The good and bad points of engineered hardwood floors verses solid hardwood floors.?
I have installed both engineered and solid and would probably recommend a good quality engineered board for use with underfloor heating this must be laid as a floating floor and would generally have a 5 mm veneer over a 15 mm ply back. Good quality engineered tends to be less expensive than solid and can be re sanded up to four times and once laid you wouldn't be able to see any difference installation costs would be about the same. solid would be my choice with a self applied wax oil finish in preference to a acrylic factory lacquer if cost and heating considerations were not an issue. good luck and enjoy your new floor.
Rob S. certainly knows his flooring! I had a 3/4 oak floor installed on a slab foundation, and, yes, it did require a subfloor (which I knew of in advance). In this case, it worked out well, and is exactly what I wanted. Rob's right, though, a 3/4 floor will raise the floor, particularly if you're installing it on a subfloor, but I was prepared for that, and actually think it gives the house character. I wanted the 3/4 oak because it can be sanded and refinished several times over its lifetime, which will probably be longer than the house, to be honest.
Several things on both woods. On the engineered.. Its thinner and can be used in places where 3/4 may raise the floor up to much such as exterior doors , dishwashers etc. It is user friendly since it is very straight ( no warpage) and goes together very easy. It can be installed directly over a slab by gluing it down(above grade in most cases.) There are different ways it can be installed, stapled,glued and in some cases as a floating floor. Engineered woods can be only sanded and redone sometimes only once where 3/4 can be done several times. Both ( in mose cases in prefinished) will have the tough aluminum oxide finish 3/4 wood tends to be tougher to work with since it can be warped and needs to be straightened when install, which most the time can be done with the nailer, but is just a hassle at times. 3/4 comes in a bit more variety in wood types and widths. 3/4 cant be installed on slab w/o a special flooring system installed which isn t practical in most cases. The Jenca ratings on 3/4 tend to be higher ( this is good) than you ll get in engineered. Both can be good products, you just have to choose which is right for your needs. Any questions you can e mail me through my avatar. GL
