Timber flooring can make a strong statement in your custom built home, and be the distinction between transforming your house into a home. At Rycon, we specialise in building Hamptons Style homes where timber flooring is often featured against large picture windows, luxurious marble surfaces and simple colour palettes to evoke the light, breezy seaside feeling representative of the East Hamptons influence we are known for. Our modern luxury style custom houses also utilise timber flooring as a humble backdrop to the opulent materials we masterfully feature throughout the home design. When it comes down to choosing which timber flooring will best suit your home, there is the option of traditional solid timber flooring, as well as engineered timber flooring. Both types of flooring will provide a stunning natural aesthetic, and both are made using 100% timber, but what are the advantages of having engineered flooring installed in your home? The following article will discuss these benefits and explore the reasons as to why so many people are being swayed towards engineered flooring for their custom home.
Durability
Engineered timber flooring is extremely durable and will outlast traditional timber flooring. The layers of the engineered flooring consist of layers of a plywood base and a 6-10mm timber veneer that is usually pre-finished, providing the timber with an extra layer for strength and durability as well as additional hardness compared to natural timber. This means that it is also more resistant to surface marks and scratches than traditional timber flooring with its extra layer of protection. The flooring is also bonded with strong heat and pressure which means its less likely to shrink and expand. This provides extra protection against any warping that may occur due to moisture or exposure to different temperatures and eliminates the need for expansion joints. The fibres found in the plywood cross over making its structure more stable, whereas traditional timber flooring has fibres running parallel. Our supplier WoodCut only uses a single layer of plywood, which means they require less lamination, making them our preferred solution. The more layers, the more likely they are to delaminate and separate.
Sustainability
Engineered timber flooring is a sustainable solution that doesn’t impact the environment as much as traditional timber flooring. Exotic European wood can transform your flooring into a stunning masterpiece, but can take many years to grow and fully mature, leading to heavy deforestation in some areas. The wood that is used in the top veneer layer of engineered flooring is only around 6-10mm thick, meaning the wood from the tree can go a lot further after it is cut down to produce flooring. Sustainability is also considered in the under-layers of engineered flooring too, which ensures that all of the wood used comes from a sustainable source. When purchasing timber flooring, look out for the PEFC Certified Logo on the wood. This certification ensures that the timber used in the production of your engineered timber has come from responsibly managed forests.
Style
Engineered timber flooring is available in a variety of sizes, styles, textures and colours to suit any style of a luxury home, whereas traditional timber flooring is fairly limited in terms of organic colour. However, although it can be more difficult, you can create a specific colour for your solid timber flooring through mixing different stains, making it fully customisable. With traditional solid flooring, you can feature the natural imperfections of the wood, introducing a classic coastal influence, but due to the progressions in manufacturing, our engineered flooring supplier WoodCut also provide a range of engineered boards that replicate a number of solid timber textures including the rustic look, with knots and imperfections, so you can achieve a similar aesthetic outcome with both types of flooring.
Engineered flooring is also available in wider boards, allowing for more flexibility when designing your custom built home, especially if you are looking to achieve the elegant, coastal Hamptons style. Engineered wood is able to withstand warping and can, therefore, be produced with a larger width when compared to traditional timber flooring, giving you the ability to customise the flooring to the exact specifications and pattern that you desire. WoodCut has 3 standard sizes available with engineered flooring, providing the ability to compliment your unique requirements and aesthetic outcomes.
Although both solid and engineered timber flooring can create a beautiful look and feel inside your home, there are some strong advantages to using engineered timber for your flooring. It is durable, sustainable and offers a wide range of options to suit any style of home. If you would like to learn more about engineered timber flooring or custom home builds in Melbourne from our team of experts please contact us here
