Engineered hardwood floors

This type of hardwood flooring is constructed to be much more stable than solid floors in areas that experience large humidity swings throughout the year.

The definition of engineered hardwood flooring from the National Wood Flooring Association:

Engineered wood floors are real wood floors that are manufactured using three to nine layers of different wood veneers. The sub layers can be of the same species, or of different species. The grain of each layer runs in different directions, which makes it very stable. This means that the wood will expand and contract less than solid wood flooring during fluctuations in humidity and temperature. The top layer of engineered wood flooring consists of high-quality wood. While this type of flooring can be sanded and finished, it cannot be done as many times as solid wood flooring. Engineered wood flooring can be installed above, on or below grade.

While most engineered flooring is installed over concrete subfloors, a growing percentage of above grade installations are utilizing engineered flooring because of the higher demand for wider boards.