Wear layers and longevity

We talk a lot about the thickness of the wear layer on our products. The wear layer is the usable surface on an engineered floor, the layer of hardwood that sits on top that gives the floor its unique appearance which is exactly the same as a solid 3/4" floor. But it also represents the potential lifespan of the floor based on its thickness. Traditional solid 3/4" wood flooring is thought to be the gold standard of real wood flooring. And in many ways they still represent a viable option. They have a thick wear layer that can be re-used and they will look great in your home for a lifetime. Our engineered product mimics these benefits by giving you a heavy 5mm wear layer that can be re-sanded over time to refresh your floor and in addition give you added benefits like better dimensional stability which limits the seasonal shrinkage you typically see in solid floors. They can also be used in basements unlike solid wood flooring and also in glue-down applications they will eliminate the need for large unsightly transitions from wood to tile or carpet.

What is a quality wood floor?

I see a number of forum posts asking the above question. What is quality, how can it be defined? Here is a brief overview of the different aspects of picking out a quality wood flooring product.

Raw Materials
This can be difficult to ascertain but it is important to note that quality products start with quality raw materials. In engineered flooring this pertains to the backing material (plywood for multiply products and wood fillets and backing veneers for 3ply products), the actual hardwood veneer, and the glues used to process the product into a piece of usable flooring.

Processing
How are the floors made? What type of equipment are they processed on? Flooring produced on high-end German machinery are more likely to have tight fitting tolerances and less over-wood (height differences) than product made on lower end machinery. Not to mention contractors will have less difficulty installing products that are easy to work with. That translates to less time they are working in your home.

Investment Value
Is the floor you are purchasing made in such a way that it can be expected to last a long time in your home? This pertains mostly to the thickness of the wear-layer on an engineered floor. Is there enough usable hardwood to be refinished multiple times so that a few years down the road you can have them re-sanded and finished rather than paying for removal and replacement of new flooring?

There are other considerations but these are a few key items to explore when choosing a floor for your home.