Engineered Wood Flooring for Basement | What Is Engineered Wood Flooring | How Long Does Engineered Flooring Last | Cost of Engineered Wood Flooring

Engineered Wood Flooring for Basement

In this article, we are going to highlight the various pros and cons of engineered wood flooring and engineered hardwood flooring for basements.

Basements are traditionally very difficult spaces, and they usually go through condensation. Most people use solid wood flooring in the basement because it is so beautiful in appearance. But hardwood flooring cannot withstand high levels of humidity and occasional flooding. So installing hardwood flooring in the basement may not be the best option.

Engineered wood flooring is one of the best options for the basement to deal with this problem. Best Engineered wood flooring is made from hardwood with a stone plastic composite core that is water-resistant for wet spaces like a basement.

Best Engineered Wood Flooring for a Basement: Engineered hardwood with a stone plastic composite (SPC) core is the perfect water-resistant flooring for a potentially damp and troublesome space like your basement.

Disadvantages of Engineered Wood Flooring: Some manufacturers use cheap or weak materials to build their engineered hardwood flooring. Make sure you buy from reputable manufacturers to ensure you get a long lifespan out of your new flooring. Some engineered hardwood products can’t be refinished.

What Is Engineered Wood Flooring?

The Engineered wood floor has layers of both Wood and plywood in equal amounts; the solid Wood, on the other hand, makes use of a solid piece of wood with no extra layers put over it. The former is considered to be a rational way to add that sparkle of glamour and vitality to your room.

Though there are a few things, one must necessarily factor in when going for engineered wood flooring. Engineered wood flooring has higher durability and high-performance properties that makes it unmatched.

Since it is installed with multiple layers of wood, the positioning of each one of these differs. Such a construction guarantees that the flooring lasts a while, and there is a reduced likelihood of buckling and bending the way Wood floors are expected to in moist areas.

Plumping for such a Wood over those solid ones is that the construction extends over to even grade-level homes, inclusive of below ground with a reinforced moisture barrier installed. Further engineered Wood is not as high maintenance as expected because of its classy look and finishing.

Most Popular Engineered Wood Flooring Color

  • White oak engineered wood floors.
  • European white oak engineered wood floors.
  • Blonde engineered wood floors.
  • Whitewashed engineered wood floors.
  • Honey and colored copper engineered wood floors.

Engineered Wood Flooring Pros and Cons: 

Engineered wood flooring has recently become a very popular choice. If you’re thinking about installing engineered hardwood in your home, there are several factors you should consider, from cost to durability. To help you decide, we’ve compiled a comprehensive list of the pros and cons of engineered hardwood flooring.

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How Long Does Engineered Flooring Last?

The lifespan of your engineered flooring depends on a number of factors, including the thickness of the veneer laid on the flooring, the quality of the flooring material that goes inside, and how well you are maintaining the floor.

If well thought out, it can last a lifetime, as it affects the life of your floor. Engineered wood can add that extra style, life, and value to your convenient space. Such companies offer various options to choose from so that you do not compromise on a style that does not suit your tastes.

Unlike other floorings whose installation is limited to the basement or bathroom only, engineered woods allow you to install it in the basement of your home and also in the toilet space if those sections have a moisture barrier installed.

How to Install Engineered Wood Flooring on Concrete

Engineered hardwood can be installed on concrete using the glue-down installation method. We recommend using an acrylic or urethane wood adhesive, such as Bostik Pro-Cure or East Bay Clipper. Before installing any flooring, you must follow the instructions set forth by the flooring manufacturer.

Engineered Wood Flooring for Basement

Engineered wood with a stone plastic composite (SPC) inside is the most suitable water-resistant flooring for a space that is perennially wet and difficult to move around.

These woods are clearly real wood flooring that allows their customers to enjoy the same warmth. Such woods can easily adapt to humidity and temperature variations, making them perfect for basement spaces.

There are various reasons why you should consider offering the Best engineered hardwood flooring, especially in the basement space of your home.

  1. The first and foremost property that sets engineered wood apart from other basement flooring options is water resistance. Engineered wood flooring with SPC is made of limestone and PVC, which is combined with pressure. Waterproof engineered hardwood helps to stabilize the floor and keep water in the bay.
  2. A genuine and original Wood veneer is attached over the bonded layers. Since the same Wood species goes into the making of the solid wood and these engineered Woods, all the natural characteristics of the wood are retained through this. Having such flooring installed gives you numerous opportunities to use your basement space as any other functional area, like a living area, dining space, or even a guest room during an emergency.
  3. Some of these engineered wood floorings are designed to conjunct it with a heating system in your space. A few prerequisites, like the installation of sub-floors to be able to acclimatize the heating system, need to be fulfilled. Adding radiant heat slashes the energy costs by dollars, and there is no need for forced-air heating after installing these.
  4. Yes, you don’t need any professional to make several visits to your place to install engineered Wood. Just a little DIY, tutorial, and equipment, obviously, and you are ready to install your own engineered Wood flooring. Engineered Wood that is apt for below-grade applications has a click-lock system that makes it a lot easier to install it yourself.
  5. Another benefit of pitching on engineered Wood for your basement is its long lifespan. If homeowners take special care of their floors and maintain it can last several decades. The lifespan of the same hinges on how thick the plank is. If you choose thinner planks, they will not go over 30 years whilst thicker ones can last up to 80 years or more. Remember that such nuances might differ from flooring to flooring, wherein the cheap versions might not stretch for that long.
  6. When reselling, you would be one up on the rest of the resellers. Solid Wood often adds to the value of the house, so any commercial or residential space having engineered Wood flooring is bound to have a slightly higher price than the rest.
  7. Engineered oak flooring combines a top layer of real wood mixed with different backing layers. Which makes flooring the number one choice for the most stable wood flooring option.

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Engineered Wood Flooring Thickness

Engineered wood floor thickness depends on the base layer/core and the top layer, also known as a veneer. Traditional engineered wood flooring ranges from 1.2mm to 4mm, which provides a sustainable foundation with extra durability.

What Is Engineered Wood Flooring Made Of?

Engineered wood is constructed of layers of both hardwood and plywood, whereas solid hardwood flooring is a solid piece of wood with no layers.

Pros and Cons of Engineered Wood Flooring

There are several pros and cons of engineered hardwood flooring.

Pros of Engineered Wood Flooring

Engineered Wood has a lot of benefits that come with installing them. Engineered Wood is created in a way to block out moisture problems associated with installing solid Wood. By rooting out moisture, the stability of your floors is enhanced.
There won’t be any swelling or warping of the surface with the Engineered wood. Besides this, engineered wood flooring is environmentally friendly. So when you are choosing these floorings, you are mindful of your environment too.
The engineered wood veneer is sliced instead of pruning it into small pieces using a saw, so there’s little to no sawdust spewing out of the process. And also that any type of tree could be used for the same. You are saving on a significant amount of wood, too, since there’s less sawdust coming out.
The trees that go into creating solid Wood shape up slowly as compared to those used to make engineered wood flooring cores. While making the veneer, more surface area is produced in the engineered wood.
An additional advantage of installing engineered wood flooring is that the trees being used for the same have a shorter replenishing time. Such benefits make engineered Wood a gazillion times better than solid wood.

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Cons of Engineered Wood Flooring

Disadvantages of engineered wood flooring are:

There are several reasons for getting engineered Wood flooring installed in your living and basement spaces. Like any other thing, engineered Wood floorings too are neither perfect nor the most suitable flooring option for your home design project. The reasons for the same are outlined below.
The cost of the Engineered wood flooring is a little bit higher as compared to the other wood flooring options. If the engineered wood is exposed to sunlight, there are chances of fading.
The Engineered wood flooring is highly susceptible to dents and scratches.
The Engineered wood flooring, which is of low quality, may develop a hollow sound when we walk on it.
Engineered wood flooring requires regular maintenance as it is not highly durable.

Cost of Engineered Wood Flooring

Cost of Engineered Wood Flooring for Basement

The average cost to get either solid or engineered wood flooring installed is around $4500 overall. Engineered hardwood flooring installation costs can range from approximately $ 3.00 to 00 10.00 per square foot.

The pricing structure of such floorings hinges on a couple of factors, including the location of your house, the size of the project, the type of flooring you have chosen, and the method of installation you will be going for.

Speaking of the wooden flooring per square foot, the cost ranges between $3 and $15(solid or engineered, whichever type you plump for) for domestic wood pieces. Exotic Wood species, on the other hand, might cost you a fortune. This is obviously not inclusive of the labor cost.

Labor cost

labor cost to install engineered hardwood floors in your safe space ranges from $3 to $8 per square foot. This would guarantee the professional installation of the floors. Though you can always DIY it.

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Cost per 1000 sq. feet

One thousand square feet of engineered wood flooring can cost between $ 3000 and $ 8000 to set up commercially.

Engineered Wood Flooring Installation Cost

It can cost you around Rs. 600 to 5500 per sq ft.

Engineered Wood Flooring Cost

To know how much wood flooring costs per square foot, it helps to take a look at the national average costs. The range for engineered wood floor cost by square foot is between $2.66 and $3.51. This comes to an average cost of $3.08 per square foot.


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Frequently Asked Questions

How to Clean Engineered Wood Flooring?

For light day-to-day cleaning, the best way to clean engineered hardwood floors is with white vinegar in lukewarm water (1 cup per 2 gallons of water). The natural acidity of vinegar helps to strip away dirt and contaminants while being safe for your engineered wood floor and for the environment.

What Is the Best Underlay for Engineered Wood Flooring?

When installing hardwood or engineered wood flooring, the best underlay options are cork and foam. However, the foam does have more give than cork so, while it is the more popular option, we recommend cork.

Why Is My Engineered Wood Floor Buckling?

Water, and moisture in general, are the number one cause of buckling floorboards. That’s because when these floorboards get wet, the wood naturally swells to accommodate the moisture. All of that contracting and expanding eventually leads to buckling and warping.

Best Engineered Wood Flooring Brands

  • Proximity Mills
  • Somerset Hardwood Flooring
  • Doma
  • Paradiso
  • Newton

What Is Engineered Wood Flooring Made of?

Engineered wood is constructed of layers of both hardwood and plywood, whereas solid hardwood flooring is a solid piece of wood with no layers.

Engineered Wood Flooring Cleaner

Sometimes the easiest way to take care of your engineered floor is to know what not to do. There are a few cleaning practices to avoid because of the long-term damage they can do to your engineered wood floors. Let’s talk about it.

Floating Engineered Wood Flooring Problems

A common problem with floating floors is the accumulation of mold, bacteria, and fungi. This usually happens when the humidity in a room is constantly at a high level of moisture remains trapped between or under the floorboards. Solution: Check the level of dampness before laying any laminate flooring.

Is It Better to Glue or Float an Engineered Wood Floor?

Many installers and manufacturers prefer the glue-down method because of its superior stability. Gluing down your floor leads to less shifting and creaking, making the engineered hardwood feel and sound more secure. You can also glue down floors on any type of subfloor, even if it’s uneven.

What Underlay for Engineered Wood Flooring?

The ‘gold standard of wood underlay

Whether you’re looking to install real hardwood or engineered wood flooring, in our expert opinion, the best product currently available is Royale Professional Sonic Gold 7mm Underlay.

Engineered Wood for Basement

engineered hardwood flooring is typically cheaper than hardwood and withstands the moisture of a basement environment much better. Consisting of a layer of bamboo or hardwood over a plywood core, engineered wood looks like solid wood but resists buckling and warping when it becomes moist.

What Is Engineered Wood Flooring?

Comprising several layers, the top layer being a species of real hardwood, engineered hardwood flooring is a robust flooring option that allows you to install your chosen color, cut, finish and surface texture in areas where solid hardwood is not recommended.

What Is the Best Engineered Wood Flooring?

Higher-quality products typically use a plywood core, with seven to 11 layers of wood. These layers are called plys. The more plys in an engineered wood floor, the less likely it is to cup, shrink, split, or expand. Simply put, the thicker the flooring, the longer it will last.

Which Wood Flooring Is Best?

The best hardwood floors are made with wood species that are readily available and — you guessed it — very hard. Oak flooring, maple flooring, and cherry flooring are all good choices. Other species include bamboo (which is actually grass), walnut, ash, and mahogany.

Best Engineered Wood Flooring

For the best type of engineered wood floor, look for those constructed with a plywood core that has more flexibility. The more layers of finish, the more durable your engineered wood floor will be. Besides having a plywood core, you want engineered wood flooring that has between three and nine layers.

What Are the Disadvantages of Engineered Wood Flooring?

  • Engineered Hardwood Can Be Pricey.
  • A Low-Quality Core.
  • There’s a Danger of Fading.
  • You Need to Let the Wood Acclimate.
  • Wooden Floors Require Specific Care.
  • Engineered Hardwood Is Susceptible to Water Damage and Moisture.

How Long Does Laminate Flooring Last?

Laminate. Laminate Flooring Lifespan: 10-15 years for low-quality tile and installation; 20-30 years for high quality with proper installation.

Which Engineered Wood Flooring Is Best?

  • Best Wide Plank.
  • Best Traditional.
  • Best Overall.
  • Runner Up.
  • Best Value.

What Is the Best Thickness for Engineered Wood Flooring?

About Engineered Hardwood Thicknesses
It is recommended to choose engineered wood flooring with an overall thickness of 3/4 inch to 5/8 inch. Breaking that down, the wear layer should measure 3/16 inches, and the core should have a 9- or 11-plywood (ply) thickness.

Engineered Wood Flooring Vs Laminate

Engineered flooring is somewhat closer in appearance to solid hardwood due to its real wood veneer. Laminate flooring, though all synthetic, is a close visual simulation of real wood. Additionally, it is far easier to install than engineered hardwood flooring, making it a good do-it-yourself floor covering choice.

What Is Engineered Wood Floor?

Engineered wood flooring looks almost identical to the hardwood on the surface, but instead of a single wood plank, it’s made of a high-quality plywood core with a thin layer of hardwood flooring on top. Engineered wood flooring is a more affordable option, but it can’t be refinished to extend its lifespan.

Problems with Engineered Wood Flooring

Engineered floors are often more sensitive to seasonal temperature and humidity changes, in part due to the mixture of wood components in their design. Warping, bending, and gaps are much more likely to form in part due to the variety of construction materials as well as the interlocking system.

What Is the Best Quality Engineered Wood Flooring?

A high-quality engineered wood floor is a long-lasting investment that will typically last between 20 and 30 years. To get the most wear out of your engineered wood floors, avoid products without a UV-protective finish layer and those with a veneer layer thinner than 2mm.

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