In flooring, which is better: solid hardwood or engineered hardwood?
The adhesives used to hold laminates together will 'off-gas' and release VOCs into your air for years to come. Some are known carcinogens, others contribute to asthma, depression and other difficulties. That's on top of whatever you use to seal and finish it. Pricewise laminate rules. But we're still finding out what the true costs are.
I've had both, just had a solid hardwood installed, way nicer!!! No doubt, it is more expensive, but not much. It was a quick and fairly clean install, installers have great tools, so even the sanding was quick and as clean as possible. Solid all the way!!
Solid hardwood is much messier to install. Lots of sanding dust. It also takes longer before you can put furniture back on it (drying time plus curing time - usually a week depending on humidity). But then solid hardwood mellows with age and has a better look (IMHO). Engineered hardwood is less of a mess to install and you can move back in right away. The coating is done at the factory and is, therefore, more uniform and penetrates the wood better. Therefore, you should get better wear out of engineered hardwood. If it was me, I'd do solid hardwood if I was building, but engineered if I was remodelling (simply because it is less messy and you can move right back in)
Both solid and engineered hardwood floors are mostly available in pre-finished wherein they can be with aluminum oxide which makes it harder to scratch than those finished on site. VOC's (volatile organic compounds) are usually pretty safe on both, lest it wouldn't be acceptable with the US standards. Solid wood floor's advantage is that it can be re-sanded and refinished for many generations to come because of its' thickness. They are typically nailed down (except for thinner ones which have the option of being glued- down). Solid wood floors also contract and expand normally with temp and humidity changes. Engineered wood floors however have a thin layer of the real wood on top of 3-7 cross-grained plys of wood core. It's advantage is that it is less affected by humidity and temperature.They can be installed below, grade, on-grade, and above-grade. This kind of floor also has more options for installation - can be nailed/stapled, glued, or floated, and to any kind of subfloor. You can choose to opt for which one you think will work best with your needs:)
