Timber iQ February - March 2019 // Issue: 42 | Page 30

FEATURES
Engineered hardwood flooring is a popular design choice for shopfitting, commercial buildings and residences.
All the layers of engineered
hardwood flooring
For centuries wood flooring has been sought out for the emotion and
character it adds to any building, and engineered hardwood flooring is
fast growing in popularity.
By Benjamin Brits with contributions from Nick Gluckman | Photos by Oggie Flooring
T
imelines show us that solid wood flooring peaked in
the late 1940s when plywood, synthetic fibre
carpeting and vinyl floors were invented. These
dominated the markets until the 1960s when another
newcomer to the market was introduced – a true product of
innovation – engineered flooring, which today along with
solid hardwood flooring, has grown tremendously in
popularity around the world. Both species of flooring have
remained sough after because of their simplistic function
in buildings due to their neatness and hygiene appeal (easy
to keep clean).
Engineered flooring, should not be confused with
laminate flooring which is typically layers of pressed wood
28 FEBRUARY / MARCH 2019 //
with an image imprinted onto the surface and a clear
coating to give it the impression and feel of wood.
Engineered hardwood floors offer real wood,
affordability and beauty through the variety of choices
available and are currently one of the trending products for
designers. It allows customers the solid true wood they
want with the technology underneath.
OPTIONS IN ENGINEERED FLOORING
Typically, engineered hardwood flooring is available in two
types, three-ply multilayer and multi-ply. The difference
between these options is that three-ply multilayer is as
simple as it sounds with three layers – one surface layer of
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