I don't know much about engineered hardwood floors, but my understanding is that the thicker the veneer layer the more times you can re-sand/re-finish it. I think with the standard 4mm layer, you get one or two shots at refinishing. With the 6mm layer, that should give you an additional opportunity.

I would say that if you don't mind the wider planks and can afford the extra cost, go with the 6mm option.

All else being equal, it's definitely worth it.

If you're planning on living in the same house for 50+ years, spend the extra money but a 4mm wear layer will allow you to resand the floors 3x. I lived in my last house 20 years and never resanded those wood floors. While you do want a thick enough wear layer in case you drop something heavy on it that you don't ding it down to bare wood, I think 4 mm is plenty thick.

"I'd like to see someone who has refinished their engineered floors... "

Yea, not too muck talk about that on message boards. It is being done these days but not as often as many expect. Could be many people get accustomed to the character of dings, dents and scratches after realizing it's a losing battle in some cases. IE- real active households.

Thinking from a different perspective, it has been a new era for engineered floors and not the same dull rotary peeled products Bruce, Hartco, Anderson and others sold going back 15 and 20 years.

Styles changed enormously the past ten years alone. The common products of yesterday are simply being ripped out and and replaced with higher quality. Actually far more products that actually can be refinished properly.

In my market or the Naples, Florida area you just don't see Bruce and the others anymore. Sadly most of it is imported but even some folks in Naples have budgets to go by. Just wondering how many will feel in five or ten years when people may be saying of the heavy character floors of today...

"What were we thinking? How can I make these knotty floors look new?" Even though they're thick wear layer floors, the look is suddenly dated. I'm seeing more demand for hardwoods that don't have all that color and character, even clear graded hardwoods! A turning point. At least with a thick veneer 4-6 MM plus engineered hardwood you have a lot more options in changing the look at later dates.

Trends never remain constant. Something to consider.

Thick Wear Layer Engineered

Ken Fisher

Good point Ken! I like the idea of thicker top layer engineered hardwood. 4mm is already considered very high quality as far as engineered hardwood floors go, but 6mm would be just like solid wood in terms of the amount of times it can be refinished. One thing you might want to look into with Garrison is the stability of the other plys. When you have a 6mm thick pc of wood on top it has the capability to pull from the bottom plys and as long as they are evenly balanced it should be a nice product. Cheers!

Are there any floors that that don't have tons of "character" (knots, splits, cracks, etc.) but do have a matte, lightly wire-brushed finish? I like lightly wire-brushed, but don't necessarily want a rustic looking floor. Does an "in between" floor exist?

jellytoast, DuChateau is the only brand that comes to mind that does a wirebrush in more select grade for one of their collections

Thanks for all the comments. We have actually decided to go with the 4mm because it has a smooth finish option whereas the 6mm one is distressed only. We figure that all floors get scratched anyway. If we ever refinishing the floor, we would end up losing more with the 6mm in order to smooth out the distress part. If we never refinish it, then it doesn't matter if we have 4mm or 6 mm.

"Does an "in between" floor exist?"

With some manufacturers yes. You can customize, but most want a large minimum. I've been giving thought to adding it as an option to one of my lines, but we would need to create a custom sample and get your approval. IE: wire brushing can have different textures. Heavy, medium or light.

Natural Hardwoods

Ken Fisher

We found a select grade white oak 5inch plank/ 4mm wear layer with light matte (PELICAN) finish @ PID flooring. Also saw a beautiful light Ash , 41/4 inch plank, 4 mm wear layer (SNOWY). Both are very clear/ airy / modern looking almost like a museum quaility .. not alot of charecter. Now we need to see if best to install over plywood or float it over concrete

Hello, We are finishing the architect plans on a new house and are looking at wood flooring. I saw this forum and it was great information on the wear layer. Based on this, 4mm would be my minimum with 6mm being preferred. I contacted Garrison via their website for additional information. I was wondering how the project went for jnavarro31? Would love to talk to you. Maybe you could email me at kurt.saldana@gmail.com and we can exchange phone numbers

Thank you!