We installed this Armstrong Architectural Remnants Woodland Reclaim laminate flooring in “Old Original.”

What is luxury vinyl tile?

Luxury vinyl tile (LVT) is a flooring product made out a layer of vinyl backing, an image design layer, and a top wear layer. Luxury vinyl tile comes in varieties to imitate hardwood, stone, slate, and ceramic tile. Some luxury vinyl tiles have a rigid core or cork backing. Those products are sometimes called “hybrid laminates.”

 

Are laminate and LVT the same as engineered wood flooring?

No. Engineered wood flooring is real hardwood, made of layers of hardwood and plywood. Many laminate and LVT flooring products are made to look like wood, but they are made of synthetic materials.

LVT is often used in industrial spaces because of its resistance to wear-and-tear. We installed this Berry Alloc DreamClick Pro LVT in “River Oak Natural” at the United Methodist Church in Medford, NJ.

Why would I get laminate or LVT instead of real wood floors?

Laminate and LVT flooring can be a good option for rooms with high or variable moisture. All flooring can be damaged by moisture, but hardwood expands and contracts with moisture more than laminate or LVT. Laminate flooring’s fiberboard core can be damaged by high moisture, like standing water in the bathroom, but LVT can withstand very high moisture and many LVT products are warranted as waterproof.

Laminate and LVT are also generally resistant to wear and tear. Customers with pets in the home sometimes prefer laminate and LVT flooring because they are more scratch-resistant than hardwood floors. Laminate and LVT flooring are also popular in office and industrial spaces.

Because laminate and LVT flooring have a printed design layer, they are produced in a variety of colors and designs. Sometimes it is more affordable to achieve a desired look–exotic wood, stone, etc.–with laminate or LVT than the real thing.

Laminate flooring comes in a variety of designs and colors. Laminates and LVTs can sometimes achieve the “look” of more expensive products at a lower cost.

Do they look like real wood?

The image layer and the wear layer both impact how well the flooring is able to “pass” as wood. Technological innovations in printing and production have helped laminate and LVT flooring look more “real” than ever. High-end laminates and LVTs have very high quality photos on the image layer and are “embossed-in-register” so that the look and feel of the wear layer matches the “grain” of the image layer. However, some laminates and LVTs have designs and colors that are hard to achieve with hardwood, making it virtually impossible to match the look with real wood, even with custom staining.

To the extent you can measure how a floor “feels”, laminates and luxury vinyl tiles with a rigid core or cork backing feel more like walking on real wood than LVT with no core or backing. However, they both feel artificial compared to walking on real wood, especially if installed by floating the floor instead of gluing it down.

At the end of the day, laminate and LVT flooring are synthetic and do not look or feel exactly like real hardwood.

Are they safe?

Laminate flooring got a bad reputation in March 2015 when a 60 Minutes investigation found that Lumber Liquidators-brand laminate flooring failed to meet the California Air Resources Board (CARB) regulations for formaldehyde levels and was fraudulently labeled. However, laminate and LVT flooring from trusted brands that are independently certified to follow the CARB standards are safe for the home. Just make sure you’re not looking for the cheapest floor, but for brands that have a good reputation and follow government regulations.

Which costs more?

Laminate and LVT gained popularity as the cheaper alternatives to hardwood and ceramic flooring. However, like all flooring products, they vary in price and quality. Some higher-end laminate and LVT flooring products cost more than mid-range hardwood flooring. While laminate and LVT flooring provide more options for the price-conscious consumer, you don’t need to limit your search to laminate and LVT to find affordable options.

Laminate flooring is made with tongue and groove planks that click together for installation.

How are they installed? Can I do it myself?

If you’re an experienced home improvement DIYer, laminate and LVT installations are both relatively easy DIY projects. Laminate and some LVT flooring are produced as click-lock planks that can be clicked together and floated over the subfloor. Some LVTs require adhesives, and many of those comes with adhesive already on the product. If the product requires you to supply and apply adhesive separately, the installation gets trickier. When installing flooring, it’s imperative to follow the manufacturer’s instructions so that the flooring will be covered under the manufacturer’s warranty. If you don’t have much experience with DIY home improvements, it’s better to get an expert installation.

Which flooring is the best for my home?

The best floor for your home depends on so many factors, it’s best to consult an expert to help you evaluate your project and find the best product.

Contact the experts at Dan Higgins Wood Flooring

FAQs: Solid vs Engineered Wood

So you know you want wood floors. But how are you going to narrow down the best product when faced with hundreds of samples in the showroom? The first step is to determine whether you need a solid or engineered hardwood product. Here’s some common questions our customers ask about solid and engineered hardwood floors.

A sample of solid oak wood flooring vs. a sample of engineered oak wood flooring. The solid wood is one piece while the engineered wood is made of layers.

What is a solid hardwood and engineered hardwood?

Solid wood is milled from a single piece of 3/4″ hardwood. Engineered wood is made with layers of hardwood or plywood as the core, with a hardwood veneer on top. The veneer is made of the preferred species of wood, such as oak or maple.

Is engineered real wood? Isn’t it the same as laminate flooring?

Engineered wood is real wood, made in layers instead of as one solid piece. Laminate flooring is a different product altogether; it is a picture that simulates the look of wood, stone, or tile on top of a fiber board, but is not made of wood.

What is “below grade” and why does it matter?

Rooms in your home can be at grade, above grade, or below grade. At grade means the room is at ground level, usually the first floor of a house. Above grade means the room is above ground level, such as an upstairs bedroom. Below grade is below ground level, like a basement.

Traditional solid wood does not perform well in room that are below grade. Below grade rooms tend to have higher levels of moisture. Solid hardwood expands and contracts with changing moisture levels. Engineered hardwood has more structural stability so it is more resistant to moisture. Engineered hardwood can be installed at any grade, while solid hardwood can be installed at or above grade.

Engineered wood floors are ideal for areas with variable moisture, like basements, kitchens, and down the shore.

What’s the difference between how solid and engineered wood flooring is installed?

Solid hardwood flooring can be nailed or stapled to a wood subfloor. Engineered flooring can also be glued, nailed, or stapled, but can also be floated. Floating installation is a technique where the engineered boards are attached to each other and stay over the subfloor without adhesion. Solid wood flooring cannot be installed directly to a concrete subfloor; concrete subfloors usually have high moisture levels and solid hardwood does not react well to moisture variability.

Solid wood contracts and expands more than engineered wood, so installers should leave more space between the boards to allow the wood to expand and contract.

Can solid and engineered hardwood flooring be sanded and refinished?

In most cases, solid wood flooring can be sanded and refinished many times throughout the life of the floor. Many engineered woods can be sanded and refinished, but it depends on the the thickness of the hardwood veneer. Engineered wood flooring with thick veneers can be sanded and refinished up to three times, while engineered wood flooring with thinner veneers may only be sanded and refinished once or, in some cases, not at all.

Which costs more?

It depends. Solid and engineered hardwood flooring vary in price–and quality. The type of installation also affects the overall cost of your project. Solid hardwood and engineered hardwood have comparable costs, so you shouldn’t rule out either option when considering price.

Which is better for my home: solid or engineered?

The best floor for your home depends on so many factors, it’s best to consult an expert to help you evaluate your project and find the best product.

Contact the experts at Dan Higgins Wood Flooring