Hardwood, engineered or LVP: choosing a floor that fits the room

From across the room, solid hardwood, engineered wood and luxury vinyl plank (LVP) can look almost the same. Underfoot and over the years, they behave very differently. Choosing among them is less about which one is best and more about which one fits the room, the house and the way you live in it.

Solid hardwood

In solid hardwood, each board is one piece of wood from top to bottom. Its great advantage is that it can be renewed. When the finish wears, the floor can be sanded down to fresh wood and refinished, and that can be done more than once over the life of the floor. If you already have a worn hardwood floor, it is worth asking whether it can be sanded and refinished before you decide to replace it.

The trade-off is that solid wood moves. It swells in humid summers and shrinks in dry, heated winters. It also dislikes moisture, so it is a poor choice for bathrooms, laundry rooms and basements.

Engineered wood

Engineered wood has a layer of real hardwood on top, bonded to a core made of layers that run in alternating directions. The layered core keeps the plank more stable when humidity changes, so engineered wood can go in places where solid hardwood is risky, such as over a concrete slab.

Whether it can be refinished depends on how thick the top layer is. Some products can be sanded; others have a layer too thin for that. And it is still wood: standing water will damage it.

Luxury vinyl plank (LVP)

Luxury vinyl plank is not wood. It is a vinyl plank with a printed wood pattern under a clear protective layer. What it offers is tolerance: spills, wet boots, pet bowls and heavy traffic do not bother the surface, which makes it a practical choice for kitchens, bathrooms, mudrooms, laundry rooms and basements.

LVP cannot be sanded or refinished; a damaged plank is replaced, not repaired. And although the plank itself shrugs off water, water that gets underneath any floor is still a problem.

The subfloor comes before the first row

Whatever you choose, the new floor will only be as good as what is under it. Sooner or later, every floor shows the surface below: a hump becomes a plank that rocks, a dip becomes a soft spot, a loose panel becomes a squeak. Before the first row goes down, the subfloor should be checked for four things:

• Flat: high spots sanded or ground down, low spots filled.
• Solid: loose panels fastened and damaged sections replaced, so nothing moves or squeaks.
• Dry: moisture checked, especially over concrete and in basements.
• Clean: old adhesive, staples and debris removed.

Skipping these steps does not show on the first day. It shows later, as gaps, lifted edges and noise.

Questions that point to the right floor

• Which room is it, and how often does the floor get wet?
• What is underneath: a wood subfloor or a concrete slab?
• Do you want a floor that can be refinished years from now?
• Are there pets, kids or heavy foot traffic?
• Does it have to match or meet an existing floor in the next room?

The answer does not have to be the same for the whole house: wood in the living areas and bedrooms, LVP where water is part of daily life.

MZ Finish Work installs hardwood, engineered wood and LVP, and sands and refinishes existing floors, in Massachusetts and Rhode Island. Call or text (774) 433-6868, or fill out the quote form, for a free estimate.