18mm

Our Top 5 18mm Engineered Wood Floors

Engineered Wood Flooring Samples

Find Your Perfect 18mm Engineered Wood Flooring With Our Free Samples

We know that the best way to make a decision about your flooring is to see it in your home. That’s why we offer free unlimited samples on all of our engineered wood floors, allowing you to visually compare as many as you need to. 

How To Order Your Free 18mm Engineered Wood Flooring Samples

Once you have selected your favourites, you can add them to your cart by clicking the ‘order free sample’ button. This will add the samples to your cart, where you can complete your order free of charge.

Quick & Easy Delivery

All of our samples are delivered for free via Royal Mail and usually arrive within 2-3 days. Don’t worry about waiting at home for the delivery though. At Flooring365 we have designed our samples to fit through a letterbox, so you don’t have to sign for anything.

Engineered Wood Flooring FAQ's

What Is 18mm Engineered Wood Flooring?

Engineered wood flooring is a versatile and popular flooring option that was specifically designed to overcome the downfalls of solid wood flooring. Its construction includes multiple base layers of plywood or HDF, topped with a layer of real wood. The top layer, typically made of hardwood such as oak or walnut, provides the genuine and natural look of wood. Meanwhile, the underlying layers offer added stability and resistance to moisture and temperature changes. Overall, this gives engineered wood flooring the perfect combination of aesthetic appeal and improved durability.

Our 18mm engineered wood flooring, in particular, is a great choice for many reasons. Firstly, the 18mm thickness signifies a substantial and robust plank, adding to its longevity and resilience in high-traffic areas such as hallways or living rooms. Not only that but the thick wear layer can be sanded and refinished multiple times, extending the lifespan of our engineered wood flooring even further. At Flooring365, most of our 18mm engineered wood flooring has a wear layer between 4-5mm which allows for the flooring to be refinished 2-4 times providing the work is completed by a competent contractor. Thicker boards such as these will also provide enhanced sound and heat insulation. When combining all these benefits together, it’s easy to see why our 18mm engineered wood flooring is an excellent choice for most homes, providing a well-rounded solution in terms of durability, style, and performance. 

Does Engineered Wood Flooring Scratch Easily?

Any wood floor can be susceptible to scratches but will withstand daily use, even in busy households. However, if you are looking for a durable wood flooring solution, then you can’t get much better than our 18mm engineered wood flooring range. As one of our thickest engineered wood boards, these 18mm wood floors are extremely durable and can be refinished multiple times should the worst occur. For more information on how to maintain or refinish your engineered wood flooring, please visit our maintenance centre. 

Is Engineered Wood Flooring Waterproof?

No, engineered wood flooring is made from real wood, so it is not waterproof. Although it can withstand small spillages, you should clean them quickly (within 2-3 hours). If puddles sit for long periods the liquid can seep into the wood, causing warping and discolouration. Lacquer finishing can provide more resistance but does not make the flooring waterproof. If you are looking for a floor that is 100% waterproof, check out our LVT range.

How Long Does Engineered Wood Flooring Need To Acclimatise?

All wood flooring must be acclimatised prior to fitting for a smooth and successful installation. This includes our engineered wood floors. For the best results, all engineered wood flooring should be acclimatised for a minimum of 48 hours. To do this, you must leave your flooring laid flat in the room where you plan to install it. This will help prevent warping as it adjusts to the temperature and humidity conditions of your home.

Engineered Wood Flooring Finishes & Treatments

Brushed

Brushed finishes offer a greater texture and more depth to the surface of the floor. To achieve this look, we brush the floor using steel wire wool to remove the thin upper layers during the manufacturing process. 

Handscraped

This effect aims to recreate the traditional look of wood flooring when a professional woodworker would hand finish each board which gave them unique characteristics. This finish especially looks good on glossy, lacquered flooring where the reflection highlights the waviness of the finish.

Aged

Aged flooring is the perfect alternative to reclaimed solid wood floors because they are easier to care for and cost much less. Varying levels of aged finishes are available, giving an impression of short and long-term wear.

Lacquered

Lacquer is a varnish that dries to produce a hard, durable finish that helps reduce the damage caused by spillages and acts as an additional wear layer. The durable qualities of a lacquered finish make it a popular choice for more chaotic areas of the home.

A wide range of lacquers are available including gloss, matt, and satin matt. All of which can be clear or coloured.

Oiled

Oil seeps into the wood and maintains the surface texture of wood flooring while providing some resistance to damage. Unlike Lacquered finishes, oiled flooring does not create a surface layer and therefore usually requires more maintenance and care over spillages.

Wood Species

Oak

Oak is the most popular choice when it comes to wood flooring. Engineered oak flooring offers the exact appearance of a hardwood oak floor, thanks to the veneer layer of solid wood. Our oak engineered flooring can cope with heat, humidity, and heavy foot traffic much better than your average oak floor. Whether you prefer red or white oak, our engineered oak flooring range offers plenty of choice with a huge range of products available in various finishes. Oak floors also have a much tighter grain variation, resulting in less difference in grains and texture between each board. If this is something that appeals to you, then you should consider looking at our prime-grade oak flooring options too.

Walnut

Walnut is the less popular option of the two and this is mostly because it's a rarer product that is harder to source and therefore more expensive to buy. However, for those seeking a luxurious touch to their flooring design, our engineered walnut floors are the perfect choice. With a rich and elegant appearance, walnut flooring is ideal for grand entrances and large living rooms. Walnut flooring features vibrant colours and wider grains compared to oak, giving it a unique and striking character. However, walnut floors do tend to have more variation from plank to plank, so if you're looking for a more uniform appearance, then walnut floors may not be for you.

Wear Layer

The wear layer refers to the top, aesthetic surface layer of real wood, which gives the engineered flooring its look. Thicker wear layers offer greater durability and the option to sand more frequently.

Most engineered wood floors, regardless of the thickness of the wear layer, will provide years of use, maintaining their impressive appearance.

Sanding Guide

In most cases, sanding the top layer of engineered wood flooring will remove up to 1MM of surface, with a minimum of 1MM leftover for protection. As a rough guide, here’s the number of times a floor can be sanded, based on the initial wear layer thickness:

3mm: 1-2 times

4mm: 2-3 times

5mm: 3-4 times

6mm: 4-5 times

(Please note: Sanding times is a guide only, the number of times a floor can be sanded will vary on an individual basis.)

Engineered Wood Flooring Installation Methods

Tongue & Groove

Tongue and groove is the most common method among engineered wood flooring; compatible boards fit together and hold in place with glue. The glue means tongue and groove flooring is free of nails, making it visually appealing and safe to walk barefoot.

Click System

Click Lok flooring has a profiled edge which creates a glue-free, interlocking fitting system. Simply, push, drop, click, and lock the boards into place for a sturdy floor installation. This method is often perfect for DIY enthusiasts.

Floating Floor

You can install tongue and groove flooring onto a layer of underlay as a floating floor. Underlay has many benefits, such as providing sound dampening and protecting your flooring from moisture and temperature changes.

Glue Installation

If you have a suitable subfloor (flat and sturdy surface such as concrete with a damp-proof membrane), you can glue your flooring to it with a strong adhesive. Glued installation creates a very stable and sturdy floor, especially with thick boards, such as 20mm wood flooring.