Looking to buy solid wood flooring in Swansea such as solid oak wood flooring then you are in the right place! DG Heath’s is a company based in Pontardulais, Swansea and our flooring centre has a vast range including solid wood flooring.
Nothing beats the look and feel of hardwood flooring. Wood flooring gives any room a luxurious finish and with such a wide range of wooden flooring to choose from at our flooring centre you are sure to find what you are looking for.
The difference between Solid Flooring and Engineered Flooring
Engineered boards are made up of several layers whereas solid wood boards consist of a single piece of wood. Engineered boards are much more stable with many being suitable for underfloor heating. Solid wood boards are unsuitable with underfloor heating.
Solid wood flooring
A Solid floor is constructed using one thick piece of solid timber and machining a tongue and groove profile into it. These are always fixed to the sub floor.
Solid wood floors are not suitable in environments with underfloor heating.
More information and our range can be found in our Solid Wood Flooring section.
Not Sure? – Engineered or Solid Wood Flooring?
This question continues to be one of the most common we get asked. Engineered wood flooring has been on the go for a long time now but it remains to this day a highly misunderstood wood flooring product.
People who’ve bought engineered wood flooring are completely converted, but those who are delving into the notion for the first time are still reluctant to plump for this solution, probably because of a lack understanding about what it really is.
So, if you’re facing this dilemma, we truly hope that this article will help you. We’ll look at all the different scenarios where engineered wood flooring is best and where you can safely choose solid wood flooring. Hopefully this will help you to decide, but of course, we’re always here for you if you need more help.
Before we start on the situations where one wood flooring might out-perform another, let’s just re-confirm very briefly what is meant by engineered wood flooring and solid wood flooring:
Solid wood flooring is just what its name suggests, wood flooring that is made from solid wood. No matter what species or grade of wood you can think of, it is likely that you’ll be able to track it down in a solid wood flooring option.
Engineered wood flooring on the other hand is made up of cleverly constructed core boards that are effectively layers and layers of ply that are bonded together. Thereafter those boards are topped off with a top layer of solid wood, which is what makes engineered wood flooring look just like solid wood.
Here are some of the situations where you might be in a dilemma between solid and engineered wood flooring for your project:
You’re uncertain about your sub floor
Whenever you are planning a new wood floor, it’s really important to measure the moisture levels in your sub floor. Ideally moisture levels shouldn’t exceed 2-3% and in order to be confident about the levels, it’s important to take a substantial number of readings across your entire floor.
If your sub floor is borderline when it comes to moisture levels, there’s no getting away from the fact that you’d be safer to opt for engineered wood flooring than solid wood. Making this choice, along with a suitable membrane or underlay will help reassure you about the longevity of your floor.
What If You’re Flooring a Bathroom or Kitchen?
When you’re thinking of installing a wood floor in your home, whether or not engineered or solid will work best also depends on which room you’re looking to re-floor. Because of the significant fluctuations in moisture levels and temperatures in the likes of kitchens and bathrooms, there’s no doubt that engineered wood flooring comes up trumps every time.
Thanks to the way that engineered boards are constructed, while they will expand and contract slightly when exposed to rises and falls in temperature and moisture levels, in comparison with solid wood the risk of resulting damage is minimal.
When solid wood is exposed to significant environmental changes it expands and contracts considerably, which, over a long period can cause damage to your floor. This won’t happen with a good quality, well-fitted engineered wood floor.
Areas of High or Heavy Footfall
High footfall means that you anticipate your floor to experience lots of traffic on a daily basis. Heavy footfall refers to environments where there is likely to be a higher impact on the floor thanks to the people crossing it.
This might refer to wheelchair users, people who rely on walking aids or may even be people who are significantly heavier than average weight.
Wherever there is high or heavy footfall, it’s comforting to be able to re-sand and re-finish your floor relatively frequently.
Although an engineered wood floor with a relatively thick top layer can be sanded comfortably two or even three times during its lifetime, a solid wood floor will take up to five or six sandings before risking significant damage.
So, if you are flooring a room where there is likely to be high or heavy footfall, your sub floor is nice and dry and there are no significant temperature or moisture fluctuations as well as no under floor heating, then solid wood flooring is probably a more practical solution.