Ready to replace the flooring in your home, but unsure if you should use natural or engineered hardwood? If so, it will help to know the major differences between these two popular types of flooring material.

The Construction

The main difference you are going to see between these hardwood flooring options is the construction of the material. When you buy natural hardwood, the material will have that wood throughout the entire thickness of the material. This is why natural hardwood is often referred to as solid hardwood. Engineered hardwood is going to have wood cores that make up the majority of the material, with a wood veneer on the top surface. 

The Refinishing

A huge benefit of having natural hardwood is that you are able to refinish the flooring material many times before it needs to be replaced. This is due to how the material is made up of solid wood, so if you sand a layer of wood off the surface there is plenty of natural wood underneath it. 

While you can refinish engineered hardwood, you are limited to how many times you can actually refinish the material. Since there is only a thin layer of real wood material on top of the wood cores, there will be a point where the wood veneer will wear through and expose those cores. 

The Maintenance

When it comes to maintaining both materials, your engineered hardwood flooring is going to be much easier to maintain than its natural wood counterpart. This is due to how natural hardwood flooring should not be mopped because of how water can absorb into the surface. Engineered flooring allows you to use a damp mop which makes maintaining the material simple. 

The Expansion And Contraction

Know that each type of flooring material is going to react differently to moisture, which affects how the flooring material expands and contracts. Natural hardwood is made up of all real wood, which makes it more susceptible to shrinking and expanding with the weather. While this still happens with engineered hardwood, it doesn't happen in a big way. For the most part, your engineered hardwood is going to resist swelling that you can see due to normal humidity. 

Can't decide which flooring material will be best for your home? Reach out to a hardwood flooring supplier for more information. They may have a recommendation based on the region where you live and how humidity can affect the flooring material.