Engineered hardwood flooring in Los Angeles

Engineered vs. solid hardwood

Solid hardwood is one piece of wood through its thickness and is nailed over a wood subfloor. It can be sanded many times. Engineered hardwood has a real-wood top layer over a stable core, so it can also be glued directly to concrete or floated, and it moves less with seasonal humidity.

For a slab home, engineered is usually the practical choice. Over a raised wood subfloor, both work, and the decision often comes down to the look, plank width and budget.

Wear layer and core: what to compare

Wear layers in our catalog range from around 1 mm to 6 mm. A thin wear layer can be screened and recoated; a thicker one can be fully sanded one or more times. Core types include plywood, multi-ply hardwood and other engineered cores; each product page lists the manufacturer's construction details.

Wider planks (7½ inches and up) are almost always engineered, because a wide solid board moves more with humidity.

Cost factors

Engineered hardwood pricing depends on species, plank width and length, wear-layer thickness, finish and the brand. Installation cost depends on the method (glue-down usually takes more labor than floating), removal of old floors, subfloor leveling, stairs and trim.

Call for pricing or book a free in-home estimate. Material and installation are quoted per project after we measure.

To size the job before we visit, use our flooring calculator: enter each room, pick a waste allowance and add the square feet per box from the product page.

Engineered hardwood on a slab: glue-down or floating

On a concrete slab, engineered hardwood is either glued down with the adhesive the manufacturer specifies or floated over an approved underlayment. Glue-down feels solid underfoot; floating can go in faster and is used with some click products. Which one is allowed depends on the product, so we confirm it from the manufacturer's installation guide before quoting.

Either way, the slab is tested for moisture with the method the manufacturer requires and checked for flatness first; high spots are ground and low spots leveled. Our guide to engineered hardwood over concrete goes through both methods, and subfloor preparation explains the prep.

Stairs, stair noses and trim with engineered floors

Our flooring collections offer matching or coordinating stair-nose solutions, subject to product availability, so landings and the top step can finish in the same color as the floor. For a full staircase we can also provide custom hardwood stair treads stained to coordinate with the floor. Wood varies by batch and finish, so expect a close coordination rather than an identical match.

Where to start browsing

Most of our hardwood catalog is engineered. Brands with wide-plank engineered European oak include Provenza, Garrison, Urbanfloor, Monarch Plank, Villagio and Sonoma. Each product page lists the wear layer, core and approved installation methods. Tell us which ones you like and we bring the samples to your home. Call for pricing.