Floorboards: Hardwood vs Engineered - which is best?

Floorboards: Hardwood vs Engineered - which is best?

“Hardwood or engineered floorboards, which one do I choose?” This question is a common one amongst clients and the truth is, there is no “right” answer, it’s more a matter of weighing the pros and cons for your personal situation. Flooring is such a key decision when renovating or designing a new home so I can’t stress enough the importance of spending the time to make sure you end up with a result you’ll love. 

Not sure which way to go, let’s unpack the specifics:

Differences:

Hardwood - as the name suggests, these boards are made of solid hardwood timber species and therefore, extremely durable and hardwearing. Being a solid board, they can be sanded back and refinished several times over their lifespan making their longevity a sustainable benefit for many homeowners.

Engineered - while engineered boards can look similar to hardwood flooring at first glance, the difference is in their construction. These boards are made up of a thin layer (approx 3-4mm) of hardwood bonded to a substrate of plywood. As opposed to a single solid piece of wood.

A Few Fun Facts:

Durability & Sustainability:

As the name suggests, hardwood boards are made of solid hardwood timber species and therefore, extremely durable and hardwearing. Being a solid board, they can be sanded back and refinished several times over their lifespan making their longevity a sustainable benefit for many homeowners. Engineered boards, while also strong due to their cross hatched substrate design, some manufacturers say they can be sanded back once, or twice at best, in their lifetime (though I am personally yet to see someone refinish an engineered board). But because engineered boards have a lot of texture and character, they often show less scratches than the hardwood.

Installation:

“Hardwood floors are finished on site, and will take a number of days to install, stain and protect. It’s best if you’re not in the house during the process, and it’s important that you take precautions for a number of days after your floors have been finished.The installation of an engineered floor, however, can happen much more quickly than a hardwood floor because they are typically pre-finished (few require an oiling or a waxing after installation). Engineered floors have multiple installation options including nailing, gluing or floating, which makes it easier to install in certain applications. For example, if you are living in your house while you are replacing your floors, an engineered floor is much easier to deal with since you can walk on it immediately after it has been installed”, according to RenoBible. 

Feeling underfoot:

Hardwood floorboards come milled with a tongue and groove on opposite edges which interlock when installed. These are then nailed to the subfloor to ensure a solid feeling underfoot. Engineered boards also come with an interlocking system, and can be glued to the subfloor for a similar sturdy effect, or, simply ‘clicked’ into each other creating a floating floor, though this can often result in a ‘springy’ or ‘spongy’ feeling under foot.

Colours:

The majority of hardwood flooring we have on the market in Australia is, of course, Australian grown species such as Tasmanian Oak, Blackbutt and Spotted Gum. They all provide their own unique colour tone variations though all can be sand and stained a myriad of different colours to achieve the desired result and work in with the rest of a home’s style and design. A popular choice I’m seeing at the moment is Blackbutt stained with 25% Black Japan which gives a lovely warm brown result without any red undertones.Enter the world of engineered boards and there are a plethora of options available to suit every taste. Hand-scraped, smoked finish, wax finish, limewash, whitewash - literally, endless! This wide variety of options is part of the appeal for many homeowners and why they end up selecting engineered over hardwood. 

Maintenance:

Both hardwood and engineered timber boards are relatively easy to keep clean and maintain with vacuuming and a dry mop with specific timber floorboard cleaner, such a Bona. Wet mopping and/or leaving water to soak into timber will inevitably cause expansion and warping (humidity is also a contributing issue). Even though the boards are sealed there is still the risk of water causing damage if left to soak in. It’s hard to predict exactly how a floor will age in each individual home, wood is a natural product at the end of the day and regardless of which option you choose, climate, family life and pets will all have an impact on the longevity and appearance of your aging floor.

Cost:

Flooring is a HUGE decision in the scheme of your overall design and one you don’t want to get ‘wrong’. It’s also a big headache to replace flooring if it all goes wrong and you don’t like the colour or choose an inferior quality product. Depending on the level of engineered board you are quoted, they can sometimes be slightly cheaper, however, at the end of the day, there usually isn’t a huge cost difference between the two options once installation has been factored into the equation. 

So moral of the story? Speak to your interior designer and builder to talk through which option is best for your specific home based on the existing structure, your overall style and design, architecture of your home, lifestyle, long term plans and importantly, your personal preference!