Solid Wood Flooring is the term for individual pieces of wood milled to a tongue-and-groove profile, typically ¾” thick. It is available with a factory-applied finish, or as an unfinished floor (requiring jobsite sanding and finishing). The use of prefinished flooring is popular because it avoids the delays and mess of a sand-in-place floor, and because the new generation of factory-applied finishes is considered superior and longer-lasting. Solid wood flooring offers the most choices in specie, grade and dimension.
Engineered Wood Flooring is a sandwich of alternating wood layers designed to provide stability. It’s basically a solid wood top (or “wear”) layer that is permanently bonded to its own wood subfloor, thereby allowing it to be installed directly over concrete or below grade. An engineered floor will be subject to over 75% less seasonal movement than a solid wood floor of the same specie and width. It makes good use of the timber resource by concentrating the best wood on the wear layer. Planet Hardwood recommends engineered flooring for glue-down and floating installations, and for flooring wider than 6” in width. Many engineered floors can be nailed down also, and some offer a thick re-sandable wear layer comparable to a solid wood floor.