Wood Flooring Construction

Hardwood flooring has two basic construction types: Solid and Engineered.

Solid wood flooring, as you'd guess, is 100% solid wood. Since it can be sanded and refinished many times, it can last for generations.

Engineered wood flooring is also all wood, but it's put together in cross-banded layers for enhanced dimensional stability. This makes it suitable for below-grade installation, such as in basements.

The thickness of the top layer—the wear layer— determines how many times an engineered floor can be refinished and is usually specified in millimeters. This wear layer is created by one of three different methods: it's sawn, sliced, or peeled (see diagram below). The particular method used depends on many factors, such as the desired thickness of the wear layer and type of wood.

In general, sawn and sliced veneers mimic the appearance of solid wood, whereas peeled veneers exhibit a somewhat more exaggerated grain pattern.

Engineered Flooring Wear Layer Types

Peeled

Sawn

Sliced

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