What’s The Best Type of Wood Flooring?

With so many different species, it’s difficult to know the best wood flooring for your home because it depends on your property’s architectural style, unique tastes, budget and needs. Rather than looking at every possible species of wood, we’re going to guide you through two of the most popular flooring types in more detail; solid wood and engineered.

What is solid wood flooring?

Solid wood flooring is a completely natural product — each individual board is a solid piece of hardwood that’s been cut directly from a tree and fashioned into a plank. Thicknesses can vary depending on your requirements, but it’s best to use planks at least 20mm for optimum heat retention. Top-quality oak floorboards can withstand a great deal of stress before there are any signs of scuff marks or scratches to the surface, whilst floorboards can be sanded down many times without compromising structural integrity.

Five benefits of solid wood hardwood flooring

• Unrivalled durability
• Easy to maintain
• Adds value to your home
• A variety of hues and textures available
• Gains more character with age

What is engineered flooring?

Engineered flooring consists of multiple layers of wood with a hardwood surface. Therefore, you get the natural beauty and warmth of real wood, whilst this form of flooring is also less susceptible to warping. Engineered floorboards can be sanded back because the wear layer is often between 3mm and 6mm. As is the case with all wood flooring, low quality engineered floorboards can wear out quickly, so it’s essential to make sure you choose products with a high-quality core.

Five benefits of engineered flooring

• Generally, less costly than solid hardwood flooring.
• Plenty of character with consistent, natural colour tones.
• It is relatively tricky for you to tell it apart from solid flooring once installed.
• You can sand the top layer and refinish the flooring
• Less susceptible to warping and shrinking than traditional solid wood flooring.

Finding wood flooring that’s right for you and your home

We recognise just how difficult it is to decide on the flooring that’s right for your home, and we’ve not even ‘touched the surface’ of the extensive range of products available on the market. That said, we do have the very best quality solid oak flooring and engineered floorboards in stock right now — from Tavern Grade Solid European Oak to Character Grade, Prime Grade, and Oiled Engineered Oak Flooring.

With various hues, textures and sizes, we’re able to provide budget-friendly solutions without compromising quality. If you’d like to explore our complete collection or speak to our team about your needs, please use our live chat feature or call us on 01536 267107.