By Dan Natkin Director, hardwood business, Mannington Mills
Engineered, prefinished hardwood flooring is the best value for the money in the category today. It offers a wide variety of looks, widths and thicknesses, all with a durable, factory-finished coating that never requires sanding or refinishing. But there remains some confusion, however, about what exactly an engineered hardwood floor is, and how it’s different from a solid.

Both floors are constructed of real hardwood, but that’s about where the similarities end. Engineered floors offer advantages over solids in a number of ways.

1. Style and design

From the consumer’s perspective, the primary consideration when choosing a floor is “how does it look?” Today’s engineered floors offer a wide range of colors, styles and designs—from the lightest maple to the richest mahogany; from exotic and sleek to rustic and heavily distressed.

These floors allow for freedom of design that just doesn’t exist with unfinished floors. Technology is now to the point where unique visuals can be created using sophisticated staining, scraping and distressing techniques. These looks, and the quality and consistency of a factory finish, simply cannot be achieved with on-site finishing. In addition, contemporary styles such as distressed and hand sculpted visuals are typically cost prohibitive in a 3/4-inch solid.

2. Installation flexibility

Because engineered floors are constructed using inner plies of wood with a face veneer layer on top, they are both more flexible and more dimensionally stable than a single, solid piece of wood. Wide-plank visuals are easily achieved in an engineered floor with little concern for the seasonal movement. They also can be installed in areas where solids can’t, such as below-grade.

From an installation standpoint, most engineered prefinished floors can be floated, glued, nailed, stapled and now some can be “locked” using a glueless method. This offers the installer several options from which to choose based on the area in which the floor is being installed as well as subfloor type.

3. Environmental issues

Engineered hardwoods use more of the tree vs. a solid wood product and also use less face veneer for each plank. In addition, unlike unfinished floors, prefinished engineered hardwoods don’t require sanding, finishing or periodic maintenance that requires the use of messy solvents. Prefinished engineered floors have extremely durable, factory-applied finishes and are manufactured to retain their beauty and character for the life of the floor (often up to 25 years).

Selling engineered hardwood floors can be easy, once consumers understand how many advantages they possess over solids. Clear up any misconceptions, and win a customer for life.