Why We Are Considering Engineered Wood Floors

I’m not entirely sure if I have written about it on my blog before, but Graham used to be a carpet fitter, which was incredibly handy. Well, I say carpet fitter, but he has been trained to do all sorts of flooring – carpet (obviously!), vinyl, laminate, karndean and wooden flooring. He’s actually hoping to get back into it one day soon – in fact, last weekend he fitted some vinyl flooring in an en-suite for our landlord’s friend – it reminded him of how much he enjoyed doing it.

We are now looking at changing the flooring in our living room and dining room – and possibly the hallway as well.  We’ve got permission from our lovely landlord who will be footing at least some of it. I’m obviously leaving the decisions to Graham – he’s the expert when it comes to flooring! As long as it’s durable, practical and looks nice, I don’t mind what we have.

At the moment we have a light beige coloured loop carpet in the living and dining rooms, and a hideous brown stripy carpet in the hallway. They weren’t in the greatest condition when we moved in – the previous tenants hadn’t really looked after it. However, our three kids (and two cats, and visiting dogs!) have just added to the destruction of it. Drinks spilt, blobs of yoghurt, spaghetti bolognaise, curry, ketchup and god knows what else around the table, mud…the carpet is in desperate need of changing. As much as I love the feel and warmth of carpet, it’s not always the most practical flooring when you have children and pets.

I was all for having laminate down but Graham has suggested we spend a little more and look at solid oak flooring. He’s been busy online and in the shops scouring for the very best engineered wood flooring and has assured me that is more than worth the extra initial layout for it. Our landlord is happy enough with that as well – he intends to retire here (hopefully in many, many years!) so it would be a real investment for him. Engineered wood flooring is really practical, especially with kids and pets running about. It’s easy to clean – you can just wipe up spills, you can sweep or vacuum it and clean it thoroughly with wood flooring wipes and cleaners. It’s also incredibly durable and is usually available in a range of colours and grains to suit your home and needs. We really like the look of oak – it’s really classy and sophisticated! One of the advantages of wood flooring of any type over carpet is that it goes with all decor – no need to change the carpet if you fancy a change of colour scheme in your room!

What is engineered wood flooring?

Despite living with someone who is a little obsessed with floors (it’s the first thing he looks at in someone’s house!), I’d never heard of engineered wood flooring until he recently mentioned it. It’s a type of hardwood flooring, made up of multiple layers of timber and finished off with a layer of hardwood lamella. It looks very similar to normal wood flooring, but it allows for greater stability thanks to the structure of the plank. This means that it can cope with higher levels of moisture and changes in temperature, which can warp normal wood flooring or laminate. Much, much more practical for your average family home!

So, after Christmas, we will be busy looking at flooring and hopefully be getting rid of this scabby old flooring – watch this space to find out what we go for in the end!

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