The Ultimate Guide To Understanding What Is Engineered Wood

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When it comes to wooden flooring and furniture material, engineered wood is one of the best options. If you’ve used this type of wood before, you’ll know how sturdy it is due to its innovative design. But if you haven’t and are wondering what is engineered wood all about, keep reading! This article will teach you everything about engineered wood, from its construction to its types and benefits!

What is Engineered Wood?

Engineered wood, as the name implies, is a man-made layered wood created by thermally gluing various pieces of wood with adhesives. This includes solid wood pieces as well as wood scraps and fibers from barns and sawmills. As a result, it is nearly as good and durable as solid wood, making it suitable for all your home’s needs.

Engineered wood, for example, is ideal as a home’s hardwood floor and wall planks. It is also an excellent material for wooden furniture, including cabinets, corner shelves, tables, bed frames, and more.

As previously stated, engineered wood is versatile. Aside from being an excellent material for a file cabinet, engineered wood also makes a coffee table more visually appealing in a living room. You can also get a heavy-duty bed frame made of engineered wood to further liven up your bedroom.

This material is also fun and interesting to use for arts and crafts! There are numerous wooden sheets and tiles available on the market to help you complete any wood construction project.

Whether you’re working on a small or large crafting project, engineered wood planks ensure that the finished product is appealing. Their solid wood top layer has a distinct wood grain that adds character to miniature house models. Furthermore, plywood sheets are light and have a smooth surface. These characteristics make them simple to use and transport around your workspace.

Types of Engineered Wood

One of the reasons engineered wood has grown in popularity over the years is because it comes in a variety of types, each with its own distinct characteristics. Here are a few examples:

Plywood

Plywood, which is made from thin wood veneer sheets, is unquestionably the most popular type of engineered wood. This material is cross-laminated, resulting in an alternating grainy appearance. Plywood panels are ideal for use as home furnishings.

Examples of plywood furniture include a wooden accent chair that can be used in your office or living room. Furthermore, a banquet table with a plywood top adds a touch of elegance and sophistication to your dining room. Despite frequent use, plywood materials do not scratch easily.

Plywood shelves for your child’s bedroom are also available as dependable storage furniture. This type of home furniture, like tables and chairs, is made of high-quality plywood and other strong materials, such as steel crews. Thus, their tiers can withstand the weight of plush toys, board game essentials, and books.

Particleboard

Particleboard is yet another type of engineered wood. It is made by thermally pressing sawmill wood chips and scraps. Despite being less stable than plywood, particleboards can be used for ceilings and sheathing. It is also light and has a wide range of color variations, making it ideal to produce wooden furniture.

Particleboards serve as a durable material for economical racks and shelves. These engineered wood products, with their strong steel legs and screws, can withstand substantial weight.

Apart from storage, particleboards are also used for table sets. Its dark color and uniform grain pattern can add warmth to a dining area.

Medium Density Fiberboard (MDF)

Medium Density Fiberboards, or MDF, is another popular type of engineered wood. This composite wood is made from fine hardwood and softwood fibers that have been pressed together at high temperatures. Hence, its surface is fine and resembles pure, solid wood.

Compared to particleboard, MDF is stronger and sturdier. This is due to the size of the fibers that they are made of, which is smaller than that of the former. Therefore, they are more practical for your home’s interior design. 

If you intend to use engineered wood in your home, MDF furniture is a good choice. You have a variety of options to choose from, including a sturdy table set, a trendy office desk, and a radiator cover.

Solid Wood vs. Engineered Wood

Solid wood and engineered wood are both excellent choices for home furnishings and décor due to their superior qualities. Solid wood, for example, has long been a staple in the wood and furniture industries due to its proven strength and durability.

In contrast to engineered wood, solid wood is a single layer formed and constructed from the lumber of matured and fully-grown trees. Simply put, it is a homogenous product with only coatings or finishings added to increase durability.

Although solid wood is considered superior, engineered wood can provide some excellent qualities that solid wood cannot. To discover what these are, it is necessary to compare them.

Thickness and Weight

The thickness of engineered wood and solid wood varies on their uses and design. Boards of both materials for all uses are available in sizes ranging from 10 mm to 21 mm. You can be certain that they will be a stable material for your home.

Their main difference, however, lies in their construction. Engineered wood, for instance, is made up of many thin wooden layers, or lamina. Each lamina is pressed together, resulting in boards with wood veneers, a top layer, a core, and a backing layer.

Solid wood, as opposed to engineered wood, is made of a single thick wooden plank or board. Consequently, the latter is heavier, despite the former having stacked thin wood layers. This also results in engineered wood being more portable and customizable.

Durability

Engineered wood and solid wood are both extremely durable. They are strong and do not warp because they are made with real wooden components.

Solid wood, for instance, can last decades due to its natural strength. However, this type of wood is more susceptible to water rot. Therefore, they should be used less in humid areas such as bathrooms, laundry rooms, and basements.

On the other hand, engineered woods have better moisture resistance. Take plywood for example. This material has a tight and smooth surface. Free of the knots that allow moisture to enter, plywood deforms less easily than solid wood.

As a result, engineered wood is more flexible and pliable. Its various types are also manufactured in varying thicknesses depending on their intended use. This is evident on particleboard and MDF, which are both denser than plywood. Nonetheless, due to their resistance to water and rot, high-quality particle boards and MDF are suitable for use as bathroom furniture.

Appearance

As engineered wood uses authentic solid wood as its top layer, it gains a beautiful texture and appearance. Engineered wood sheets, for example, are available in a variety of rich colors as well as appealing wood grains and patterns. Therefore, engineered wood products are also aesthetically pleasing.

If you’re looking for a high-quality piece of engineered wood furniture, consider these products with a solid wood surface finishing.

Transform your kitchen into a breathtaking sight by incorporating this mobile countertop cabinet. As seen in the image above, this product features a lovely brown tone which may go well with your kitchen decors. Storing your delicate china and other cutlery pieces will be a breeze with its spacious tiers and drawers. Plus, you can move it anywhere in your home due to its convenient wheels.

How Well Does Engineered Wood Flooring Fair Over Time?

Engineered wood flooring has become popular over the years due to its ease of use and versatility. Whether it’s for your kitchen floor or outdoor patio, engineered wood can add charm and beauty to your home. But if you’re still unsure about using this type of wood, fret not because engineered wood is designed to withstand daily use.

This material is strong and dimensionally stable because of its layered wood planks. It is also lightweight, making it simple to personalize and install to your liking. If you are a do-it-yourself kind of person, sawing, cutting, and drilling this type of wood into your home is a piece of cake!

Furthermore, engineered wood flooring is more moisture resistant. Its numerous layers and finishes, which include aluminum oxide, protect it from moisture. Engineered wood flooring can also withstand stains and scratches from daily use. With proper care and maintenance, floors of this material can last and still look great for more than two decades!

There are lots of engineered wood flooring that you can incorporate into your home. Like the ones seen above, these products are durable and come in various lengths and widths. For example, you can obtain a sample of Hurst Hardwood’s exquisite Red Oak Wood Flooring. It is 4 mm thick and is also prefinished, making it both durable and exquisite-looking.

You may also get pliant and sturdy plywood products for your home’s underfloor heating. There is smooth marine-grade plywood which you can avail from Woodnshop. You can also get one from Wood-ever if you want high-grade birch plywood.

How to Clean Engineered Wood Floors?

Installing wooden floors without the help of a professional can be a difficult feat. The same is true for its upkeep! Still, you can do it yourself with a few easy steps!

How to Remove Dust and Stains?

When removing dust, stains, and marks from your engineered wood floors, remember to practice dry cleaning to minimize moisture exposure. This is because water and high humidity are harmful to wooden floors. Simply follow the steps below to clean engineered wood floors properly.

The first thing you should do is vacuum the wooden floor. Use a vacuum with no beater bar to prevent further scratches to your floor.

Once the entire floor is dust-free, spray it with a wood floor cleaning product like the one from Bona Hardfloor. It has a fast-drying solution that effectively eliminates dust and dirt. The third step is to mop the floor.

How to Polish Engineered Wood Floors?

Engineered wood flooring is usually prefinished. Hence, you won’t necessarily need to shine them. However, you can do the spray-and-buff procedure in case you want to repolish them.

First, apply a plain wood cleaner like the Rejuvenate Shine Refresher Polish Restorer. This product is specially formulated to fill in scratches on the floor. It also protects the wooden surface from UV rays, making it extra shiny.

Allow the floor buffer to run over the surface after the wood cleaner has been fully absorbed. With its powerful dual-spin motors, the Gladwell Floor Buffer is ideal for this purpose. However, to effectively shine the floor, ensure that the floor buffer is equipped with a pair of lambswool lustering pads. These pads will help keep your floors free from scratches and damage.

All the information presented above demonstrates how useful and practical engineered wood is. Whether it’s your first time using engineered wood for office furniture or home flooring, know that it’s long-lasting and worth your money. Hopefully, this article has answered your questions about what engineered wood is all about. Give this material a shot and you’ll be amazed at how good it is!