Just like any other product, there are good ones and bad ones. Manufacturers have different standards and you have to be aware of this. There are manufacturers that produce high quality engineered pine flooring and there are those that produce inferior ones. The good news is that the technology for engineered wood is continually changing and improving. The more advanced and highly reputed manufacturers continuously find ways to better their products and outdo other manufacturers.
There is no way, for the industry and its manufacturers, but to up their standards which means higher quality engineered wood as the technology and the standards progress. Still, there is no substitute for a diligent research or expert advice before you buy.Heart pine flooring is best acquired from a lumber mill whose focus is antique lumber. If you prefer vintage wood flooring or antique pine flooring, a lumber mill that specializes in reclaimed lumber and sustainable wood flooring options would be your best bet. Whole Log Lumber specializes in both.
One very important thing to consider in your shopping is location. In general, engineered pine flooring can be installed in any location and in whatever conditions. However, whether it is your home, your office or a vacation house, it is important to know in what sort of conditions the floors will be installed. What is the weather like in the area? Is it humid? Does the weather continually change throughout the year? Is it near the beach or up the mountains? Depending on your answers to these questions, you can find engineered pine floors that are most suited.
Another consideration is the type of installation. If you want a floating floor, you would need engineered flooring that has a tongue and groove system that locks the floor panels together instead of attaching them on the floor. Other engineered pine floors can be glued on the sub-floor while there are others that can be nailed down on a wood sub-flooring just like natural hardwood floor panels.
Although pine floor is a description that's used widely to describe a floor that's generally associated with antique & reclaimed wood, a good deal of misunderstanding prevails. While flooring of Antique Heart Pine has been a revered choice of builders for centuries, few people understand the diversity in the classifications of pine and descriptions can be confusing when purchasing Heart Pine Flooring today.
Whether more beautiful or more practical is a challenging question to ask. It's also one of the most durable wood floors available, rivaled only by red oak, and a floor whose tight grain patterns and deep hued coloration grows richer in color as it ages and continues to add beauty and value to homes graced with this very special reclaimed wood. It's also a "green" building material, there are often stories associated with it, and its quality, strength and stability has been sought after by craftsmen for generations.
Longleaf pine was an extremely important part of the Industrial Revolution. Because of their tremendous strength, timbers could span 25 feet distances and hold up thick heart pine floors that supported the buildings machines. Today, most of those factories and mills are in poor shape, if they are still standing at all. They are now being torn down, but in many cases the heart pine can be reclaimed and reused for beautiful flooring, stair parts, doors, cabinets, and millwork in fine homes being built and renovated today.