Engineered Hardwood Installation
Real wood, built to stay flat through a dry Idaho winter.
Engineered hardwood is a genuine hardwood wear layer bonded over a cross-ply core. The cross-grain construction is what makes it a sensible choice here: Treasure Valley indoor humidity can drop into single digits when furnaces run all winter, and that is exactly the condition that makes solid plank shrink and gap.
It also opens up wide planks. A 7" or 8" board that would be risky in solid wood is well within reason in engineered form.
Where it works well
- Main living areas where you want real wood grain, not a printed image
- Wide-plank looks, 6 inches and up
- Slab-on-grade floors and basements where solid wood cannot be nailed
- Homes with radiant floor heat, when the manufacturer approves it
What to watch out for
- Wear layer thickness decides whether it can ever be refinished — thin veneers cannot
- Glue-down installs need a genuinely flat, clean, dry slab
- Prefinished micro-bevels collect dust in a dusty valley; a light bevel or a site finish reads cleaner
How we install it
- Moisture testing
- Concrete gets a moisture test and wood subfloors get a meter reading before a single board is set. Numbers go in the file.
- Install method
- Nail-down over plywood, full-spread glue over slab, or floating where the product allows. We choose based on subfloor, not on what is fastest.
- Racking the floor
- Boards are pulled from multiple cartons and dry-laid so color and grain distribute naturally instead of clustering.
Subfloor requirements
Plywood/OSB (nail or glue) or a tested concrete slab (glue or float).
Typical rooms
Living, dining, bedrooms, hallways, finished basements.
Engineered Hardwood questions we get asked
- Can engineered hardwood be refinished?
- It depends entirely on wear layer thickness. Around 2mm and up can usually take one light sanding; 3mm+ can take more. We will tell you what a specific product can handle.
- Will it gap in winter?
- Far less than solid wood, but all wood moves. Keeping indoor humidity in a reasonable range through the heating season is the best thing you can do for the floor.
- Can it go over radiant heat?
- Many engineered products can, with temperature limits and a slow warm-up schedule. We follow the manufacturer's radiant instructions exactly.
Planning a engineered hardwood install?
Send the rooms and rough square footage and we will schedule a measure.