Engineered Choices

There are a wide variety of engineered wood floors available with the popular colours like Oak, Maple, Walnut and Jatoba being readily available in South Africa. If you would like a solid wood floor but need to have your new floor installed over an existing floor then engineered wood is the answer for you as it can be installed as a floating floor.

Engineered Floor Construction

• Solid Wood Top Layer: This is a solid layer of wood which can be cut from nearly any wood specie, this layer is usually 3 to 5mm in thickness and are glued to the core of the plank.
• Core of Plank: The core of the plank can be made up of plywood, fibre board or cheaper solid wood. Plywood is the most common for the core and usually consist of 3 to 5 or more layers of plywood that's glued together, the grain of each layer runs in the opposite direction and makes engineered wood more stable and able to be installed as a floating floor. A 3 layer system is also available where the core of the board is made up of strips of cheaper hard wood and has the same properties as the plywood core.
• Backing: To finish the board off, a layer of ply or backing is applied to the bottom of the board.

Engineered Flooring Cuts Available
The cut options below is mostly a decorative decision, use this to establish what type of pattern you would prefer for your new wooden floor.

• Rotary Cut: The veneer is sliced or peeled from the log with a sharp blade while the log rotates, this produces a bold or busy grain exposing the logs growth patterns. This cut is usually only available up to 1mm thick.
• Quarter or Verticle Cut: This cut is less common in South Africa and usually the most expensive and can be done by using a sharp blade or saw, this type cut through the growth pattern and exposes a linear type of pattern on the plank.
• Plain or Horizontal Cut: This is a popular cut and exposes the grain and growth rings but not as much as the Rotary cut. This cut or saw is usually available in thicknesses of over 3mm.

Fitting System and Milling Options

• Click System: Each plank is manufactured with interlocking joints, these joints click together holding the plank in place. This drastically reduces fitting time as there is no need for glue to dry and the floor can be used immediately. This system is installed as a floating floor.
• Tongue and Groove: Each plank has a tongue on the one side and a groove on the other which slots in with the next plank. This system can be glued on the tongue and groove, nailed to a sub-structure or installed by using an elastic matted installation system.
• Square Edged: This means there is no groove in between the planks and creates a smooth surface finish.
• Micro Bevel: The plank has a slightly rounded or bevelled edge giving the effect of single floor planks which give the floor more definition. This also help reducing the risk of uneven planks or damage to the side of the planks. Hand Scraped floors for example always comes with a micro bevel due to the uneven surface of the plank.

Surface Textures

• Smooth Finish: This board was sanded after being cut and left with a smooth finish.
• Wire Brushed: By using a wire brush the softer sapwood get removed after cutting which exposes the grain of the plank more.
• Hand Scraped: Here the plank is scraped with a tool by hand to create uneven surface which resembles a worn and very old plank, this method gives a lot of character to the plank and as it is done by hand none of the planks will have the same pattern but the cost will also be higher as it is labour and time intense.
• Distressed: Similar to hand scraped but less obvious these planks are distressed by hand or machine to give your floor a more worn look.

Colours available
The same as with solid wood the engineered flooring is available in the natural wood colour or it can be stained to a darker colour, this gets done in the factory as most engineered floors comes pre-finished. Further more you can get different finishes, like glossy, mat or oiled look.