The Best Of Both: Solid Wood vs Engineered Wood

 Wooden flooring has risen again as a prized trend when it comes to interior design and not only the interior design companies in Dubai, but companies all over the world are turning to wooden flooring for more than just a few aspects when it comes to designing homes and even hotels.

But since the interior design industry has come so far, it should be of no surprise that an alternative, relatively cheaper than the traditional Solid Wood Flooring has been invented- Engineered Wood Flooring. There is no clear advantage to one form of wooden flooring over another, it depends on the individual how much they value the relative merits of either flooring.

It is important to understand the core difference between solid hardwood and engineered hardwood before proceeding further.

Solid wood flooring, as the name suggests, is made of solid wood throughout its thickness. It is usually made of hardwood species such as maple, oak and walnut.

When it comes to Engineered wood flooring, it looks very similar to solid wood flooring but is made of thin layers of hardwood bonded over a substrate of high-quality plywood.

Knowing, coming down to the comparison of the two, it would be done on the following aspects

Basic Differences

- Life Span

Solid Wood Flooring: Has a lifespan of 30 to 100 years.

Engineered Wood Flooring: The average lifespan of is about 20 to 40 years.

- Cost and Stability

Solid Wood Flooring: When it comes to the cost, solid wood flooring takes, on an average, $8 to $15 per square feet.
When it comes to moisture resistance, solid wood flooring may wrap in humid, damp conditions.

Engineered Wood Flooring: When it comes to Engineered wood flooring, it is cheaper, costing around$3 to $14 per square feet.
And it is pretty resistant to warping in humid, damp conditions

- Thickness, Width and Length

Solid Wood Flooring: Plank thickness of solid wood is about 3/4   inches, plank width can be about 21/4 to 4 inches and when it comes to width, solid wood flooring plant length is about 12 to 18 inches.

Engineered Wood Flooring: When it comes to engineered wood flooring, the plank thickness, width and length is about 3/8 to 9/16 inch, 21/4 to 7 inch and 12 to 60 inches respectively.

- Installation Method

Solid Wood Flooring: Nail down, Tongue-and-groove are the most effective installation methods in case of Solid Wood Flooring

Engineered Wood Flooring: Nail down is also effective for installing engineered wood flooring along with floating or glue-down.

Appearance

Solid Wood Flooring: When it comes to solid hardwood flooring boards, they tend to be narrower than engineered hardwood flooring boards. Solid hardwoods generally have very tight seams and they come with a wide range of species and colours. Solid hardwood boards are available in both pre-finished and unfinished boards. Interior design companies prefer a wider range in species and colours, thus prefer solid hardwood flooring when it comes to resident apartment interior design.

Engineered Wood Flooring: In case of engineered hardwood flooring, the floorboards tend to be wider and when it comes to pre-finished engineered hardwood flooring, they have slightly bevelled edges which create slight grooves between boards. Engineered hardwood flooring is sold almost always prefinished and they come with a narrower range of colours and species as compared to solid hardwood flooring.
Engineered hardwood flooring can also be a good choice for hotel interior design.


Care and Cleaning

Solid Wood Flooring: Cleaning and care for solid hardwood flooring are pretty easy, simple sweeping and vacuuming and occasional damp mopping with an approved wood cleaner is recommended.

Engineered Wood Flooring: It is the same when it comes to engineered hardwood flooring.

But usage of warm water or steam in case of both the floorings should be avoided. The convenience of easy cleaning can be one of the many reasons for wooden flooring’s growing popularity from hotel interior design companies in Dubai to even salon and restaurant interior design companies in Dubai

Wooden flooring is not only turning popular when it comes to residential interior design in Dubai but also in the hotels, wooden flooring has caught the attention of all, especially when it comes to a luxury hotel interior designer.

Hardwood flooring is being preferred in almost all sectors. Not only due to their aesthetic appeal but wooden floorings are turning quickly popular again due to the sense of closeness to nature they offer.