Different options in wooden floors?
There are basically four types of wooden floors available in the Indian market.
1.Solid Wooden flooring
2.Engineered Wooden flooring
3.Veneered engineered wood flooring
4.Laminate flooring/Laminate wooden flooring
How to chose the right wooden flooring for yourself?
What are you looking for?
Are you looking for real wood or are you looking to imitate wood? This is the first question you would need to ask yourself. Most customers do not understand the difference. As mentioned above ,amongst the four listed products, the first three products have a real wood on the surface that is going to be visible on the floor and the last one is a high resolution image of wood( which honestly with today's printing technology comes very close to wood).It is sometimes impossible for a customer to make out the difference when he sees only the surface.
The decision on whether to go for real wood or an imitation of wood is purely a personal choice as it involves aesthetics and money! So if you are the type of person that has no budgets and understands the nuances of using real wood floors then the choice is straightforward. If you are the type of person that wants to look at budgets then a careful look into the product and its benefits will most certainly help you make up your mind.
If you are looking for real wood floors then here are your choices
Solid Wood flooring
If you are a fan of solid wood flooring then this is your best option. This is one single piece of wood available in various species( types of wood). For example, Teak wood , Jatoba wood, Merbau wood , Ipe wood and so on. However you need to remember that this is real wood and there is always going to be some expansion and contraction of the wood once this is installed. So for the ones that want a perfect fitting floor this is not what you need to look at. Further, such floors normally require a subfloor such as a plywood of 12mm underneath for installation( especially in India). Hence keep in mind that if you want to have a floor on your existing floor this is a bummer as the total height would be a wee bit too much to accept. These floors are ideal when you are the kind that is in love with timber and doesn't bother about some movement of the wood and has planned this well in advance while constructing your home or planning your interiors!
Engineered wood flooring
If you want real wood and do not want to risk the behaviour issues of solid wood flooring or do not have the space( height) to install a solid wood flooring then engineered wood flooring is your best choice. Engineered wood flooring as the name suggests is engineered to be stable! It consists of a top layer of real wood which normally is 2-3mm or more in thickness. It has a middle layer of pine or spruce and a bottom layer of wood veneer. This is a three layer construction and comes with a click lock. This enables a floating floor installation( floating floor is not glued to the sub floor and allows for movement of the wooden flooring). Engineered wooden flooring are less expensive than solid wood floors and are available in a wide variety of sizes and formats.
Veneered Engineered wood flooring
Veneered engineered wooden flooring is a hybrid flooring between anengineered wooden flooring and a laminate flooring. The floorboard is essentially composed of HDF( water resistance) board and the top has a thin veneer pressed onto to the HDF board. The floor planks are with a click lock and are normally 8mm to10mm in total thickness. This is a great flooring choice for customers that want real wood on top but with the stability of a laminate and of course with a better price.
If you are not too keen on real wood floors then here is your choice
Laminate flooring / Laminate wooden flooring
Laminate flooring as the name suggests is a flooring that has a high pressure laminate( Laminates are high resolution pictures of wood that are pressed on to a HDF board) on top and gives you a visual appearance of real wood but is actually only a laminate. This flooring product is commonly considered a type of wooden floor though technically it is called a laminate flooring even though usually most sellers and customers refer to it as a laminated wooden floor or a laminate wooden floor. These floors are extremely durable and offer a high wear resistance. They are availabe in a wide range of colours and are affordable floors. Choosing the right quality of laminate flooring is often tricky and I shall in my future blogs talk about this in depth for those who are interested to know more on that subject.
Wood on the blog is written by Priyesh Mody who has 25 years of experience in this industry
