Where does it sit?
Solid hardwood is nailed to a wood subfloor above grade. Over a concrete slab or a basement, engineered planks installed floating or glued are the more forgiving choice.
Flooring notes · Canada
Hardwood and engineered floors, compared for Canadian homes.
A reference on how solid hardwood and engineered wood floors behave through cold winters, dry heating seasons, and humid summers — and what that means for selection, installation, and upkeep.
Start here
Three questions that decide most floors
Before species or finish, the floor that lasts is usually the one matched to its subfloor and the way the room is heated and cooled.
How dry does it get?
Forced-air heating can pull indoor relative humidity below 30% in a Canadian January. Wide solid boards react to that swing more than narrow boards or engineered cores.
What happens in 15 years?
Thick solid wood and thick-wear-layer engineered floors can both be sanded and refinished. Thin veneers cannot, which changes the long-term cost picture.
Solid hardwood
One species, top to bottom
- Milled from a single piece of wood, commonly 3/4" thick.
- Can be sanded and refinished several times across decades.
- Expands and contracts with moisture across its width.
- Typically nailed or stapled to a plywood or OSB subfloor.
Engineered wood
Real veneer on a stable core
- A hardwood wear layer bonded to cross-laminated plywood.
- More dimensionally stable across humidity swings.
- Suits floating, glue-down, and below-grade installs.
- Refinishing depends on the thickness of the wear layer.
Quick reference
Side-by-side properties
| Property | Solid hardwood | Engineered wood |
|---|---|---|
| Typical thickness | About 3/4" | About 3/8" to 3/4" |
| Below-grade installs | Generally not recommended | Commonly suitable |
| Reaction to humidity swings | More movement across width | Less movement |
| Refinishing | Multiple times | Depends on wear-layer thickness |
| Common install methods | Nail or staple down | Float, glue, or nail |
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