Actually, it's more than that...

Engineered wood is a hardwood veneer over plywood and can sometimes be refinished once.

Solid hardwood (I'm not sure what to call it!) that's 1/2", 3/4" (and whatever other thicknesses it comes in) can be pre-finished (finished at the factory) or finished on-site.

[I hope I got all that right!]

I've heard conflicting information:

(1) I've heard that a factory finish is harder and lasts longer than on-site finish

(2) But I've also heard that on-site finishing fills the gaps b/w the planks with sealer and thus protects it from water falling through the gaps...but, wouldn't the "seal" b/w planks be broken when the wood expands & contracts w/the humidity in your home?

So...bottom line is that I don't know the answer...but hopefully someone does! You might also post a question on the Flooring Forum.

Natural wood does have it's limitations, but there are ways around most of them. Solid hardwood does expand and contract more than engineered wood. That is a fact. Most hardwood and lumber is "plain sawn". If you get hardwood flooring that is quartersawn instead (check hursthardwood web site) the wood is much more stable, expanding and contracting less than half of plain sawn wood. And the look of it is totally different too, REALLY pretty!

For a durable finish that is easy to spot repair and also an easy DIY job, consider tung oil and waterlox. Tung oil cut with a solvent for the first two coats and then waterlox for the top two coats soaks into the the wood to seal it, rather than just sitting on top like conventional floor finishes.

One important point that Buehl made is that PRE-FINISHED wood is different from ENGINEERED wood. Engineered wood is generally used where there is no subfloor and you have to glue the flooring to a concrete surface, for example. Pre-finished wood can be used instead of site-finished wood flooring. There are plusses and minus to pre-finished vs. site finished flooring - each has it's supporters. I have pre-finished and am very pleased. They now make it with micro-bevels so there aren't the gaps between the boards that the older pre-finished floors had.

Engineered flooring compared to solid plank flooring is like comparing Granite Counters to Corian or any other man made counter. And as usual, their quality can not hold up to natural products. If installed properly hardwood floors can last literally the life time of a home. However, this is not true of engineered wood. It can only be refinished 1 time at best and has no where near the lifespan or durabilty as real wood.

yoyoma -
I am certain you should choose what you want for your floors but 1st you must have the true facts about both types of flooring.

Solid wood, site finished, is a beautiful, durable floor, lasting you a lifetime with proper care. You indeed can have it refinished probably three times, depending of course on where the tung is.

Engineered floor is also a beautiful, durable floor lasting just as long as solid wood. Engineered flooring can be installed in a variety of situations, such as slab, below grade, & plywood subfloor. It can be floated, nailed or glued down. The one nice thing about engineered is its stability. Especially important if living in a moister climate as you will not notice as much contraction and expansion in your floors.
Engineered floors are able to be refinished up to 3 times depending on the depth of the solid wood level. Many engineered floors have 1/4 solid wood on top their 7 layer substrate for a total of 3/4 in flooring. This makes it virtually like solid wood when it comes to thickness and refinishability (not sure if thats a real word).

These are nice floors, engineered can be used in many settings and are durable, beautiful, and in many cases use reclaimed wood and so are a very "green " choice if that is important to you.

Here is a link to a wood floor co. that sells both. It gives info on how to care for either type of flooring and you will see both types have their pluses. Both floors will give you a beautiful end result and last a lifetime.

That being said. I personally have wood in my current home in the kitchen and did not go with wood in kitchen in new house. I put in travertine due to the always unavoidable spills and leaks. For me a much better choice than wood. So if that is a concern for your wet areas, kitchen, laundry , baths you may want to consider natural stone or tile.

Here is a link that might be useful: floor info

acountryfram-
You stated everything exactly right. Engineered wood floors are wood on top, NOT veneer. Thye are not manmade. Maybe the other poster was thinking of a laminate floor. I have engineered floors, they're floating, so much easier on the feet and back. I am very happy with mine. They can be refinished 2-3 times. For what it's worth, I paid more for my Kahrs engineered flooring than regular hardwood floors cost. Here is a link to their website.

Here is a link that might be useful: Kahrs Flooring

Engineered wood is veneer "wood" glued to plywood which is why they call it engineered. Those veneers maybe called wood, but they are very very very thin. I spent countless hours at many hardwood flooring stores, especially our local Lumber Liquidators researching and asking questions about this before buying and installing our floors. All of them told both my husband and I essentially the same thing over and over, engineered wood does NOT have the same life expectancy or durability as hardwood floors.

No, I was not confusing laminate for engineered. Laminate is a photograph of wood, engineered is a veneer...several layers of thin veneer glued or "laminated" together to make a thicker board.

Check out the Flooring Forum for more information...

Not all engineered flooring is created equal. The flooring that I have is not a veneer, the top layer is 5/8" thick. The company does also make a flooring called Linnea, which is a veneer that is 9/32" thick. When deciding what kind of wood flooring you want, check out all the brands. Some are a lot better than others. Several other posters on this board have engineered flooring and have been happy with theirs also, Mirage is also a brand that I have heard good things about.

I got back from the hardwood store and I think I've settled on something called "Carolina Cherry" (cheaper), or "Brazilian Cherry" (more expensive). They are both engineered, the Carolina has a more uniform stain, and both are "hand scraped". The guy said that because of this they could only be refinished once or twice. Both also have a black line stained in the beveled edge between each strip. He thought that would go well with the soapstone countertop, which made sense to me.

lukkirish--
I must politely disagree. Quality engineered floor has a solid wood wear layer with a multi-layer substrate. There are many engineered floors that have life long durability and give the home owner a beautiful floor.
There is much to be learned by researching the different types and brands of flooring, from as many diferent places as possible. The information you were given was just plain wrong. Maybe they had a stake in what you decided to purchase.
As someone else just posted "not all engineered floors are created equal.

yoyoma-- the dark line you are referring to is called a "French Bleed" a very beautiful floor indeed.

yoyoma-
I'm no expert, but I've been researching floors too. What I've been told is that the "hand scraped" floors may be able to be refinished once. But if you do it they will no longer be hand scraped. They will have the flat non textured look. You may want to follow up on this with your flooring company and make sure you are getting what you think you are :)

The flooring that I have is not a veneer, the top layer is 5/8" thick

Might want to double check that, Patti. I'm guessing that the overall thickness of the flooring is 5/8''; the sandable wear layer surface is probably 1/4'' or so.

As an aside, quality engineered flooring has a sawn wear layer. Less quality usually has a sliced veneer. The veneer layer on the cheap stuff is often very, very thin.

To clear one thing up.....ALL engineered wood is veneered. Here's the defination of veneer:

1. A thin surface layer, as of finely grained wood, glued to a base of inferior material.
2. Any of the thin layers glued together to make plywood.

Basically, engineered wood is plywood, which is why it is dimensionally more stable than solid wood flooring. It does not expand and contract like solid wood. The top layer is high quality and smooth. Thickness of the top layer can vary between manufacturer, and the quality of the rest of the layers also varies, which is why there is such a huge range of prices. Some engineered wood is sandable once....and only a light sanding. Other engineered wood can be sanded twice. And in all honesty...how many of us will ever sand our floors twice? We may screed and refinish them, but a hard, deep sanding? Probably not. Engineered wood and solid wood are both great products, both are natural (although the wood has been manipulated by man in both cases) and both will look exactly the same once installed.

It is an extreme disservice to the consumer to suggest that engineered floors are somehow inferior to solid wood. A quality engineered floor with a 3/8" (or more) top layer of the desirable wood potentially as durable to the end user as is solid wood. Solid wood can only be sanded down to the tongue thickness, and this equates essentially to 3/8". A engineered floor is just as durable as is solid wood to someone wanting long term usage out of a floor and imprisoned to slab construction.

The prefinished vs. site finished issue is a completely different issue. Some people like the "touchupability" of an oil finish. It's a LOT more work and harder on the consumer to go with site finished. For some, using an old fashioned finish like tung oil is worth the inconvenience for the authenticity given.

For anyone considering wood flooring and at all concerned with "green" design, a factory finished engineered wood floor comes out head and shoulders above solid site finished. Engineered uses less of the "face" wood, and more of the ply layers resulting in stretching the usage of the more valuable wood. Prefinished also has a much more durable finish that is NOT able to be duplicated on site because of the restrictions on the types of finishes available to finishers and homeowners. A more durable finish applied in factory controlled conditions releases less VOC into the atmosphere while providing a significantly harder wear layer.

Either choice can be a good one, or a great one, depending on the quality of the materials chosen and the expertise of the installer. They go together, and choosing poorly on either will result in a less attractive or durable floor.

acountryfarm, I'm sure you don't mean to be, but for you to say that all of the 15-20 people we spoke to about flooring were wrong and your opinion is the only "right one" is offensive. This forum is about opinions and knowledge from all different learning curves. My DH and I are very detail oriented individuals who don't trust the first thing told to us. The extensive research we did on which floor to install was done through reputable companies and the feedback we recieved ended up being consistantly the same. As other folks in this thread have said, based on their experiences, there are pro's and con's to all of the flooring choices, each situation is unique to the needs of each specific home. I believe all the information provided in these forums is given with the best of intent regardles of whether I personally agree with it or not. We should respect all of the opinions given, it's not my place nor yours to say if they are RIGHT OR WRONG, only than they differ from our own. That said, I stand by MY opinion as stated above. - Lukki

lukki-
You state "Engineered flooring compared to solid plank flooring is like comparing Granite Counters to Corian or any other man made counter" And as usual, their quality can not hold up to natural products." Just because a product is "natural" does NOT make it any better. I find that very offensive. I would suggest as another poster suggusted that you go to the flooring forum and read about engineered wood flooring, which by the way is a "natural" product, but does not make it any better or worse than regular hardwood flooring. Everyone has a right to choose what they feel is best for their situation, and one is not better than the other.

Just to be a fair consumer, I feel the same way about engineered wood and 100% wood planks. We've had both, and the engineered was a thick layer, supposedly very good quality and quite expensive. We put that in the house in texas because of the whole "floor more stable in a humid environment" thing. THat floor was a pain in the bumm. When the water line on the fridge broke (typically a slow leak) it soaked in the engineered wood and eventually loosened up the glue between the wood layer and the other ply. We had a couple other spots that did the same near doors. I'd never use that stuff again.

In our other house in Alaska, we also had (previous owners actually) a similar problem with a water line. On that floor, we were able to refinish the floor and didn't need to replace planks.

I totally agree that it's like comparing granite to corian. I'd feel the same way when purchasing a home. If it's solid wood I'll pay for it, if engineered, I'd pull it out and put in what I call "real" wood.

My opinion of course, but it is a fair opinion given that I've had both.

lukkiirsh-- I think maybe you should re-read my posts.
I stated in the very 1st post that the OP should get the floor that she wants and that wood was indeed a beautiful choice. I also stated that she should get facts about both floors that are accurate.
I do not believe you shared accurate facts about the engineered floors. Thats what I was sharing. The fact is, quality engineered floors do have the durability of solid wood. The wear layers are not very, very, thin in all engineered floors, as you stated. IN fact the truth is that in many engineered floors the wear layer is 3/8 - 1/2 inch thick. This gives them the ability to be refinished as many times as solid plank. They do not have to be glued down in all situations and are certainly a viable choice for many people.
I just think people should be given accurate facts when they ask for it.

Those things are not opinion based but are fact based. As another poster suggested maybe you might want to check out the flooring forum.

The only time I was giving an opinion is when I stated that I would not choose wood for my kitchen again.

Igloochic - You rock, so glad you agree :c)

Kitchen Crazy: I don't really care if you take offense or not. It's my opinion, which is based on countless hours of research and I'm entitled to it.

Acountryfarm: I'm not going to argue or debate with you further, you obviously don't get it. And I don't really give a flying flip as to whether you agree with my post or not. It's not your place to tell someone they are WRONG just because your experience with something is different. This isn't the first time I've seen you do it and it's not appreciated, at least by this poster. It's not like your the only right person in this forum. If you don't agree with something I (or anyone else) say(s), that's your right, but no one is asking you if you agree with the other posters or or not, so focus on your own facts and/or opinion and what you want to bring to the table in regards to the QUESTION. You don't have to make someone else look wrong for you to be right.

hey folks, can we be a little less grumpy? It makes it uncomfortable for everyone.

There is a host of online professional resources for Yoyoma to research and come to his/her own opinion about what will best suit their specific needs. I'd really suggest speaking to local flooring experts -- find a small non-chain store if possible with guys who have been doing this for years -- about their experience with which brands and types are available and work best in your geographic/climactic area and housing market.

A search of GardenWeb's Floorings forum reveals no less than 200 threads devoted to this topic; you might want to start there.

Wow lukki, you obviously LOVE to argue! An obviously cna't stand to be wrong-- but in this case you ARE wrong, as several other posters have pointed out, but you don't care to listen.
circuspeanut--Amen!!

Sorry about the spelling error, and I will not be coming back to this forum--way to much arguing!

kitchenkrazy... please don't allow a thread that got a little out of sorts keep you away from what can be an extremely helpful information based forum with people who are extraordinarily generous with their time and effort in being supportive.

I've been told by many flooring experts that solid wood is not advisable in South Florida since we are so humid and wet. The expansion and contraction can cause problems with the floors. I love wood, wish I could have wood, but won't be using wood for that reason.

And now that I'm facing a huge hurricane... it all really doesn't seem to matter all that much anyway...