Engineered Wood Flooring FAQ's
What is Extra Wide Engineered Wood Flooring?
With its beautiful and unique grain patterns and signature look, wood flooring can completely transform your room’s aesthetics. While the finish of a wood floor can affect the feeling of the room, it is also important to consider the width of the planks as this can drastically change the appearance of a space. At Flooring365 our boards are available in different widths, ranging from narrow 50mm wide strips to super-wide 300mm boards. Depending on which you choose, you could make a room look bigger, busier, more comfortable, or more relaxed. Either way, knowing the width will help you to create an optimal room design for your home.
Due to its composition, wide plank oak flooring is more likely to warp due to temperature and humidity changes. Therefore, it's only with the innovation of engineered wood that wide plank wood floors can now be installed without the worry of a warped floor.
Engineered wood floors are made from a base of 3-12 structural sublayers and then topped with a solid hardwood top layer so you won’t notice the difference once laid. The multi-layer structure of our extra wide engineered wood flooring gives it extra strength, stability, and durability. The enhanced stability allows us to provide extra wide floorboards up to 300mm whilst still providing higher resistance to warping caused by environmental changes.
How Wide Can An Engineered Wood Floor Be?
Engineered wood flooring is the perfect choice for wider boards thanks to the added stability that comes with the structural sublayers. That’s why our range of extra wide engineered wood flooring goes as wide as 300mm, offering unlimited interior potential.
Does Engineered Wood Flooring Scratch Easily?
While wood is a natural material that can be susceptible to scratches, it is durable enough to withstand daily use, even in busy households. Some finishes, such as a lacquer varnish, provide slightly more protection.
Does Wide Plank Flooring Make Room Look Smaller?
Contrary to popular belief, wide plank flooring can make a room appear larger than it really is since the lack of joints helps to trick our brains into thinking there is more space. This well-known interior design trick has been used for decades and works just as well with light or dark floors, providing there are contrasting features and furniture. Due to this, our extra wide plank flooring is an ideal choice for narrow hallways or smaller living rooms. Wide plank oak flooring also makes an excellent choice for open plan living spaces, allowing you to continue into other rooms.
Does Wide Plank Flooring Make A Room Look Bigger?
In most cases, wide plank flooring will make a room appear larger than it actually is. Whereas narrow boards have a lot of joints which can make the space feel busy and cluttered.
When Does Extra Wide Engineered Wood Flooring Look Best?
While there are various opinions on when you should use wide planks, in our experience it is all up to personal preference, and there are no rules for your room's size, shape, or features. However, it is no secret that wide plank oak flooring can create optical illusions when it comes to room size. Contrary to popular belief, this helps to make narrow corridors look more spacious, as well as helping to make large open rooms look cosier. It all comes down to the design of your room, from where and how you place your flooring to what style, colour, or finish you decide on. You can make use of our unlimited free samples to get a feel for the scale and how your chosen flooring will fit in your room.
Is Engineered Wood Flooring Waterproof?
Our extra wide engineered wood flooring has a hardwood surface layer, so it is not waterproof. Small spillages are not a problem if you clean them up quickly (within 2-3 hours). However, you shouldn't leave puddles to sit for too long as liquids can seep into the wood and warping can occur. Lacquer finishing can provide more resistance but does not make the flooring waterproof. If you require waterproof flooring, have a look at our LVT range.
Is Wide Plank Flooring Better?
Ultimately, it depends on what you want from your flooring. Wide plank flooring is easier to install since there are fewer boards to lay. However, this does mean that more offcuts may be required in smaller installations or awkwardly shaped rooms. Wide plank oak flooring also gives a more luxurious appearance; however, the boards do cost more to show for this. Ultimately, it's down to your personal preference, style, and requirements.
Are Wide Plank Floors Trendy?
Wide plank flooring such as our extra wide engineered wood flooring is considered trendy, and although we cannot predict the future, we can’t see wide plank floors going out of style. Like with parquet flooring, wide plank floors have kept their luxurious feel since they will always be slightly more difficult to source, and without a sudden growth of trees, that won’t change anytime soon.
Are Wide Plank Wood Floors More Expensive?
Unfortunately, wide plank floors will always be slightly more expensive than narrower boards. Again, this is due to the fact that they’re harder to source. In fact, you’ll often find that the wider the boards, the bigger the price tag.
How Wide Is Wide Plank Flooring?
Here at Flooring365, our wide plank engineered wood flooring ranges from 151-200mm and our extra wide engineered wood flooring ranges between 201-290mm.
Is Wide Plank Flooring Still In Style?
Yes, wide plank flooring is still heavily favoured by most interior designers and can suit a multitude of different designs from minimalist and contemporary to rustic and farmhouse.
How Long Does Engineered Wood Flooring Need to Acclimatise?
To prevent warping, it's best to acclimate your engineered wood flooring. This allows it to adjust to the temperature and humidity conditions in your home. For optimal results, you should acclimatise your flooring for at least 48 hours. To do this, lay your flooring horizontal in the room where it will be installed. This is particularly important with our extra wide engineered wood flooring. The wider and longer the boards are, the more chance of warping, so prior preparation is key to a long-lasting flooring solution.
How To Install Wide Plank Flooring?
Our extra wide engineered wood floors can be installed in the same way that any other engineered wood floor would be laid, providing they share the same installation method. The only differences will be the number of boards that need to be fitted, and the number of boards that need to be cut. For more information on how to install wood flooring, visit our DIY installation guide.