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Engineered wood has a top layer of real hardwood, usually 2 to 6 mm thick, bonded to a cross-laid plywood or HDF core. The cross layers stop the plank from moving as much as solid wood, which is why it can be laid floating with a click system. It can also be glued to screed or nailed to timber.
What makes engineered wood different
It is still wood. It moves with the seasons, so humidity control matters: keep the room within the range your flooring maker gives, all year. For reference, NWFA's North American range is 30–50% relative humidity and 16–27 °C (60–80 °F); European makers often specify different ranges. Planks are often long (1.8–2.2 m), which makes the order of cuts and reusing offcuts more important for waste.
A thick wear layer can be sanded and refinished several times; a 2 mm layer maybe once.
Key numbers
| Rule | Typical value |
|---|---|
| Acclimatise | No fixed time: install when the room is at normal living conditions and the subfloor moisture matches, or as the maker says |
| Expansion gap | Equal to the board thickness, unless the maker says otherwise |
| Shortest piece | Row-starting offcuts at least 30 cm (12") |
| End joint stagger | At least twice the board width, or as the maker states |
| Transitions (floating) | In doorways under 1.2 m (4 ft) and in floors wider than 6.1 m (20 ft) |
| Subfloor flatness | Within 3 mm over 1.8 m, or 5 mm over 3 m |
| Room humidity | As the maker specifies (NWFA, North America: 30–50% RH) |
Installation in short
- Check the moisture of the subfloor. New screed must be fully dry (test it).
- Bring the boxes into the room with the heating at normal level, and check the room conditions match what the maker requires.
- Lay an underlay approved for wood. On concrete, put a Class I vapour barrier under it (unless the underlay has one). Over a wooden subfloor above an unheated space, a Class II retarder may be needed.
- Open several boxes at once and mix boards for an even spread of colour and grain.
- Start in a corner with spacers; the planner gives you the exact width of the first and last rows.
- Click each board in and close the end joint with a tapping block. Do not hit the wood directly.
- Leave the gap at every wall and threshold and cover it with skirting or a profile.
Floating, glued or nailed?
Floating is fastest and works for most homes. Gluing to screed feels more solid; some makers require it over underfloor heating, so check yours. Over underfloor heating, keep the floor surface at or below 27 °C (80 °F). Nailing is for timber subfloors and boards with a tongue-and-groove profile; see solid hardwood for that method.
Wood flooring guidance on this page follows the NWFA Wood Flooring Installation Guidelines (2025 edition) from the US National Wood Flooring Association, written for North America. In Europe, national codes apply instead, such as BS 8201 in the UK and DIN 18356 in Germany, and climate ranges often differ. Your flooring maker's instructions come first: if they say something different, follow them.
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