If you were to take a random poll—say, at your local DMV—and ask passersby what their favorite flooring material is—the one they’re most likely to ask for in a new house—wood would probably claim the top spot.
Nowadays, there is an abundance of cool flooring options for your homes. Bamboo—the darling material that is in danger of becoming a cliché—is sustainable and rapidly renewable, but its unusual grain patterns might be a bit busy for some buyers. Cork is cool and soft underfoot, but it has an organic look to it that can feel overbearing in large spaces. Concrete is highly durable, but only architects and the truly hip ask for it. Wood, on the other hand, is a perennial favorite and is always in vogue.
Hardwood for us
Truth is, you probably don’t even need to conduct a survey. It’s common knowledge that American consumers have a love affair with wood floors. Just look at the real estate listings, which highlight the features that typically stoke buyers’ interest: stainless steel appliances, granite countertops, and wood floors.
“Hardwood flooring has become the flooring of choice for fine homes and businesses because of its beauty, ease of maintenance, and durability,” The Wood Flooring Manufacturers Association (NOFMA) in Memphis, Tenn., writes on its Web site. “Like fine furniture, wood flooring increases in value over time. In fact, 90 percent of real estate agents surveyed stated that a home with wood flooring will sell more quickly and for a higher amount of money than a comparable home with any other type of flooring.”
Hard to argue with that. But in the last 10 years, traditional solid-hardwood flooring has seen a true rival emerge: engineered wood. Proponents of engineered hardwood say the product is an excellent alternative to solid wood and even offers some benefits and installation options that cannot be beat.
New Wave
Unlike a traditional wood floor plank, which is made from solid stock and features a tongue-and-groove edge, engineered product is constructed of multiple sheets of thin plywood with a solid-wood wear layer on top. Lancaster, Pa.–based Armstrong World Industries, which produces solid as well as engineered-wood flooring, says the layers are laid perpendicular to each other and laminated together to form a single plank that can be installed as a nailed down, stapled, glued, or floating floor over a variety of sub-floors.
Lewis Buchner, CEO of San Rafael, Calif.–based EcoTimber, says the cross-ply construction of engineered planks makes the product more stable than solid wood so “it doesn’t move as much.” Plus, engineered flooring “has a factory finish that is more durable than what is possible [with] on-site [finishing],” he adds. “[The flooring] typically has seven coats—and as many as nine—with aluminum oxide, which makes it extremely durable.”
Manufacturers also claim engineered wood is environmentally friendly. Because only the top layer is solid wood, the construction is a more efficient use of precious lumber and, thus, saves trees.
But hardwood advocates counter that the main problem with engineered product is that its wear layer offers limited refinishing opportunities—perhaps none at all if the wear layer is on the thin side. Buchner says this claim is largely a myth.
“Solid wood offers a couple more sandings,” Buchner explains. “Once you hit the tongue, that’s it.” In other words, the wood material above the tongue-and-groove of a plank tells you the real story of how many sandings are possible; engineered wood and solid wood do not have any meaningful difference, he says. Still, it helps to select an engineered product with at least a minimum of 3 millimeters to 3 1/2 millimeters of solid wood on top just in case refinishing is necessary.
It’s hard to make a case against solid wood, for the product is attractive and has years of tried-and-true performance on its side. It’s not unusual to see wide-plank floors in buildings that are well over 100 years old. And with solid-wood floors now offered in prefinished planks, performance is not an issue.
Nevertheless, engineered-wood floors can be used in places where wood cannot. Because solid wood is sensitive to moisture, and because it’s typically nailed down, it’s not recommended for installation below ground level or directly over a concrete slab, says the Anaheim, Calif.–based World Floor Covering Association. Engineered wood doesn’t have that problem. Plus, manufacturers have created a category of new products that are attractive and highly versatile. Some companies even offer engineered flooring that is made with a top layer of salvaged lumber that produces an attractive rustic look.
There are some buyers for whom only solid-wood floors will be good enough, but that is a reflection of personal taste rather than on the quality of engineered product. Used in the right situation and installed properly, either product will give your buyers years of good service and will make for an attractive floor show.