Once you have decided to install a quality engineered wood flooring, you not only need to look at the choice of your design but also how you want your floor finished.  (See Our Ultimate Guide To Engineered Oak Flooring)

There are a number of options when looking for finishes to your engineered wood flooring. Deciding on the best one to meet your needs depends on your lifestyle, which type of room your floor will be installed and your colour and design choice.

Unfinished Engineered Wood Flooring

What are the advantages and disadvantages of installing an unfinished engineered wood flooring. The first question you need to ask yourself is whether you want to custom finish your floor. If you want your floor to reflect a look and feel unique to your style an unfinished engineered wood floor would be your ideal option, giving you the choice of finishes and colour to enhance your design choice and make it exclusive to you.

Another advantage of an unfinished engineered floor is you are able to finish the floor once other work has been completed allowing painting and decorating of your room to be completed before sanding and finishing your floor ensuring any mishaps or spills can be easily rectified. Please note that our engineered boards are supplied ‘ sanded ‘ and ready to be finished.

When looking at the disadvantages you must consider the extra time involved in finishing the floor and that the floor is vulnerable to damage and staining until it has been finished.

Oiled Engineered Wood Flooring

Oiled engineered wood flooring brings several benefits. Oil penetrates the wood’s pores which strengthens the layers in an engineered wood floor. An oiled engineered floor is often believed to look more natural than a lacquered floor enhancing the texture of the wood. Oiled engineered flooring is popular with people looking to keep a natural look to their floor but also wishing to protect the wood while allowing the wood to breathe. With finishes of matt or satin and coloured oils available there are a number of options available.

Periodical cleaning and re-oiling using recommended products will enhance and prolong the beauty and enjoyment of your oiled wooden floor, keeping it fresh and vibrant. Re-applying the oil will also remove any scratches and scuff marks bringing the floor back to its perfect original finish. There is also the advantage of attending to small scuffed areas without having to pay attention to the whole floor.

Lacquered Engineered Wood Flooring

The choice of a lacquered engineered wood flooring is often the option of many busy. A modern lacquered floor is extremely tough and hard wearing. Most lacquered engineered floors are finished with at least 4 layers of lacquer ensuring a finish which is ideal for the busy family home. Lacquered engineered flooring is available in a variety of styles with a glossy or matt finish to choose from. With UV lacquers which give a natural beautiful look you will have a floor which is low maintenance with only a quick sweep and a wipe with a wood floor cleaner to keep it looking perfect.

A lacquered engineered wood floor can be sanded back and re-finished if needed to bring your floor back to its pristine condition but due to the hard wearing quality of this flooring it rarely needs to be done and should be a job undertaken by a professional to ensure a perfect finish.

Engineered wood flooring endows the same character, charm and beauty as solid oak flooring but without the risks of shrinkage and unwanted movement. Engineered flooring is specifically manufactured to prevent warping being constructed from a cross layer of a different type of wood (birch or plywood) which stabilises the floorboard and prevents it from reacting to heat and humidity changes. Engineered Oak Flooring has a top layer of sawn solid oak bonded to the flooring therefore ensuring a quality product which looks identical to solid oak, is much more cost effective and does not have the disadvantages and maintenance of a solid oak floor.

Engineered oak flooring is the perfect partner for underfloor heating, coping well with the dry environment of underfloor heating, with the cross layering of different woods keeping the floorboards stable and level.

Fitting engineered oak flooring is a much more simple procedure compared with a solid oak floor which will need professional expertise. Engineered oak flooring has several advantages, one of the biggest being easy installation. Using the floating floor method easy click installation is often used being the fastest and easiest option. Alternatively the tongue and groove boards can be stuck together which is an advantage when installing on a concrete subfloor.

An engineered oak floor can be fitted the moment it arrives and does not need the acclimatisation of a solid oak floor which needs a period of at least a week in the room before being laid. Engineered oak flooring is a good choice for working to a tight timescale and a good cost effective option to a solid oak floor.

Engineered Oak flooring comes in a choice of finishes from raw, allowing finishing on site, to oiled or finished with a hard wearing lacquer enabling you to chose which finish fits with your lifestyle and choice of design finish.

Once laid, engineered oak flooring will look exactly the same as a traditional solid wood floor giving no clue to the underlying structure and can be laid as floating floors or as fully glued floors. Engineered Oak flooring comes in a range of lengths, allowing you to create a floor design of your choice which will enhance your home and give an exclusive look all your own.

With today’s busy lifestyles and the constant traffic of family life, an engineered oak floor is the perfect choice when seeking the good looks associated with the traditional feel and splendour of an oak floor without the cost and high maintenance which accompanies it. An engineered oak floor will cope with the challenges of everyday living and introduce a warmth and beauty to your home which will give an expensive look at a cost effective price.

When looking for an oak floor, engineered oak flooring is often looked at as not being the real thing. A high quality engineered oak floor has the same qualities as a solid oak floor and in many ways is even better when introducing into today’s home with central heating and the constant wear and tear of a busy lifestyle. A solid oak floor will be a thing of beauty but the expense and tendency to buckle in climatic conditions often make it an impractical choice whereas engineered oak flooring will bring all the qualities of a solid oak floor but at a competitive cost and without the worries of movement and maintenance. So if you are looking to enhance your home with a floor you will love and cherish for many years look no further, and start planning your floor today.

Guides, options and videos for engineered oak flooring

See Our Ultimate Guide to Engineered Oak Flooring (NEW)

Engineered Oak Flooring Options

Video Guide to Engineered Oak Flooring and How to Lay Them