While earlier on most of the flooring installations were done with nail the hard way, now with the appearance of the engineered flooring the installation produce is much easier and quicker. Basically these are thin wood sheets that are glued together just like plywood.
While hardwood is the classic option and maybe the most durable of all, the engineered wood floor gives you a faster and much easier option to get a new flooring which is available from the factory with a durable finish. This type of flooring is actually more stable than the hardwood flooring so you have no problems putting over concrete floors or radiant floor. Warping is no longer an issue here. Also many people attest to the fact that the finishes are way more durable than the previous types of floorings.
You can find good quality engineered flooring strips between 8-12$ per square foot which is a bit more expensive than the solid wood strips, however the higher costs are actually diminished by the fact that you can install it by yourself, something that it’s way more difficult to install alone when it comes to hardwood.
When you actually look at two floors, one made with engineered flooring and the other one with real wood flooring, the two look very similar in appearance. However the real deal is done below the surface. The multiple levels of cross stacked strips that are glued and laminated together under high pressure are the real strength of the engineered flooring type. These are made to withstand humidity and as a result they can be installed in almost every room in the home, something that is not easily said by the hardwood variety.
You can actually find the engineered hardwood in various strips and in planks. If you go for long strips, you will find thin boards that are spliced together in order to form bigger planks. The tiles are making the parquet flooring which is glued together in various geometric designs. Also it comes in two types that each have its own benefits and cons: prefinished wood flooring and unfinished wood flooring.
Which one you choose really depends on a few factors, such as your budget, the type of home you have, the type of expectations you have of your floor and also how careful you have to be around your floors. For example if you have kids and pets around, laminated engineered flooring is the better option than hardwood flooring.