Wood flooring

Solid hardwood floors were originally used for structural purposes, being installed perpendicular to the wooden support beams of a building known as joists or bearers.

With the increased use of concrete as a subfloor in some parts of the world, engineered wood flooring has gained some popularity.

[2] It is not uncommon for homes in New England, Eastern Canada, USA, and Europe to have the original solid wood floor still in use today.

Solid wood flooring is milled from a single piece of timber that is kiln or air dried before sawing.

The timber is cut to the desired dimensions and either packed unfinished for a site-finished installation or finished at the factory.

The moisture content at time of manufacturing is carefully controlled to ensure the product does not warp during transport and storage.

This style of manufacturing tends to have problems with the wood cupping or curling back to its original shape.

Engineered hardwood produced this way tends to have fewer problems with "face checking", and also does not have the same plywood appearance in the grain.

[3] Instead of boiling the hardwood logs, in this methods they are kept at a low humidity level and dried slowly to draw moisture from the inside of the wood cells.

This style of engineered hardwood has the same look as solid hardwood, and does not have any of the potential problems of "face checking" that rotary-peel and slice-peel products have, because the product is not exposed to added moisture Engineered wood flooring consists of two or more layers of wood adhered together to form a plank.

This process works with great results as long as the floor hasn't had any waxes or synthetic cleaners.