Look at the side of the plank. If it is one solid piece of wood with a continuous grain, it's solid hardwood. If you see different layers of wood, it's engineered hardwood. The layers of wood will look sandwiched together.
Floorboards tend to be wider with engineered hardwood flooring. Some pre-finished engineered hardwood flooring has slightly beveled edges, which creates slight grooves between boards, while solid hardwood flooring generally has very tight seams between boards.
4) Look at the wood grain
If you stare long enough, you will likely find boards with the same wood grain. Hardwood flooring is made from solid wood, so every board will be different. Depending on the wood, there may also be knots, and if you don't see the same knot anywhere else, then you have yourself some hardwood.
Hardwood floors are typically nailed or glued down, while vinyl floors are often installed using interlocking or floating planks. Check the edges of the flooring. Hardwood floors will have square or tongue-and-groove edges, while vinyl floors will have a rolled or beveled edge.
Unlike standard ground floor construction, suspended floors are not sitting directly on the ground. This allows air flow and ventilation to prevent the mould and dry rot that would otherwise occur over damp ground. However this air flow can leave the problem of draughts and cold in the house if not insulated correctly.
Xylorix Inspector is an automated macroscopic wood identification mobile app.
The WoodSolutions Species App is available for free download in the iTunes (Apple) or Play Store (Android). To download it, simply search for WoodSolutions in each of the stores and click download.
Oak flooring, maple flooring and cherry flooring are all good choices. Other species include bamboo (which is actually a grass), walnut, ash and mahogany. You'll pay a premium price for more exotic species, such as teak, jarrah and mesquite.
Engineered hardwood has the potential to sound more hollow when you walk on it, especially if you opt for a floating installation. Stapling planks down can make them sound more solid. Premium engineered hardwood collections are a bit thicker, so they usually sound and feel just like solid hardwood floor.
You could not wear the flooring down any further than the tongue and groove for obvious reasons, meaning that an engineered wood flooring which consists of a 6mm wear layer can be sanded just as much, and will last just as long, as solid wood!
Engineered wood floors are “fake” and “cheap” compared to solid wood floors. For some of the very inexpensive engineered floors, this might be true. But a quality engineered floor will look and feel exactly like a high-quality solid hardwood floor.
Engineered wood flooring: Some engineered wood flooring is installed by nailing or stapling it down to a plywood subfloor. However, other brands are installed as floating floors. Similar to laminate flooring, engineered wood flooring is designed with a decorative surface layer glued over a plywood or MDF core.
Engineered wood is traditionally installed by nailing it down to a plywood subfloor. However, if you want to save money and make things simpler, you can choose floating engineered hardwood.
Rather than use a steam cleaner or wet mop, use a well-wrung damp mop that won't leave pooling water or standing water on your floor. You won't need anything more than water, and any remaining streaks should evaporate quickly. But if any excessive water spots linger, following up with a dry towel is easy enough.
Wood of a particular species can be identi- fied by its unique features. These features include strength, density, hardness, odor, texture and color. Reliable wood identification usually re- quires the ability to recognize basic differences in cellular structure and wood anatomy.
Match Tones
Choose whichever sample is closest in color to the existing floor. Even though the match may not be exact, once furniture, area rugs and accessories are added to the space, the slight difference in floors will be minimized.
Floor Visualizer to explore all sorts of flooring choices—styles, colors, and textures. After uploading a few images of your home, you'll be able to review all your options in no time and narrow your focus quickly. The Picture It!
Within our range of solid hardwood floors there are a variety of different thicknesses in the planks of flooring. The thicknesses generally range from between 18mm to 20mm.
Engineered wood flooring looks almost identical to the hardwood on the surface, but instead of a single wood plank, it's made of a high-quality plywood core with a thin layer of hardwood flooring on top. Engineered wood flooring is a more affordable option, but it can't be refinished to extend its lifespan.
Wood floors are usually identifiable by their natural grain and knots. Tile floors are usually identifiable by the glazed surface in various shapes, sizes, and colors. Laminate floors typically have a glossy, almost plastic-like surface. Vinyl floors often have a textured surface.