Solid Hardwood Flooring
Solid wood flooring is just as it sounds, a solid piece of wood milled from a single piece timber. Solid floors are generally 3/4" thick, they come in variety of widths ranging from 1 1/2" to 5". Solid floors are nailed down, to either a plywood or OSB subfloor. Solid floors can be refinished several times in the future. The chart to the right illustrates the areas where solid hardwood flooring can be installed.
Engineered Wood Flooring
Engineered wood floors are made up of several layers of ply with the top layer being a veneer of real wood. This top wear layer will range in thickness from manufacturer to manufacturer. The thicker this top wear layer the more time the floors can be refinished in the future. Engineered floors can be installed on any grade and they can be nailed, floated, stapled, or glued down. Engineered floors generally come in widths ranging from 3"-5".
Prefinished
Prefinished floors that come direct from the factory or mill finished. Prefinished floors have a very tough finish since they are finished in a factory under perfect conditions. Prefinished floors are more expensive to buy than unfinished floors. However, they cost less for labor since they just need to be installed. Prefinished floors can be refinished several times in the future.
Unfinished
Unfinished are floors that are in the raw state. Unfinished floors need to be installed, sanded and finished onsite.. Most people prefer unfinished floors because the floor becomes all one uniform surface. Where as, most prefinished floors have a micro bevel on every board. Unfinished floors are cheaper to buy than prefinished floors. However, labor is more expensive since they need to be installed, sanded & finished. Unfinished flooring jobs typically take longer to install than prefinished.
