he question has often been raised: "Is engineered flooring green?"
The simplest answer would be yes, when compared to solid construction flooring. The reason for this is that solid wood flooring uses a thick (usually 3/4 inch thick) piece of wood to nail or staple onto the subfloor. Engineered products, however, are composed differently, and therefore use less actual resources.
Engineered Hardwood Flooring
Engineered flooring is made up of a top-layer of the chosen wood, and supported by several middle layers of intermediary backing - such as plywood. Some manufacturer's also put a second veneer layer on the bottom of the plank of wood.
The obvious advantage to this for the environment is that instead of using a thick, almost-inch-thick piece of wood, only between 1 - 5 millimeters of this veneer layer is applied to each plank. This exponentially reduces the amount of wood used. The first thing a potential consumer would ask after hearing that would be "Doesn't that make the floor weaker?"
Actually, it doesn't. With proper care and successful refinishing, engineered floors can last decades in any home.
