Engineered Hardwood
Engineered hardwood takes the best attributes of solid hardwood and combines them with current manufacturing technology — adhesive-bonded layers of variable wood species, topped with a “wear layer” of the desired species, typically around 1/8″ thick. That top layer can be stained and finished with exactly the same look as any prefinished solid hardwood.
The layered base makes engineered hardwood more versatile than solid: it can be stapled, glued, or floated over an underlayment, which means it works over concrete and below grade — basements, slab-on-grade, multi-level condos with HOA sound ratings. It also reacts to humidity changes with more forgiveness than solid.
Solid Prefinished Hardwood
Solid prefinished gives you the same end product as sand-on-site, with none of the smells, mess, or downtime — and a much shorter install. Today’s solid prefinished hardwoods are documented to be 10× more resistant to finish abrasion thanks to aluminum oxide polyurethane, which is baked onto the boards at the factory in varying gloss levels.
Under normal wear and tear, that means a much longer finish life and fewer costly refinishing projects. Most prefinished hardwood is also UV-treated to minimize color change from sunlight.
What We'll Talk About at the Estimate
Subfloor condition. Grade (above, on, or below). Foot traffic, pets, kids. Sun exposure. How you want the seams to fall. Whether you want to match an adjacent room. Whether you want the boards running with the long axis of the room or against it. The whole thing usually takes about 45 minutes.
Bring photos of any rooms that will be adjacent to the new floor — that’s the fastest way to nail the wood species and stain choice.
