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Hardwood Floors for Commercial Spaces - Solid Wood versus Engineered Wood

by Prospec LLC Solutions Provider

When it comes to choosing wall and floor tiles for your business or commercial space, there are many options available. Choice of flooring generally depends on the type of business, its location and foot traffic. In the commercial realm, cost and durability are often the driving factors when it comes to flooring choice, while style and design play a minor, but still important role. But with flooring designs, patterns and trends coming out constantly, it can be challenging to pick the right option. Tile distributors in New York that supply flooring material and specialize in wood flooring and installation can provide the necessary support.

In order to make the right decision for your space, you need to look beyond the aesthetics and consider day-to-day requirements. Commercial spaces look trendier when they have wood flooring. The material is ideal for office spaces and store boutiques.Wood enhances the look and feel of any space and adds beauty to any room. Whether it is in an office space, or a retail store, wood flooring adds an extra wow factor and luxurious touch to the room that is hard to duplicate with anything else.  However, while it’s durable and easy to clean, wood is more expensive than other types of flooring.

When it comes to hardwood, options include solid and engineered wood. While engineered wood sounds like something made of vinyl and only meant to look like wood, it is actually 100 percent hardwood just like solid flooring is. The difference is in the way that it is made – and in the way that it performs.Let’s look at the main differences between solid hardwood and engineered hardwood -

  • Boards - Solid hardwood plank is 100 percent solid wood from top to bottom. This is the reason these floors last for years. Engineered hardwood floors on the other hand, are made with a solid plywood core topped with a hardwood veneer. The plywood core is made of many different layers or plies of wood sandwiched together facing different directions. This makes the core of engineered wood much more stable and resistant to warping or swelling than a solid hardwood plank.An engineered wood floor is much more resistant to moisture. The material won’t shrink and swell over time the way that solid wood will, which makes it a better choice for certain applications where solid hardwood cannot be installed. 
  • Location - Though hardwood floors make a great choice for many areas, they are rarely seen in basement level areas or rooms. This is because basement level rooms tend to have much higher moisture levels than those above. Solid hardwood cannot withstand that moisture. It will swell over time, and because it needs to be nailed to the substrate, swelling can cause serious warping. Engineered wood flooring is a good option for the basement.It retains shape better than solid hardwood in the presence of moisture.
  • Performance - When it comes to rating flooring performance, hardwood floors can withstand a lot of foot traffic. The material can differ in terms of hardness, which is rated on Janka scale. The higher the number on the scale, the more durable the floor is and the less likely that it will be scratched, dented, or damaged during the normal course of a business day. In solid hardwood material, the wood fibers tend to run in the same direction, which means that a solid hardwood plank is more likely to swell, shrink, or warp over time. Depending upon the location of your building, things like changing humidity levels can have a major impact on the state of your floor at any time of the year.Engineered wood planks, with their plywood core, are less likely to swell or warp, and are much less susceptible to moisture levels in the air. They can withstand commercial level foot traffic, and will last for years regardless of location or humidity. 
  • Refinishing - One of the best parts about having a hardwood floor is the fact that it can be sanded down and refinished if it becomes worn. Refinishing is important in high-traffic, commercial buildings that see a lot of use over the years. A solid hardwood floor can be sanded down and refinished about 10 times before the thickness of the material becomes an issue. As engineered wood floors have a veneer on top, they can’t be sanded down as many times as a solid wood floor can. They can be sanded and refinished if you want a different color or look for your floors.But, because of the way these floors are made, you don’t actually need to refinish them as often as you would do on a solid wood floor. Most solid wood floors are sold unfinished. This means that the flooring must be sanded down and a top coat added by the installer after the floors are put in. This is intended to give your floors a better, even appearance. An engineered hardwood floor will have a factory finish on it, meaning that it does not require additional sanding or finishing after installation. Factory finishes tend to last much longer than those applied by the installer, so while your engineered wood floor may not be able to be refinished 10 times, it also likely won’t require refinishing as many times. In fact, most engineered hardwood floors only require refinishing about twice over their lifetime, and the top veneer is more than substantial enough to withstand this. 
  • Installation - Installation of solid hardwood floors can be done through nailing or stapling the floor down to the substrate below. A few other types of solid wood floors can be installed using adhesive, but as most adhesives have high-moisture content, this is not always recommended due to the possibility of the wood swelling. Engineered wood flooring installation can be done the same way as solid wood floors, or they can be floated to encapsulate an existing floor. This is ideal for covering things like concrete or old asbestos flooring that can’t be disturbed but must be covered for safety. This makes conversions of old buildings easier, as well as the total installation of the new floor faster than with solid hardwood flooring. 
  • Cost - Installing hardwood floors involves a lot of cost which come from the installation and the finishing of the wood. Solid hardwood flooring may cost less in some cases, but will cost more to install because it must be sanded and finished, increasing the total cost.Engineered woods typically cost less, giving you a more durable, longer lasting finish for a lower price.

Hardwood flooring gives any building a beautiful, timeless appearance. The material is valued for its style variability and durability. Wood flooring and installation can be done appropriately if you rely on the services of a professional tile distributor. Established distributors offer walls and floor tiles from world-class brands. 



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Created on Apr 17th 2020 00:45. Viewed 1,037 times.

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