Installing Engineered Flooring

Hardwood flooring is a dream for many homeowners but it can be impractical for installation purposes. For example, you should not put hardwood on a concrete basement floor. In addition, it takes special equipment for installation.

With engineered flooring you can get all the benefits from hardwood without the work. In addition, the floor can be installed in several ways depending on the usage. Engineered flooring is manufactured with several layers of wood that are positioned in opposite directions. As with plywood this causes the humidity changes will not affect the planks because the think wood strips give it stability with the change in humidity.

Engineered flooring can be put down over concrete with the proper subfloor treatment. This means a good vapor seal and foam sheeting.

For installation the boxes should be placed in the rooms where the wood is to be done to get them acclimatized. By opening several boxes a better color and texture consistency can be met because the ones that aren’t so great looking (There many be some) can be shuffled to the back and used for closets.

Staple Installation

Like installing hardwood planks the engineered strips can be stapled with an air nailer. The subfloor should be a plywood product with a paper flooring felt placed on top and the staples are usually put in the tongues every 4 “. near the walls where you can’t get the nail gun in the strips are glued. As each strip goes in it is tapped with a block to make it tight. When meeting other flooring a reducer or transition strip  is a good way to make the entryway smooth.

Floating Floor

As with laminate engineered flooring can be “floated.” This means that it will be installed on top of a thin foam layer. I can also be glued together and/or to the subfloor.

Engineered Flooring is for Basements

For those who want a hardwood floor that is quick and easy to install there is nothing better than the engineered flooring types. Because the wood is made from laminated pieces it will not warp or twist, even if laid down in very hot or very cold rooms. And it is the only wood floor that can be put down without special tools or experience.

Basically, engineered floor is a piece of plywood grafted to a thick hardwood veneer. Some can be stapled or glued to a subfloor while others can go down like a regular laminate floor, which is on a foam sheet so it can float. This means it can be installed over a basement floor. In addition the pieces can be cut with a miter saw.

The installation prep is like laminate: 6 ml pol vapor barrier on the cement with taped seams and foam sheeting. The the strips snap into place like laminate flooring.

Like regular hardwood engineered hardwood flooring offers a wide range of species, colors and grain patterns. It can also be refinished up to 3 times by a professional refinisher. So it has all the advantages of regular hardwood without the expense and mess of installation.

As for price range engineered flooring ranges between laminate and hardwood flooring.