Deciding between solid hardwood and engineered hardwood flooring is a great debate in the design process. With all the different species of wood and variations of engineered wood, finding the best option for you can be a daunting decision. For this Good to Know post, we’re breaking down the pros and cons to both so you feel more confident in making the right choice for your home.

To start, let’s define the difference between these two flooring options. People often assume engineered hardwood is synthetic, however both options are natural materials. Solid hardwood floor is, as the name implies, completely solid wood throughout. Engineered hardwood floor has a top layer of wood with various wood laminated together (similar to plywood) below it. The thickness of the top layer of wood in engineered hardwood varies - higher end engineered wood is thicker and the lower end options usually have a very thin layer of solid wood at the surface.

If you’re building or remodeling and considering solid hardwood or engineered wood flooring, we recommend hiring a professional to best advise you based on your specific circumstance and home. There is a time and place for both options, the right decision for you will depend on budget, the sub-floor, and where it will be installed.

There are a lot of different options for hardwood flooring in both solid hardwood and engineered wood. These are the most popular species of wood, ranked from most soft to hard: cherry, walnut, red oak, white oak, maple, hickory. We like to use oak for its durability. We also love the fact that white oak typically doesn’t read too yellow or too red when stained or refinished, like many of these other options tend to do.

Hardwood Flooring

Pros

• Traditional and timeless

• Can be refinished multiple times

• Very durable

• Sand & finish gives you endless stain options with the ability to create custom stains

• You can see stain options on the actual installed wood floors in your home before deciding color

• It’s easier to find in narrower widths which we like for older/more traditional homes (like a 3")

• Can be milled differently so that you can get different patterns with the same wood

Cons

• Typically more expensive

• Comes with higher risk of water damage, especially in basements, bathrooms or laundry rooms

• If damage occurs, you must sand and finish the entire room

• Sand and finish stain may have more color variation from plank to plank

Engineered Wood Flooring

Pros

• More cost effective

• Durable (depending on quality)

• Doesn’t require plywood sub-flooring

• Can prevent water from seeping into the wood (depending on the quality)

• Can usually replace an individual plank if damaged (however, color might not be 100% match over a long period of time from sun fading, etc.)

• You know the exact stain color and shade before install

Cons

• Vast variety in quality

• Cannot be sanded and refinished (depending on quality)

• Usually has more knots and “shorts” (pieces that are are only 1 ft – 1.5 ft long)

• Finish options are limited to what is offered by the line

• Some engineered wood products only offer 5"+ widths

• There may be more variation than the sample shows. Try and find good install images to see what the flooring actually looks like installed

• Often only comes in limited design options for laying the floors. If you want to lay your floor in a herringbone pattern you will have to find a line that offers that option

Hopefully this list and the information above can help you narrow down the decision between solid hardwood and engineered wood flooring for your home, style, budget and needs. We’d love to hear from you and your opinion on why you chose one over the other - leave them in the comments below.