In Colorado, we have some lovely people, some beautiful views, and a broad array of wildlife and wild habitats. We also have some of the most ridiculous weather swings in the country. When the temperature can go from -2 to 60 degrees overnight, and relative humidity can swing from 8% to 80% within weeks and sometimes in just days. We all know what this does to our skin and sinuses. Did you also know that this violent shift in temperature and moisture can be visible in your hardwood floors?
5/6 Certified™ DifferencePeople that have lived in Colorado for a while, or their entire life, can tell you, every year, how much their hardwood floor shrinks. While this can’t be completely avoided, there are measures that you can take to minimize this annoyance. Whole home humidifiers, wet mopping when the floors are too dry, pushing soft wood filler into the most obnoxious gaps. These are viable options and work well for strip flooring up to 4-inches wide. Professional installation of these floors should always include a proper vapor barrier between the subfloor and the hardwood flooring and that is usually enough to maintain their stability.
When you find yourself wanting a more custom appearance to your floor, a wider plank, or just want to minimize seasonal changes to your hardwood floor, you should consider engineered hardwood flooring as an option. Engineered hardwood is constructed to maintain dimensional stability. Using stable core material such as Baltic birch, rubber wood, fir or the like, nearly eliminates the effects that temperature and humidity shifts will have on your hardwood floor.
The Custom Craft CollectionThe sawn veneer process begins with raw lumber. Lumber is graded and sorted for maximum yield and usage. The wood is stacked and placed in a low humidity environment so it can dry. This keeps moisture inside the wood cells intact, reducing the risk of cupping and delamination. The boards are then dry-sawn into the desired thicknesses. The process of cutting is similar to how solid hardwood flooring is cut, only much thinner.
A dry-sawn veneer is identical in looks to solid hardwood flooring. Both possess the same color, grain and characteristics. This method also allows for thicker wear layers to be applied to the stable core material of an engineered hardwood floor.
Dry-sawn is the highest quality of the 3 methods due to its thickness and aesthetic traits. This superior production method delivers a veneer that looks and acts like solid hardwood flooring. It has the best visual appeal, and the grain structure is strong due to the natural sawing process.
Sliced veneers start out much the same way as dry-sawn veneers with logs being cut into lumber at the sawmill. The lumber is then put into a conditioning tub, which could be a steam bath, vat or pool of water. The amount of time the lumber remains in this conditioning tub varies by manufacturer. Regardless of time, this process softens the wood fibers making it more flexible and easier to cut.
After the wood has the desired saturation, it is removed from the tub, then sliced. It is run across an angled blade repeatedly to produce the veneers. The process is similar to slicing with a mandolin.
Slicing veneers does not produce any sawdust, leaving more usable material. More material means a higher yield. The appearance of sliced veneers maintains the original look and finer graining of the hardwood similar to dry sawn.
Sliced veneers do have limitations. The veneers are not as thick as dry-sawn. This method can also stress the wood fibers, resulting in lathe-checks.
Rotary-peeled veneers start out with wooden logs. They are placed in a conditioning tub to prepare the wood. From there the logs are positioned on large wood lathes or shaping machines. As the log spins against the sharp blade, long, thin layers are peeled off. Working from the outside in, the log spins against the blade until the whole log is turned into a veneer. This technique produces very wide and long strips. It creates the maximum amount of product from the wood, making it the cheapest method available.
Rotary-peeled veneers have a distinct, repeating grain pattern that is more pronounced than sliced or sawn, very much like the grain you'd see on a sheet of plywood. These veneers can have issues with cupping and warping as the material tries to revert back to its original shape.
This method has the best yield of material making it the least expensive. However, it’s appearance is the least like solid hardwood. It is also prone to have more performance issues than the other methods.
The short answer is…, this is dependent on the quality of the engineered hardwood floor to which you are making the comparison. Solid hardwood floor will sometimes have a much thicker sandable surface than an inferior engineered flooring product, however, this is not the case with most engineered products from CCWD. The surface of solid hardwood flooring after it has been installed, sanded and finished for the first time is most often between 4.5-5mm in thickness. Our engineered flooring products are designed to require minimal sanding, in most cases, just a light buff is required before you are able to begin your finishing process. This means that whether you choose a solid hardwood flooring or an engineered hardwood flooring with a 5mm wear layer from us, you will end up with very similar lifespans on each flooring product. For flooring that is meant to last generations, your choice really isn’t dependent on what is best, your choice comes down to preference.
Contact UsIn all other applications, an engineered hardwood flooring should be the first option considered. Stability, beauty, versatility of finishes and usage are just a few of the reasons to choose an engineered hardwood. With mills that offer a fully customizable product, Custom Craft is committed to you and your customer getting exactly what you want and need to ensure the best possible product for the life of their home. Our engineered hardwood flooring stands the test of time and is a generational flooring solution for the discerning customer.
Contact UsSometimes the options can be overwhelming. Whether you have a contractor that you are using or need help finding a reputable flooring company for you install, we are here to help. Request a design consultation or give us a call.
