Hi..

I return this time to share about a small technical symbol that you would find appearing in all quality laminate & wood floorings (engineered and solids) but mostly not understood.

It is called ‘E 1’.

E 1 stands for ‘Emission class 1’. Here emission means ‘to give off; to emit’. Understanding simply, normally each wood flooring product emits, releases some formaldehyde (a chemical). This chemical is used to manufacture these products and is also found naturally in wood. Beyond wood flooring, other building products like plywood, laminate, paints and varnishes also contain the same. So the overall exposure becomes significant at times.

As all things, within limits it has it’s utility but beyond that it can be a major problem sometimes (http://www.wisegeek.com/what-are-the-effects-of-formaldehyde-exposure.htm). Again the purpose is not to scare you but to make you aware. Most good brands today will be rated as E 1 with the industry moving towards the stricter E 0 standard.

Just by looking at the symbol and ensuring that the floorings that you are buying meets this standard, would keep you and your family safer. However, a word of caution here! Lot of products coming from local small time manufacturers in China, even though claiming to be E 1, have been found to be suspect.

Span floors is amongst the first one’s in India to introduce the latest ‘E 0’ standard product under the Kaindl two collection which is also Green Guard certified http://www.greenguard.org/en/index.aspx. All products under Span floors collection are rated ‘E 1’. Span floors remains committed to bring the most technologically advanced and environmentally safe products for Indian consumers to enjoy responsibly.

This is a common question: which is best, engineered or laminate flooring. The immediate answer to the question is that both of them are equally perfect in their own way and for their own use:

Both are alternates for Solid wood floors, both move (expand and contract) less than solid wood and both look nice! However like everything, they have their pro’s and con’s.

What laminate flooring is:
Laminate flooring is basically a photograph of a hardwood plank, laminated and stuck onto composite wood material, yes, underneath it is real wood.

The benefits of laminate flooring are:
The price: Definitely cheaper than Engineered

The Durability: whilst an engineered wood floor is vulnerable to damage from things like high heels etc, laminated flooring has a much harder surface, and scratches do not ruin the effect either – within reason.

The Range: laminate flooring can be a picture of anything. This means that you can have a marble-like palatial floor, on the budget of a palatial servant.

The downsides of laminate flooring are:
It is not real wood. A fake wood floor, even if it replicates a gorgeous Rs600/- square foot oak wood floor.

Non-Repairable: Laminate flooring cannot be sanded down and refinished. Thus laminate flooring is unlikely to be a floor for life.

What engineered flooring is:
Engineered flooring is a hardwood plank, laid on top of ply-boards.

The benefits of engineered flooring are:
The Durability: Engineered flooring is practically a hardwood floor. It can be resanded and refinished a varying number of times (depends on thickness of wood layer) to prolong the life. It can also be waxed or lacquered to protect it from damage, which also prolongs the life. The life can also be prolonged by caring properly for the floor, which is the same way as one would care for a solid hardwood floor.

In fact engineered flooring is even more suitable than a solid wood floor in a certain set of circumstances: in areas of high humidity (basements etc).Engineered flooring is much more pliable, so it can expand and contract with changes in the air, without much trouble.

Looks Like Real Thing: as you have probably gathered by now, engineered flooring is about as close as you can get to a solid wood flooring. In fact, to the untrained eye it is practically impossible to tell that it is not the real deal.

So, who wins the Laminate Flooring Vs Engineered flooring battle?

As I said at the beginning, both are perfect in their own ways for people with different circumstances:
For people who have dogs, are on a really limited budget and/or do not own/plan to change the floor in 5-10 yrs, then laminate is going to be their best option.

Meanwhile for someone who has their heart set on a real wood floor, and who doesn’t have dogs, then engineered flooring is the perfect package for you. And in case you have a dog and still want a real wood floor, make sure you trim the nails!!

Engineered hardwood floors have been a recent entrant to the market. Till now most of the real wood flooring that has been sold in our market was Solid. Lately a lot of customers have been asking this question.. Which is better? Thought I must write a blog on this to bring out the real facts and try to clear the air.

Let's first understand the composition of each. Solid wood is just that...a flooring plank made out of a solid piece of wood, tongue and groove created on either side and surface finished (natural/stained) with a suitable protective coat (Polyurethane/Lacquer/Oil). The wood is seasoned to suitable moisture content for increased stability. Coming to engineered flooring, this product is once again made of real wood (contrary to some misconception that it is not real - basically a perception generated by the word ‘engineered'). The basic difference is the plank construction hence the word ‘engineered'.

The surface in engineered floor is the decorative wood (any of the various species like oak, merbau, teak and so on) in varying thicknesses (0.6 to 7mm). Although some purists might call the 0.6 - below 2mm top layer as a wood veneer floor! Nevertheless, the bottom layers could be multiply (multiple layers of plywood) or one or two layers of a soft wood (pine/fir/spruce etc) or HDF (high density fibreboard). These various layers of wood are glued together in a cross grained pattern inorder to reduce expansion and contraction to the least. The resultant floor board has normally the latest click installation system just like the laminate floors.

That was the structural description. Now which is better? That depends on what one is looking for.. A solid wood floor will have more life generally (they have been known to last generations - with right maintenance off course..), will sound and feel better (solid). However they cost more - product as well as installation, they are comparatively more prone to expansion, contraction and warping (just like our wooden windows during monsoon) with changes in moisture, are not recommended for basements and your floor rises by around 28 to 32 mm depending on the floor and subfloor ply thickness. This for all practical purposes rules them for renovations.

Whereas engineered floors (with click installation and thinner top layers upto 4mm) are quick and easy to install, can be easily relocated (click installation system) and are much more stable (they react to moisture much lesser). They can also be sanded and refinished if required just like solids only lesser times. A decent product may well last 10 - 20 yrs or even more in a well maintained house. The downside is that they use glue to manufacture which contains formaldehyde which if not coming from a reputed brand, can be of lower quality (very bad for health). Low quality can also cause delamination (layers coming off). Also, some people feel it is not as sturdy which is more of a misconception.

So where do we land up?

Overall, My vote goes for engineered although we sell both! The main reason is reaction to moisture (due to improperly dried sites, lack of proper moisture detecting equipments with flooring contractors, moisture seepages due to bad plumbing, leakages etc) which can cause more trouble for a solid wood floor. In India, I generally find the leakages frequent, time lines too short (particularly for commercial projects) leading to unfit site conditions. However, If your civil construction work is excellent, you can wait till the concrete floor has dried to the proper moisture content or spend a little more to put an extra moisture protection coating and the humidity levels at the place are normal, then by all means choose a solid. Otherwise, you better stick to the engineered!

So long!

Satinder Chawla