Choosing Your Engineered Oak flooring

There is no shortage of choice when choosing engineered Oak flooring so thinking about the following options will help you make the right decision.

Board Size - What width of engineered Oak plank will best suite your room?

Perhaps you would like to mix widths - some narrow and some wider engineered boards. Mixed widths tend to look more casual while single width boards look more formal - particularly in widths up to 150mm.

Check what lengths are on offer - 1860mm long is the standard length of engineered Oak boards originating from the many Chinese suppliers. If you want longer engineered Oak boards these are harder to find but Stone and Wood Shop offers lengths of 2200 or 2400 mm as standard and widths from 180 mm to 300 mm.See our Wood Flooring product page for more infomation.

What thickness?

It's basically either 15 mm or 20 mm. Note the thicker engineered boards are essential if you are fixing to joists, they are also less prone to feeling at all 'springy' when laid as a floating floor. The thick engineered boards will typically have the more substantial 6 mm Oak wear layer.

Which Finish?

Typically you can buy Engineered Oak flooring either pre finished at the factory with oil or lacquer or supplied unfinished.

Oiled

Go for this if you want the most natural looking engineered Oak floor and benefit from the long term maintainability of this finish. Small scratches can easily be made to disappear with a drop of oil.

Lacquered

Very straightforward to look after but small repairs are not possible without the help of a French polisher. Choose this if you want the very smooth, Zingy look.

Unfinished

Good quality engineered Oak products come 'sanded' so just the finishing is required on site. There is no cost saving in buying unfinished engineered Oak boards when you take into account the extra labour involved but go for this option if you plan to colour the floor to your taste.

Cost

Narrow engineered Oak flooring costs less than the wider planks and the more character and knots in the product the cheaper it will be.

You will pay a premium for 'select grade' engineered Oak flooring. It is worth pointing out that 'select' does not imply a better quality product necessarily - the same manufacturer will offer different selections of engineered Oak - rustic, knotty etc but the quality of construction will be the same.

Do keep in mind that as usual the cheapest product rarely represents the best value for money - this goes for engineered Oak floors as well.

A quality engineered Oak floor will last for many years so look for value and don't scrimp.

Buying engineered Oak flooring

Buying engineered Oak flooring online will certainly mean you will be getting the cheapest prices - you must however establish quality, so ask for a sample and check if the company uses the board for their own installation work.

When you are ordering your engineered Oak floor remember also to buy underlay, finishing oils etc and care products - don't 'leave it until later' as transportation is expensive. Order everything at once. See our Wood Ancillaries page for more information.

When ordering your Engineered Oak Flooring remember to always add 10% meterage for cuts, selection and wastage.

When arranging a delivery date for your new engineered Oak remember that someone will need to be at home to sign for the delivery.