Engineered timber flooring

Engineered timber flooring is built from several layers of wood rather than one solid piece. The top layer is natural hardwood veneer. Beneath it sits a core of cross-laminated plywood, and that’s what gives the board its stability and stops it moving the way solid timber does when humidity or temperature shifts.

New to engineered timber? Start with our guide to 5 things to know about engineered timber flooring.

Yes, and it’s one of the main reasons Melbourne homeowners choose it. The city can move from a hot, dry afternoon to a cold, damp evening in the same day, and solid timber responds to that by expanding and contracting. The cross-laminated core in an engineered board resists that movement, so you see far less gapping and cupping across the seasons. It also copes well in homes with large glazed areas, or where heating and cooling run most of the year.

More on what causes boards to move: common floor installation issues, peaking and cupping.

You get the same natural grain and texture as solid hardwood, with better stability. Engineered boards resist warping and gapping, which matters in a climate like Melbourne’s, and they use timber more efficiently in how they’re made. The visible surface is real hardwood either way. The difference is in the construction underneath, not the surface look.

For a full side-by-side, read engineered vs hardwood flooring.

Only the top layer is solid hardwood, so there’s a limit to how many times the floor can be sanded and refinished compared with solid timber. It’s also more sensitive to standing water if a spill sits for too long. Both are easy to plan around once you’ve chosen the right wear layer and finish for the room. Thin wear layers are where most of the disappointment comes from, which is why every board in our range starts at 3mm.

We’ve written up the rest here: mistakes people make with engineered timber flooring.

They’re different products. Hybrid flooring uses a printed image of timber over a vinyl core, so it looks like wood without being wood. Engineered timber has a genuine European oak surface. That means real grain and texture, and a floor you can sand back and refinish rather than replace. Hybrid has its place in short-term fitouts. For a home you’re renovating properly, engineered oak is the one that still looks right in fifteen years.

The same comparison against laminate: engineered timber vs laminate flooring.

Often, yes. Our engineered timber flooring can be adhesive-fixed over concrete slabs, including slabs with embedded hydronic, electric or diffuser-plate heating, as well as suitable timber and tiled subfloors. That covers most of what we see across Melbourne, from slab-on-ground new builds in the outer suburbs to inner-city terraces with existing timber subfloors. Every subfloor still needs checking for moisture and level before we commit to a method. Because our own installation teams handle the installation, the person assessing your subfloor is the person who’ll be laying the floor over it.

See how engineered timber flooring is installed, or download our installation guides.

Yes. Our flooring can be adhesive-fixed over slabs with embedded hydronic, electric or diffuser-plate heating. The stability of the board and the way it conducts heat make it well suited to these systems, which is why we see it specified so often in Melbourne homes where hydronic heating is common. To keep your warranty valid, surface temperature must stay below 27°C and indoor humidity between 45 and 65%.

Full specifications are in our installation guides.

The best floor comes down to construction quality more than any single feature. Look for a genuine hardwood veneer rather than a printed layer, a thick and sandable wear layer, a stable multi-layer core, and timber sourced from certified forests. Every board in our range is built to that standard, using European oak chosen for character as well as performance.

The honest answer is that you can’t judge a floor on a screen. Come and see the boards in daylight at our Melbourne showroom in Cremorne or our Mornington showroom.

It varies from project to project. Wear-layer thickness, oak grade, plank width and finish all change the figure, and so does the subfloor you’re laying over and whether the job includes installation. The most accurate way to find out is to order a free sample pack or book an obligation-free consultation, so we can quote against your actual space.

For a breakdown of what drives the difference, see our engineered timber flooring cost comparison.

Decades, with proper care. Lifespan comes down to the thickness of the wear layer, how well the floor was installed, and the traffic it takes day to day. Installation is the one variable you can’t judge from a showroom floor, which is why we install with our own installation teams rather than subcontract it out. Every floor we supply is backed by our 25-year structural product warranty.

Yes, if the wear layer allows it. Our engineered European Oak boards use a wear layer of 3mm or more, thick enough to be resanded and refinished over the life of the floor rather than just recoated on the surface.

Not sure which your floor needs? Read should you refinish or replace your wood floors.

Sweep or dry mop regularly, vacuum to lift grit, and damp mop occasionally with an engineered timber cleanser. That’s most of it.

For detailed guidance, read how to maintain your engineered oak flooring, or talk to us about timber maintenance and aftercare.

At our Cremorne showroom at 71-73 Balmain Street, or at our Mornington showroom. Both have full-size boards you can walk on and see in daylight, which tells you far more than a photo. We’re open Monday to Friday 9am to 5pm, and Saturday 9am to 4pm.

If you’d rather start at home, order a free sample pack and we’ll send the boards to you.

Our own installation teams do. The people fitting your floor are the same people who supply it, so they know how these boards behave in a Melbourne home and what a given subfloor needs before anything is laid. There’s no handover to a third-party contractor, and no gap where responsibility gets murky. We install across metropolitan Melbourne and the Mornington Peninsula. For interstate projects, we can have our team do the install, however, this isn’t always viable so will work with you to find a solution that meets your needs.