Thoughts On Engineered Hardwood

importer

Has anybody used the "locking" engineered flooring that does not get glued or nailed. I'm just wondering if this stuff sounds like a laminate floor when you walk on it. I need to do a floor over concrete and thought this might be a good idea, but if it sounds like pergo when you walk on it maybe glue down would be a lot better. Thanks for any feedback

MattCoops

you can put a padding underneath that deadens the sound

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importer

i know but that padding doesnt really do too much on a laminate floor. Just wondering if it is any different in this situation.

Floordude

It is what it is. A DIY marketed product. Budget flooring.

I'd never use it in my home.

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MattCoops

doesn't that stuff peel when it gets wet?

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Matt with Cupan Custom Tile & Paint of Lowell, Massachusetts
Design and installation of ceramic tile and natural stone for floor, wall, and countertops
(978) 601-8774 | cupantile@gmail.com | view tile pictures and more

shed-n-deck

If it's meant to be a floating floor, then gluing it will only cause problems. The sound that you are talking about is because laminate flooring isn't firmly attached, and the material is very dense and thin. I don't know anything about engineered floors, but it sounds like a buzzword for laminated flooring. If it's thin like laminated flooring, then it will probably reverberate much the same way a laminate floor will. If it's a thicker material, then the sound will probably be a lower tone, and less noticeable.

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Shed

send_it_all

I haven't had any good experiences with engineered floors yet. I have only seen about 4 of them, but they all were soft and dented easily.

ron schenker

The cheap $2.99/sq.ft. stuff is not much better than clik and lok laminate. I've installed $6.99/sq.ft. engineered oak that was really nice. BTW, will your install over concrete be in a basement?

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shed-n-deck

So would it be okay if somebody explained to me what engineered hardwood is? I don't want to hi-jack your thread, but I'm really curious.

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Shed

send_it_all

Engineered flooring is a layer of real wood glued to a plywood backer, instead of being solid wood all the way through. The layer of wood is usually just thick enough to sand and refinish once or twice. The better stuff comes with a pretty healthy warranty...25 years or so.

shed-n-deck

So it's laminated flooring with a thicker laminate?

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Shed

send_it_all

Yes, you could say its laminated...but LAMINATE FLOORING, to me, is a photgraph of wood, printed on formica type plastic laminate, glued to a backer. No wood involved in the surface.

gideond

Technically it is laminated but it is not what is considered a "laminate" floor. Laminate has a dense particle core. Engineered has a plywood backing, layers of actual wood. Kahrs makes one of the best engineered woods I've seen. The thick solid pine back eliminates a lot of noise associated with a floating floor.

silvertree

Although I am getting away from using it, I have 1000 SF installed in my home. From dining room to bedroom it's about a 66 ft run.
After 3 years it's holding up nicely. I installed it with no breaks, 22 foot wide in one room down a hall to a bedroom. No cracks or splitting.
Not as hard as solid maple but after 3 years it looks good.
Did a dozen installs going back about 6 years with no complaints.
If I had to do it again, I would use prefinished solid wood but at the time I got a deal at $2 SF for materials. If you have pets, skip engineered flooring.

Floordude

Engineered has its place.

If you have concrete substrate, engineered is the way to go. Concrete moisture vapor emissions and solid wood, don't like each other.


Before laminate flooring hit our shores from europe, engineered cross ply, was called laminated wood. It is basically plywood, but some don't have balanced layers, and do act more like a solid.

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aceflooring

if it's on concrete you will most likly need a vapor barrior and there are some real good sound dampaning vapor bariers for laninate.