There are many people all across the globe who loves the engineered oak flooring. However, they are too intimidated making this choice. Oak flooring is the kind of flooring manufactured from the processing of oak tree and making wide slices of 100 mm of thickness. The layered planks are then left and are allowed to season. The layer of wood may be again sliced into thinner board planks that are cut, planned, and finally grooved to form solid oak flooring. In the engineered oak flooring, thinner veneer of 4 mm and 6 mm are cut. Here, the floorboard is not as thick as 20mm. The thin oak veneer is made to bond with softwood ply board. Hence, the thickness again reaches 20mm when it is made to bond with ply board.
Engineered oak wood flooring is environment friendly option, as more and more floorboards can be created from one tree while the bulk of the boards are created from sustainable, fast growing softwood. The benefit of engineered oak floor stems from the fact that both softwood and hardwood layers are combined together. Hardwood is durable and hard wearing while softwood backs the board. Here the softwood is simply married to softwood and even the installation is very easy. There is no need to pay any professional to carry out nailing and floating.
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Engineered Oak Flooring |
Various options are there in engineering oak floors whereby you can choose standard oak or opt for maple. When solid oak has the tendency to shrink on drying and expand while being damp, plywood is another material used here constituted of bonding strips of layers of softwood. In the plywood, every layer is perpendicular to the other and so this combination gives a great strength to the floors. Thus, homeowners mostly prefer these.
Reasons for Choosing Engineered Oak Flooring Above Others
- This type of floor is extremely durable having a great torsional rigidity. The combination of plywood and solid oak will prevent the floor from changing shape under dry and wet condition.
- There is a bonding of hardwearing oak veneer to the plywood base, which is dimensionally stable. This sort of combination makes the resultant floor stable, strong, and appealing.
- Wherever moisture poses a problem, you can use the engineered oak floor. Use it in the bathroom and kitchen and enjoy the floors that remain new for years.
- As the floor does not contract or expand, the engineered oak floors stay glued to the subfloor.
- Engineered oak floor is best meant for places where moisture can pose a problem. You may also choose the floor as per the appearance.
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Oak Flooring |
Tips to Select the Engineered Oak Floor
- Oak flooring is usually selected as per its appearance. You may choose traditional oak floors or oak boards to create a classic appeal. Make sure any knot, crack, or shake is left unfilled.
- Check out the plywood backing which needs to be of a good quality. There must not be dents or strips missing here and there.
- The layer of oak wear should be thick. This will allow sanding if at all your taste changes in future.
- Do not ever settle for the cheapest oak floor, as oak flooring is an investment.
- Consider the finishing of the floor, which needs to have a polyurethane coating. Well, it may also be left unfinished so that you can choose the finish or color.
Engineered oak floor offers a range of advantages above other floors. As it is environment friendly and a practical option, the choice is great. When you get a choice between the solid oak floor and engineered oak, you should choose the latter one.
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