Without a shadow of a doubt, extending your home is one of the most practical ways to create more living space and increase the value of your property.If you are considering suitable wood flooring for your extension, you need to be made aware of the various types and limitations that wood has in certain extensions.

Types Of Wood Flooring Construction

‘Real wood flooring’ includes two types of hardwood floorboard construction. One made of complete wood, while a second is made of wood and artificial syntactic materials. The most widely fitted option is the solid floorboard construction type, which as you can gather by its name is made from 100% solid wood. An alternative, which uses solid wood and three to four layers of supplementing materials, is known as engineered floorboard construction.

Solid Wood Flooring

Each board is made from 100% hardwood such as Walnut, Oak and other common wood species.Until a few years ago, solid was the only option and in fact it was suitable for most properties and in most extensions. Wood reacts to changes in temperature by expanding when climate becomes warm and contracting when the climate becomes cold. In addition, most woods (with the exception of decking wood) will damage from water and wet conditions. This created a serious limitation for fitting wood over under floor heating (temperature change) and for fitting wood in extensions that might experience humid and wet conditions as the kitchen and bathroom areas.

Engineered Wood Flooring

Each board is made from a top layer of solid wood supported by three to four layers of MDF, Plywood and Softwood. The use of solid wood as the top layer (around 3mm to 6mm thick) ensures that it looks identical to solid wood flooring. The use of varied materials means that the limitations that solid wood flooring has are no longer an issue and an engineered board can be fitted over under floor heating and in all types of indoor extensions. However, the use of varied materials does mean that service life is reduced significantly when compared to solid wood.

Matching Wood Flooring Type To Your Extension

The easiest manner to choose one type over the other is by the type of room. In some cases either solid or engineered will suit the room, in other cases only one should come up on top.

Rooms With Under Floor Heating

As explained before, wood that contracts and expends may damage over time. It is a natural reaction to climate changes that solid wood inherits. Engineered wood will not react in such manner in the face of climate change and is therefore the ONLY option.

High Foot Traffic Areas

Because solid wood is extremely durable and has a service live of around 100 years, high foot traffic areas that anticipate extensive use often prefer solid wood.

Wet, Damp and Humid Areas

Wood and water do not mix well and the presents of water will cause expedited wear and tear. Only an engineered wood with a suitable UV Lacquered coating is recommended in such areas.

All Other Areas

If the natural limitations of wood do not apply, you can use either solid wood flooring or engineered wood flooring.