Solid, Engineered, Laminate: Differentiating Between Wood Flooring Types

Buying hardwood flooring online can sometimes seem like an impossible quest. Jargon gets thrown around like crazy, and with everyone claiming that their products are the longest lasting and the most durable, it can be hard to find the perfect flooring type for your individual needs. For example, you may trust that a given flooring company will always sell you a high-quality flooring type, but you may ask if vinyl flooring or solid hardwood flooring a better choice for your family’s lifestyle. Information about the intrinsic strengths and limitations of flooring varieties can be hard to find!

While we pledge to only sell quality products at E Hardwoods & Flooring,  we know that certain flooring types carry inherent qualities that make them better fits for some households over others. We’re here to help our potential clients make the best flooring decision for your unique circumstances. Below, we will dive into the differences between three similar flooring types—solid hardwood flooring, laminate flooring, and engineered hardwood flooring—and what situations they are best suited for.

They All Have Wood Components, but Their Similarities End There

To some degree, wood is a component of all of these flooring types. However, the type of wood and how much wood content each flooring type contains differs a great deal.

• Solid hardwood flooring is just as its name sounds: solid. Made of a single plank of wood all the way through, this flooring is a great choice for those looking for a flooring type to last for decades. Indeed, solid hardwood flooring is well-known for its longevity, provided you invest in the proper upkeep.
• Engineered hardwood flooring has a multispecies wood core with a thin sheet of solid hardwood laid over the top. Engineered hardwood flooring is a wonderful option for households or businesses who like the feel of solid hardwood flooring, but would like something a little more economically accessible.
• Laminate flooring has no solid hardwood to it. It’s made up of particleboard and a hyper-realistic image of hardwood superimposed over the top. It’s generally considered the most affordable of the wood flooring types. This flooring type is also considered easy to install on your own.

Don’t Know Which is Best For You? E Hardwoods & Flooring is Here to Help

As a vendor of countless flooring types, we’d be happy to direct you towards your perfect match. Check out our stock here or contact us with further questions.