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Types of Wood Floors
Solid
Solid hardwoods are typically 3/4" or 19mm thick, although
some do come in 3/8" (10mm) or 5/16" (8mm) thicknesses.
This type of hardwood flooring can be installed with a nail-down
installation method over wood subfloors. This type of hardwood
is also very susceptible to the effects of moisture and temperature,
because hardwoods expand and contract with moisture and temperature
changes in the atmosphere. Since hardwoods expand and contract
in the width of the grain, this type of hardwood flooring
is not recommended to be installed over a concrete slab, unless
otherwise stated by the manufacturer. There are some instances
where 3/8"-thick solid hardwood can be installed on a
concrete slab.
Engineered
Rather than having one solid piece of hardwood, the engineered
hardwood method uses layers of hardwood veneer to create a
product that can range in thickness from 3/8" or 8mm
up to 9/16" or 14mm thick. The wood veneer can range
in thickness depending on the manufacturer. In order to create
an engineered hardwood, these veneer layers are stacked one
on top of the other with the grain of adjacent layers oriented
perpendicular to one other. Once the desired thickness is
achieved, the boards are then cut into the correct board width.
From there, the boards are then manufactured to have a tongue
or groove on the edges. The final step is to add stain if
necessary, and add a finish. By doing this, the engineered
hardwood becomes less susceptible to the effects of moisture
and temperature change, because wood expands and contracts
in the width of the grain direction. Therefore engineered
hardwood is referred to as being dimensionally stable. Solid
hardwood does not have dimensional stability because all of
the grain runs in the same direction. Because of its dimensional
stability, engineered hardwood can be glued directly to concrete
above or below grade, as opposed to solid hardwood which cannot.
Adapted from Wikipedia
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