Engineered wood floors also refrred to as laminated wood floors are often confused with laminate floors by consumers. Engineered wood floors are NOT laminate floors, so be careful when shopping for a new floor. Engineered wood floors are constructed differently from solid wood floors and offer some advantages over solid wood floors. Thanks to advancements in manufacturing technology, engineered wood floors can be used in almost any room in the home. This includes installing over dry, concrete slabs and some types of existing flooring. So now homeowners can enjoy the beauty of a real hardwood floor in areas they thought not possible before with solid wood flooring.

Most engineered wood floors are pre-finished at the factory, which eliminates the mess, extra time and vapors associated with applying the finish coats on the job-site. Pre-finished wood floors are ready to be walked on right after the installation is completed. No long waiting for staining and applying coats of finish. Most factory applied finishes are UV-cured with ultra violet lights which creates a much harder finish than a job-site finish. In addition, the manufacturer can apply more coats of finish as well giving added protection.

The top layer of engineered wood floors is available in 3 variations; rotary peeled veneers, sliced and sawn face.

Rotary Peeled Veneers - logs are processed in a conditioning vat and put onto a large wood lathe. The wood veneers are then peeled off the logs in long strips, like paper that comes off of a roll of paper towels. Maximum yield from the log.

Sliced - lumber is processed in a conditioning vat and the lumber is then sliced of the lumber, like slicing cheese. The lumber is first cut from the log in a saw mill then processed for slicing. Better yields than Sawn Face due to no saw kerf loss from the slicing process.

Sawn Face - a traditional process were lumber comes from the log in a saw mill. The lumber is graded and sorted for maximum yield and usage. The lumber is then sawn into the desired thickness and ready for application to the engineered construction.