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What is engineered hardwood? What does greater stability mean? How many layers does engineered flooring have? Does engineering destroy the natural beauty of hardwood flooring? What is the thickness of the hardwood veneer? Can I refinish an engineered floor? Besides different species, what else accounts for the different appearances in hardwoods? What is the Janka hardness test and why should I be aware of it as a consumer? Is there a benchmark for comparing the relative hardness of other wood? How do Maple and Brazilian Cherry (Jatoba) rate on the Janka hardness test? Is the Janka rating useful for engineered hardwood flooring? What engineered flooring products are sold in pallet quantities? What is the minimum qty for each? What engineered flooring products are sold by the container? What is the minimum quantity for a container? Am I restricted to just one product in a container? Do I have to be a contractor to buy from BuildDirect? Do you offer any further discounts for trades’ people? How do I obtain flooring samples? Does BuildDirect ship to other locations worldwide? Can you tell me an exact date a container will arrive? How are residential deliveries made? What is your warranty policy?
Q. What is engineered hardwood?
A. Engineered Hardwood is a product made up of a core of hardwood, plywood or HDF and a top layer of hardwood veneer that is glued on the top surface of the core and is available in almost any hardwood species. The product thus has the natural characteristics of the selected wood species as opposed to a photographic layer. The “engineered” product has been designed to provide greater stability, particularly where moisture or heat pose problems for solid hardwood flooring.
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Q. What does greater stability mean?
A. The instability of solid hardwood is usually moisture or heat related. Under adverse conditions, solid hardwood can warp, cup, swell or split apart. Engineered hardwood overcomes these problems by constructing a multiple-ply plank which counteracts twisting and remains flat and intact. This makes engineered hardwood a better choice for installation over radiant heat sources, over concrete whether it’s below grade or above, and in rainy climates.
Q. How many layers does engineered flooring have?
A. In addition to the top hardwood veneer, engineered wood flooring typically has three or more core layers. Of course, there is greater stability with more layers. The core layers may be plywood, high density fiberboard, or hardwood. For example, Vanier engineered flooring has five hardwood core layers.
Q. Does engineering destroy the natural beauty of hardwood flooring?
A. Not at all. The top hardwood layer is the same genuine hardwood you have in solid hardwood flooring. This “show” veneer is available in most species of natural hardwood.
Q. What is the thickness of the hardwood veneer?
A. The hardwood veneer, or top layer of hardwood, can typically be 0.6mm to 4.5mm or more in thickness. A quality hardwood veneer will provide many years of wear. For example, Vanier engineered hardwood flooring has a Select and Better 2mm hardwood veneer and comes with a 25-year finish warranty.
Q. Can I refinish an engineered floor?
A. It depends upon the thickness of your hardwood layer but the fact is that 95 % of hardwood surfaces are never refinished. With the high quality finishes that are offered and the extensive process that refinishing a floor entails, damaged areas are often removed professionally. If sanding is desired, typically, the professional sanding procedure removes 1/32 of an inch. Thus if your floor has a 2mm layer you can sand the floor 1-2 times.
Q. Besides different species, what else accounts for the different appearances in hardwoods?
A. Hardwood veneers have the same surface appearances as solid hardwood flooring because they’re both natural hardwoods. Different appearances result from the different ways the hardwood are sawn. The different sawing methods are: i) Flat Sawn or Plain Sawn, ii) Rotary Cut, iii) Off-Set Rotary Cut, and iv) Sliced Cut.
Flat Sawn (also referred to as plain sawn) - can be flat grain (which has a cathedral or gothic effect) or vertical grain (which has a radial or edge grain effect).
Rotary Cut – method of cutting wood in which the hardwood layer is peeled off the log using large wood lathes. This peeling method shows dramatic, wilder graining.
Off-Set Rotary Cut – method of cutting wood which gives a sliced appearance and grain pattern with the added cross grain stability of sliced, without the sliced cost. Hardwoods are more dimensionally stable across the grain, and off-set rotary cutting takes advantage of this property. The yield is lower than a regular rotary cut creating a slight price increase vs. standard rotary.
Sliced Cut – method of cutting wood in which the hardwood layer is sawn like regular lumber. This shows method finer graining.
Q. What is the Janka hardness test and why should I be aware of it as a consumer?
A. As a consumer of quality wood flooring, you naturally want to know how the product you are thinking about purchasing will withstand wearing and dents. The Janka hardness rating is your standard measurement for this purpose. The Janka test is conducted by measuring the force needed to lodge a .444-inch steel ball in the wood species to a depth of half the ball's diameter. The higher the rating, the harder is the species of wood. Of course, the Janka hardness rating is also useful when assessing how easy or difficult it is to hammer a nail into the wood or cut it with a saw.
Q. Is there a benchmark for comparing the relative hardness of other wood?
A. Red Oak is a very popular, durable species. It has a Janka rating of 1290 and serves as a benchmark for comparing the relative hardness of other wood species.
Q. How do Maple and Brazilian Cherry (Jatoba) rate on the Janka hardness test?
A. Both Hard Maple and Brazilian Cherry have high ratings on the Janka hardness test. This makes them great products to use in high traffic areas. Hard Maple has a Janka rating of 1450, 12 per cent harder than Red Oak. And Brazilian Cherry, at 2350 on the Janka scale, is one of the hardest species in the world, 82 per harder than Red Oak. Both Hard Maple and Brazilian Cherry are very popular in home environments with high traffic because their hardness means their natural beauty will also be long lasting.
Q. Is the Janka rating useful for engineered hardwood flooring?
A. The Janka rating is a good one to keep in mind for engineered hardwood flooring as well as solid hardwood, especially if durability is a key selling feature for you. The Janka hardness rating of the hardwood used for the veneer on your engineered flooring will guide you to the best choice for your intended flooring use. Vanier Hard Maple, Vanier Brazilian Cherry and Vanier Hand-scraped Oak are all excellent engineered floors for high traffic areas. Janka Hardness Chart
Q. What engineered flooring products are sold in pallet quantities? What is the minimum qty for each?
A. BuildDirect sells the following engineered flooring products in pallet quantities: Flexura: Oak, Cherry, Maple – in 3-strip or 1-strip. (1 pallet minimum = 1060 sq. ft.) Vanier: Maple, Brazilian Cherry (1 pallet minimum = 720 sq. ft.) Vanier hand-scraped (light or dark) Oak (1 pallet minimum = 570 sq. ft.)
Q. What engineered flooring products are sold by the container?
A. BuildDirect sells the following engineered flooring products by the container. Each brand is available in a variety of wood species and dimensions – please refer to our web site for details. Vanier brand (minimum quantity 10,000 sq. ft.) Flexura brand (minimum quantity 23,320 sq. ft.)
Q. What is the minimum quantity for a container?
A. Flexura product – 23,320 sq ft, Vanier product- 10,000 sq ft
Q. Am I restricted to just one product in a container?
A. Please contact our engineered flooring department to discuss your needs on your container product requirements. Our manufacturers will often allow a combination of two products and we can discuss further needs.
Q. Do I have to be a contractor to buy from BuildDirect?
A. The prices on our web site are the prices we offer to anyone who can meet the minimum order requirements.
Q. Do you offer any further discounts for trades’ people?
A. The prices we show on our web site are our best prices up front. If you can reach our minimum purchase requirements, we will sell to you regardless of whether you are in business or a private home owner.
Q. How do I obtain flooring samples?
A. For samples we only charge for the courier cost of the samples which can be ordered Fedex ground or Fedex Expedited. The rate will be calculated based on your address and the number of samples you order. Samples can be ordered online or over the phone at 1-877-631-2845. Payment can be made by MasterCard or Visa.
Q. Does BuildDirect ship to other locations worldwide?
A. Yes, we can accommodate most shipping requests around the globe . We can provide you with further details once we understand your product requirements, your shipping destination and your timeline.
Q. Can you tell me an exact date a container will arrive?
A. Most containers take 8-10 weeks from time payment is received. There is a chance that it may take longer because of factors beyond our control. For example, security measures undertaken by U.S. Customs and Border Protection could possibly delay shipment, please call for more details.
Q. How are residential deliveries made?
A. The product would be delivered on a truck equipped with a lift-gate. The pallets would be lowered to the ground and pulled onto your driveway with a pallet-jack. A residential delivery is considered completed once the product is placed on the driveway. Building materials are heavy and will require proper equipment or labour to accept goods on delivery. Please check the weight of your goods before they are delivered so that you are properly prepared
Q. Which forms of payment do you accept?
A. We accept Visa, MasterCard, bank drafts (also referred to as cashier's checks or money orders) and wire transfers.
Q. What is your warranty policy?
A. Our engineered flooring products have either a 20 year or 25 year manufacturer’s finish warranty. Contact us regarding any warranty concerns.