Engineered Wood Flooring

An engineered board is, quite simply, a timber board which consists of more than one layer. By placing each layer so that the grain runs perpendicularly it becomes virtually impossible for the timber to swell or shrink with changes in humidity and so it dramatically increases its stability. The top layer of an engineered board (the lamella) is solid hardwood and may be anything from 3 to 6mm thick; the thickest wear layers are equivalent to those on solid timber boards and obviously the thicker the surface layer the more times it can be sanded and refinished to remove the ravages of wear. The lamella is securely bonded to one or two further layers – this may be a multi-layered plywood or a sandwich with either a softwood or hardwood core.
Engineered wood flooring boards should not be confused with laminate or veneer. Laminate uses an image of wood on its surface whilst veneer uses only a very thin layer of wood over a core of some type of composite wood product, usually fibreboard. 
Engineered timber is now the most common type of wood flooring used globally. Not only are they more stable than solid planks but they also offer alternative, easier methods of installation. Furthermore the technology has enabled the production of much wider boards as well as the application of an enormous variety of really interesting finishes, reducing the demand for exotic species since their rich colours can now be simulated with the use of oils, heat and pressure.

Solid Wood Flooring

Solid Wood Flooring is floor laid with planks or battens which have been milled from a single piece of timber, normally it is hardwood. Since wood is hydroscopic (it acquires and loses moisture from the ambient conditions around it) this potential instability effectively limits the length and width of the boards. Solid hardwood flooring is usually cheaper than engineered timbers and damaged areas can be sanded down and refinished repeatedly, the number of timbers being limited only by the thickness of wood above the tongue. Solid hardwood floors were originally used for structural purposes, being installed perpendicular to the wooden support beams of a building (the joists or bearers) and solid construction timber is still often used for sports floors as well as most traditional wood blocks, mosaics and parquetry.
At Hoff Parquet we have also Thermally treated solid wood flooring which is suitable for installations in kitchens, bathrooms and even for outside use. 

Parquet Flooring

Parquet encompasses all the geometrical pattern flooring types including herringbone parquet flooring, chevron wood flooring, mosaics as well as specific patterns litke Versailles. Many of these patterns are enjoying a revival, particularly herringbone patterns which use larger battens giving a contemporary twist to a traditional look. Whilst many parquetry blocks are of unfinished solid timber, modern mosaics and end grain blocks are now available as mesh or board backed panels, making a once complex installation remarkably simple. Furthermore, at Hoff Parquet Edinburgh wood flooring showroom you can find  a huge number of engineered herringbone and chevron blocks available, now adding the benefit of an enormous variety of choice in shade and finish.

Wide Plank Wood Flooring

It is rare to find a solid wood flooring plank wider than 140mm since the bigger the plank the greater the propensity of movement caused by changes in humidity. The advent of engineered flooring planks has made widths of 180mm quite normal, but at Hoff Parquet we are happy to offer exceptionally stable wide plank engineered wood floors at widths in excess of 200mm. In our Edinburgh flooring showroom we have and very wide planks such us 220mm/240mm/260mm/280mm/300mm available in Lengths up to 5 meters.