The kitchen, the living room, and the hallways start to look worn down faster than other home areas. They get discolored, scuffed, and scratched by footwork, toys, or chairs easily as these are the high-traffic areas.
The best engineered wood flooring for high traffic areas at home is Johnson hardwood, KährsLM flooring, Mohawk, Mullican, Pergo max, Shaw, Somerset, and Proximity mills.
So, If you’re looking for a new wood flooring for your home, you’ll need to consider how much traffic is passing over the flooring and the type of traffic.
Read on as we throw more light on this.
Related: 4 Floating Engineered Wood Flooring Problems and Easy Fixes
Wood Flooring
Table of Contents
Wood flooring has become a common choice in modern houses, and the reason is not unreasonable; it’s stylish and still adds value to your home.
However, it would be best if you considered how long you want them to last as high-traffic areas eventually make a mess out of most flooring, so this should be in mind during your purchase.
You need to ensure that your chosen wood flooring is up to the task. This choice involves the decision to use either solid or engineered hardwood flooring.
And if engineered flooring, which ones are the best? We think people’s familiarity with solid hardwood gives it an upper hand, but with enough exposure to the wonder that is Engineered hardwood, your mind might be changed.
Also, If you’re looking for a flooring that can be laid anywhere – including below grade – and that can stand up to changes in moisture level and years of high traffic use, engineered flooring is the material you’re looking for. And you need to get the best ones!
Engineered Wood Flooring
Engineered wood flooring should become the popular choice soon enough because it gives you the classic wood look of the home and has A–plus in longevity.
So it appears like natural wood with the effect and everything and reduces the scratches and scuffs that are frequent issues in natural wood flooring.
The top layer of engineered wood flooring is natural wood and can be any wood you prefer, so you always get the natural wood flooring look you’re interested in having.
Higher-end, best quality engineered hardwood has a good 2-6 mm thick top veneer layer that can be sanded and refinished over time (similar to solid wood) and can last between 40-80 years; engineered hardwood with a thinner veneer cannot be refinished and generally will not last longer than 30 years.
The best quality will also ensure that the layers are well adhered to, which will avoid the possibility of distortion that you can get with lower-quality products.
Benefits of Engineered Hardwood
Durability
We believe you know how solid hardwood is made, but we will explain anyway. Each plank is a solid piece of wood with the grain extending from the top to the bottom.
The advantage is that it is sanded and refinished continuously, ensuring longevity.
However, the huge disadvantage is that the wood cannot be installed in a place with high humidity or a Lower level area because it’s a solid piece.
It can’t be installed because the wood would absorb the moisture and get warped, destroying it.
In the case of Engineered wood, though, they’re still made of wood, but instead of a single plank, they’re made up of many different layers.
Each layer is positioned in a different direction than those surrounding it. If exposed to moisture, it’ll not get warped or damaged.
Therefore it can be used in below-grade areas like basements. So, your basements can still look attractive!
2. Pre-Finishing
A good thing about better/best-engineered hardwood is that they come prefinished. Durable coating straight from the factory!
And it is this finishing that gives it this luster and a large part of its durability. A prefinished, engineered hardwood floor has a very durable, long-lasting finish.
Finishes applied by the manufacturer can last years longer than those applied by an installer, which increases the durability of your floor.
3. Cost-effective and Easy to Maintain
A fun fact that is also good for your pockets is, that engineered hardwood is cheaper than solid hardwood, so not only is it long-lasting, it’s affordable!
A common thing with high traffic areas is the frequent messes made. Luckily, this flooring can withstand footfalls, and the spills are easy to clean. So long as they’re wiped away time.
Read: How to Remove Glue from Engineered Hardwood Floors
Best Engineered Wood Flooring for High Traffic: Top Brands
The following are the best types of engineered hardwood for high traffic areas like hallways, kitchens, offices, and the likes:
- Johnson Hardwood
- Kährs
- LM Flooring.
- Mohawk.
- Mullican.
- Pergo Max.
- Shaw.
- Somerset.
- Proximity Mills
What Makes These Stands out as the best?
Quality hardwood veneer wears layer
The thickness of the solid wood wear is vital to the overall quality of your engineered flooring. We do not recommend below 2mm veneer thickness.
2mm precisely is decent, and 3mm above is an assurance of high-quality flooring that can be refinished multiple times with a 40-year lifespan.
The Strong and Structurally Stable Core Layer
The overall thickness is just as essential as the thickness of the veneer. The core layer is below the wear layer, and manufacturers construct it from several layers of plywood.
Usually, there will be between 3 and 12 ply layers. The construction and thickness of the layers beneath the veneer give the engineered plank its strength and stability.
Therefore, when choosing the best quality engineered flooring, look for manufacturers offering planks with an overall thickness of between 3/8 and ½ of an inch.
Good selection of plank length and width
One of the simplest ways to install a unique and stylish hardwood floor is to focus on plank width and length. Widths range from 3 to 8 inches. You can also buy mixed widths.
Non-toxic engineered flooring
Consumers should look for manufacturers that offer air quality and eco-friendly assurances on all their engineered flooring products.
The production of these flooring uses a lot of chemicals that can be of concern to some. You should purchase from leading brands or manufacturers with Flooring Quality Certification.
Read: Can You Install Engineered Hardwood over Existing Hardwood Floors?
Conclusion
This article was written about the best engineered wood flooring for high traffic to help give you guidance when faced with choosing an engineered wood floor in a high traffic area.
Now we are confident you know a lot about engineered flooring, the benefits, the best brands, and why they’re preferred.
We hope you found it helpful and informative. If you did, please share it across your entire social media pages.
