Hardwood Floor Installation Los Angeles
...brand new floors!

The most significant difference between these two types of flooring is the following: Solid wood flooring is the same type of wood all through the 3/4 inch flooring, tongue, groove, everything. Engineered wood flooring is solid wood on the top layer above the tongue, and plywood on the base layer, the tongue and below.

As far as the number of times each can be sanded and refinished, most people assume solid wood flooring has engineered flooring beat. And in many cases, they are correct. The wear layer on solid wood floors is about 5/16 inch or 8mm before you get to the tongue and groove. This gives it a life of around five sandings in its life.

Many engineered floors have a very thin top wood layer. Some have just a veneer. You can only sand these thin layers once, twice, or some not at all.

However... the engineered wood floors WE install have the same thickness wear layer as solid wood flooring. They have the same 5/16 inch wear layer and can be sanded multiple times, just like solid wood flooring. You would never be able to tell the difference in looks and usage verses solid wood flooring.

The engineered flooring we use also has many benefits over solid wood floors for the Los Angeles California area:

1) Engineered flooring doesn't require a plywood sub-floor to be installed first. This is a significant advantage if you have a concrete subfloor. The flooring can be installed directly over the concrete. This saves money, as well as avoid height issues with doors, cabinets, and dishwashers, etc.

2) Engineered flooring is far more stable. It doesn't expand and contract as much as solid wood floors. This means fewer gaps through your floor with our seasonal weather changes here in Los Angeles, California. You can install it below grade, such as a basement, where solid wood floors can't be. And because of its stability, we can install it over radiant heat, which is not recommended for floors made from solid wood.

3) Engineered flooring is better for our old-growth forests. Solid wood flooring takes 100 percent old-growth wood to make. Three-quarters of it is under the tongue and groove, the part that never gets walked on or sanded. With the engineered floors we use, only the vital wear layer uses old-growth trees. The sub-layers are made from plentiful and fast-growing trees. That means you can get 3 to 4 times the amount of flooring out of the same old-growth tree.

Ninety-eight percent of the floors we install here in Los Angeles, California, are high-quality engineered floors. They have the same care and maintenance requirements as solid flooring to keep your floor looking great. We have installed them in beach houses in Santa Monica, Malibu, Manhattan Beach, and Redondo Beach. Over in-floor radiant heat in homes and living space in Beverly Hills, Bel Air, and Pacific Palisades. And in residential and commercial properties throughout North Hollywood, Burbank, Laurel Canyon, Van Nuys, Sherman Oaks, Pasadena, Studio City, Cheviot Hills, and many other LA areas.

If you are looking for wood flooring in Los Angeles, we highly recommend this type of wood floor covering. When we come over for your in-home estimate, we will show you samples so you can see the quality of our engineered floors yourself.

No, definitely not. There are a few key differences you should be aware of. The first is the thickness of the wear layer. The top, real wood layer can vary from 1/32 to 5/16 inch (0.6mm to 7mm) between products and suppliers.

The super-thin wood layers on cheaper products are either a rotary peeled or sliced veneer. They can't be re-sanded. Anything over 1/8 inch (3mm) can most likely be sanded and refinished in the future. This is especially important if there is any damage (like water damage or scratches), and you need to do a floor repair. Or have refinishing work done by a hardwood flooring contractor in Los Angeles down the road.

The second difference is that a high-quality engineered floor has a base comprised of between 7 to 9 multi-directional layers of top-quality birch plywood. Inferior flooring products only have 3 layers, and they are made with inferior quality imported plywood. The more layers there are, and the better quality the plywood is, the more stable and durable the floor will be long-term.

When it comes to engineered floors, you really do get what you pay for. They may cost a little more upfront, and you'll need an expert installer. But if you are going to remodel your home, office, or business, isn't it better to know you have a quality product that will maintain its appearance and durability long-term.

If you have a concrete subfloor, then engineered flooring is going to be your best choice. After the concrete is prepared and sealed, we can glue the wood flooring directly to the slab, without any need for a sub-floor. This works especially well with parquet flooring and other flooring designs like white oak herringbone and chevron patterns. It keeps the floor looking seamless throughout the living space as well because you don't need as many transitions compared to a nail down install. And if you have carpet crews, or vinyl or tile installers putting down other floor coverings in rooms the wood flooring will be adjoining, it will allow for a more level transition to those floor materials as well.

You can also install solid wood flooring over concrete, but a vapor barrier and plywood sub-floor need to be in place first. The issue doing it this way is it will raise the overall height of the floor. As well as add a lot more cost to the project.

Almost all of the Los Angeles wood floor projects we install are glued down installs (as per the manufacturers installation instructions).

You can install either solid wood or engineered flooring on an above-grade plywood sub-floor. (If it's below-grade, then engineered is what we recommend to our customers.)

Your hardwood flooring contractor will give you a few choices for your wood floor installation: Glue down, nailed or stapled.

What you choose will be based on a few factors. Is the sub-floor above grade or below grade? Is it being installed in a business office or showroom? Or in a living room, dining room, kitchen or bedrooms in a residential house? What are the installation instructions for the product? What is the cost difference (from the price estimates and quotes from the flooring businesses you are considering hiring)? All will have a role to play in what you ultimately decide.

The length of acclimation for a flooring project depends on a couple of different things. The type of hardwood flooring being installed. The humidity level of the room. And the moisture level of the sub-floor.

A professional hardwood flooring company installing hardwood floors in Los Angeles will always go by the manufacturers acclimation and installation instructions. No cutting corners on any Los Angeles wood floor we install. It's too risky.

If there is a significant difference in moisture levels between the new flooring and the subfloor, there will be major issues with gapping, crowning, or cupping of the flooring material down the road. That means ripping them out and turning the family home into a construction zone all over again. We don't want that to happen on any of our Los angeles hardwood flooring projects. We are extra careful when it comes to acclimation matters.

We will test the moisture levels of both the subfloor and the newly delivered flooring with a professional moisture meter. That will give us a good indication of how much time we need to wait before the installation can start. Usually, it will be somewhere between four days and two weeks.