The engineered hardwood market has changed quite a bit over the last few years to compete with the ever growing selection of scratch resistant vinyl available. Engineered hardwood is REAL wood, contrary to what most consumers think, it is NOT a laminate. Engineered Hardwoods are much more durable, and are critical to resisting some of the strain that our Central Texas climate puts on your floors. (Humidity, we all know what a pain that is!!!)
Your desired species of wood, is placed on a plywood substrate to give the planks the ability to expand and contract a bit without destroying your floor! Matte colors, oil finishes, and “fumed”finishes have made the market much safer for the average family to confidently purchase the beautiful wood flooring they desire.
Things to know:
- Yes your wood floor will scratch, they all do,but it gives it character and can be hidden in most cases with the right selection for you and your family.
- The less shine on the finish the better for hiding those “oops” scratches that are going to occur.
- Oil finishes provide a great opportunity to repair your wood floors and keep them refreshed for their lifetime.
- Look for floors that have more character to their finishes, they look great and they are great at taking abuse.
- The “Janka Scale” is a hardness scale. The higher the number the harder the floor. High scores are NOT necessarily more scratch resistant!
- Ask about the core of the floor you are interested in!At Texas Pride we will NOT sell an MDF or HDF core floor and call it a wood. Everything in our wood section has a true plywood core, including some that have a “Baltic Birch” core, which means more impact protection for your floors!
Let us guide you through the world of wood floors, we will make sure you get something you can be happy with for years to come!
