Engineered or Solid
Wood — Which Is Right?

Both are real wood. Both can last decades. The choice comes down to your subfloor, your heating system, your property type, and what you want the floor to do long-term. We sell both and have no bias — here is an honest answer to the question every buyer asks.

Short answer: Engineered oak has a real oak top layer on a stable plywood core, so it suits concrete, screed and underfloor heating and moves less with the seasons. Solid oak is oak all the way through, suits timber joists and can be sanded more times, but is not usually recommended over underfloor heating. Updated October 2026 by the LIGNORA flooring team

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The Construction Difference

What's Actually
Different

Engineered Oak

A real oak wear layer — typically 3–6mm thick — bonded to a multi-ply birch plywood core. The core runs in alternating grain directions, which dramatically reduces seasonal expansion and contraction compared to solid wood. See what engineered wood flooring is for how the layers work.

The wear layer is indistinguishable from solid oak on the surface. It can be sanded and refinished multiple times depending on its thickness. A 3mm wear layer allows two or three full sands, a 4mm layer three or four, and a 6mm layer several more; see how often engineered wood can be sanded.

Available in widths up to 400mm and in all the same species, grades, and finishes as solid oak. Works above underfloor heating. Suitable for concrete subfloors. Compatible with floating installation.

Our Recommendation for Most Projects

Solid Wood

A single piece of timber from top to bottom — typically 18–22mm thick. No composite core. The entire depth is the species you have chosen. It can be sanded multiple times over a very long life, potentially exceeding a century in the right conditions.

Solid wood moves more significantly with seasonal humidity changes than engineered. Widths above 130mm become problematic in centrally heated homes. It should not be used above underfloor heating systems, and is unsuitable for concrete subfloors without a significant floating installation.

The right answer for ground-floor installations in period properties, particularly where original solid boards are already present and continuity matters.

Specific Use Cases — We Will Advise

Head to Head

Six Factors That
Determine the Right Choice

Factor	Engineered Oak	Solid Wood
Underfloor Heating	✓ Fully compatible — all systems	✗ Not recommended
Concrete Subfloor	✓ Glue-down or floating	✗ Requires timber sub-floor overlay
Wide Boards (180mm+)	✓ Stable up to 400mm	✗ Risk of gapping and movement
Sanding & Refinishing	✓ 1–4 times depending on wear layer	✓ Multiple times over long life
Upper Floors / Apartments	✓ Floating install, acoustic underlay	✗ Heavy, acoustic challenges
Period Property Authenticity	✓ Indistinguishable on surface	✓ Technically correct to period

Common Misconceptions

What People Get
Wrong

"Engineered isn't real wood"

It is real wood. The wear layer — the surface you walk on, sand, and see — is the same European oak as solid. The core beneath is birch plywood, chosen for its stability, not as a cost-cutting measure. The two materials serve different functions in the same floor.

"Solid lasts longer"

This depends entirely on the wear layer thickness. A 6mm engineered wear layer lasts as long in practical terms as most solid floors — longer in many modern centrally heated homes where solid wood would have gapped and moved significantly. The meaningful question is not solid vs engineered — it is what thickness wear layer.

"Solid is always better for period homes"

Period homes were built before central heating. Original solid boards in a Victorian terrace were laid into a cold, relatively humid environment. Today's centrally heated interiors cause solid boards to gap in winter and swell in summer in a way the original installation never experienced. Engineered is often the more stable — and more practical — choice.

Our Position

What We Recommend
& Why

We sell both engineered and solid oak. We have no financial incentive to push one over the other. What we do have is a view formed by our in-house fitters, who have laid both over more than 11 years.

For the majority of London residential projects — centrally heated, mixed subfloors, often above ground floor — engineered oak is the more stable, more practical, and ultimately more successful choice. It performs better in the conditions it will actually live in.

Solid wood is the right answer in specific circumstances — ground floor only, no underfloor heating, timber subfloor, and where an authenticity argument is genuinely relevant to the project. We will tell you when those circumstances apply and when they do not.

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