Engineered Wood Flooring vs Solid Wood Flooring: What’s the Difference?

Choosing the perfect wood flooring for your property can be a tough. Two of the most popular options on the market today are engineered wood flooring and solid wood flooring. Both offer natural beauty and lasting value - but each has its own unique benefits, making them better suited to different needs and environments.

Here's a closer look at how they compare…

What is Solid Wood Flooring?

Solid wood flooring is made from a single piece of hardwood, such as oak or walnut. Each plank is cut from a solid log, giving it a traditional and authentic look and feel.

Product: Natura Reclaimed Solid Oak Flooring 140/18mm

Solid wood floors are known for their rich character, natural variation, and ability to be sanded and refinished multiple times over their lifetime.

Solid wood flooring is best for:

• Period homes and traditional interiors
• Long-term investment and classic aesthetic
• Areas with minimal humidity and temperature changes

What is Engineered Wood Flooring?

Engineered wood flooring is made from a top layer of real hardwood bonded to multiple layers of plywood or high-density fibreboard (HDF).

Product: Natura Amarone Oak Engineered Wood Flooring 13/3mm

This layered construction gives engineered wood greater stability, making it less prone to expansion, contraction, or warping due to temperature or moisture changes. Despite its structure, it looks and feels just like solid wood.

Engineered wood flooring is best for:

• Modern homes and renovations
• Rooms with underfloor heating
• Areas where humidity levels fluctuate, like kitchens or basements

Comparing Engineered Wood Prices to Solid Wood Flooring Prices

Solid wood flooring is generally more expensive than engineered wood. This is due to the cost of raw materials and the fact that each plank is made from 100% hardwood. Engineered wood, while still high in quality, uses less solid timber and is more efficient to produce, making it a more budget-friendly option - especially for large projects.

Which Is Easier to Install?

Engineered wood flooring is typically much easier to install. Many ranges use a modern click-lock system (like the 5G® Fold Down System used in The Family Floor), which allows for quick, glue-free installation.

It can also be installed as a floating floor over existing surfaces. Solid wood, on the other hand, often requires professional installation using nails or glue and more precise subfloor preparation.

Which Is More Sustainable and Eco-Friendly?

Engineered wood flooring is often considered the more sustainable choice. Because it uses a thin hardwood top layer over a core made of fast-growing, renewable materials like plywood, it maximises the yield from each tree.

At Natura Flooring, both our engineered and solid wood floors are FSC-certified and made using clean energy, but engineered options make more efficient use of natural resources and produce less waste during manufacturing.

Which Is More Durable - Engineered or Solid Wood Flooring?

Both solid and engineered wood flooring are highly durable - but in different ways. Solid wood is extremely hard-wearing and can be sanded and refinished multiple times over its lifetime.

However, solid hardwood flooring is more sensitive to changes in humidity, which can lead to warping or cupping in unstable environments.

Engineered wood is more stable, making it a better choice for rooms with temperature fluctuations or underfloor heating.

While it can usually be sanded once or twice (depending on the thickness of the top layer), high-quality engineered flooring - like ours made with European oak and birch plywood - offers excellent longevity and resilience, even in busy households.

Conclusion - Which Is Best?

Choose solid wood if you want a traditional, long-lasting floor and you're happy to invest in professional installation and maintenance.

Choose engineered wood if you want a versatile, eco-friendly floor that's easier to install and ideal for modern lifestyles.

Natura Flooring: Quality You Can Trust

At Natura Flooring, we offer both solid and engineered wood flooring, expertly crafted in Venice, Italy in partnership with Florian.

We use only FSC-certified European oak and walnut sourced responsibly from Croatia and Ukraine. With a range of finishes, styles - including herringbone - and our free sample service, we make it easy to find the perfect floor for your home.

Explore difference true craftsmanship makes - sustainably made, beautifully finished, and built to last.