Is Engineered Flooring the Same as Laminate?

On Laminates and Engineered Floors

There are two types of hardwood floors. Solid wood and engineered. Many seem to mistake engineered wood with laminate and as a result – shy away from it. This is simply not true. Engineered floors are considered to be a ‘real’ hardwood, unlike laminates.

Engineered floors have multiple layers. Based on this, they are divided into 3-ply and multi-ply. Three-ply engineered wood has three layers: top (wear) layer, also known as veneer, a core layer and base layer. Multi-ply engineered floors are of higher quality and as the name suggests, have multiple layers of high-quality, cross-layered plywood. They are all concentrated in the core of the boards.

You may wonder “How much natural material is plywood, really? Doesn’t it uses mean that engineered floors are closer to laminate than solid wood?” If you ask this question, you are correct. Plywood is no more natural than laminate. Still, engineered floors are recognised as a “real” type of wood. They are priced as such and add a resale value to any property. Laminates are among the cheapest products on the market and don’t add any value.

Another major difference between engineered and laminate flooring is the surface on top. Engineered floors have a relatively thin hardwood wear layer. Its thickness varies greatly but serves as an indicator of quality. The thicker it is, the more times can the floor be refinished. In comparison, a laminate has a design layer with an image of real wood printed there and protected by a durable overlay.

Why Get Engineered Floor?

Let’s sum it up. Engineered boards consist of a plywood core with a thin hardwood veneer on top. What makes it any good? The plywood base and core offer great dimensional stability and allow engineered floors to withstand light moisture much better than solid wood. This makes it suitable for places where the latter will not be a good choice – kitchens, bathrooms and basements.

Wood is a hygroscopic material capable of absorbing moisture. This leads to the appearance of gaps as the different seasons pass and eventually even to cupping, warping and buckling in various ways. The stability engineered wood offers severely limits the possibility for such problems to occur. Engineered wood flooring can also work quite well with underfloor heating. While solid wood can technically do this, as well, it is not advised. Its structure is not very suitable for the purpose.

The Downsides of Engineered Flooring

Engineered wood is cheaper than hardwood but offers almost all of its benefits and more. However, it simply won’t last that much. The hardwood veneer on its top allows the floorboards to be sanded. Each sanding will strip part of it, up until the plywood below becomes visible. At this point, the only thing left to do is replace the whole floor. A solid wood floor consists of 'solid' floorboards. Each of those boards is much thicker than any single piece of wear layer found on top of an engineered surface, which allows them to be refinished a lot more often. Keep in mind, though, that there are more expensive types of engineered floorboards created specifically to counter this problem. By adding increasingly thicker veneers such floors can be sanded successfully multiple times. Of course, such a benefit will come with a higher price tag attached.

What Is Good to Know Before Purchasing an Engineered Floor

The quality of the product varies from manufacturer to manufacturer. Some engineered floors don’t even come with a plywood core but one made from high-density fibreboard (HDF). This is not necessarily a bad thing but you must be aware of what you are about to purchase, right? A cheap engineered floor is not always 'a deal' because the quality of wood and adhesives used is probably lower. As it is with many things in this world, you get what you pay for.