The short answer
Solid hardwood is three-quarter-inch wood all the way through and can be sanded four or more times — still the answer over a wood subfloor. Engineered hardwood is a real wood wear layer over plywood that moves far less with humidity — the answer over a concrete slab or a crawl space that runs damp.
How each one is built
Solid hardwood is one piece of wood, usually three-quarters of an inch thick, milled with a tongue and groove. Engineered hardwood is a layer of real wood — the wear layer — bonded over plywood layers that run in alternating directions.
Those cross layers are the point: they keep the plank from moving as much as a solid board does when humidity changes.
What is underneath decides
Over a wood subfloor, solid hardwood is nailed down and it is still the floor that lasts longest. Over a concrete slab, nailing is not an option, so the floor is glued or floated — and that is usually engineered. A lot of the newer construction around Tulsa sits on a slab, which is why engineered shows up on so many new builds.
Either way, the slab or subfloor gets a moisture test first. Hardwood goes over a slab only once the slab passes it.
Stability and Oklahoma humidity
Engineered hardwood moves far less with humidity than solid, which makes it the safer choice over a damp crawl space, in a basement, or in a house that sits closed up for long stretches. Solid is fine where the house holds a steady 35 to 45 percent relative humidity.
Width matters too. The wider the board, the more a solid plank moves, so very wide planks are often engineered for that reason alone.
How many times it can be refinished
A solid three-quarter-inch floor carries about three-sixteenths of an inch of wood above the tongue — four to six full sandings across its life.
An engineered floor can only be sanded as far as its wear layer allows. A thick wear layer can be refinished more than once; a thin one may only take a light refresh. Ask for the wear layer thickness before you buy.
Nail, glue, or float
The method follows the subfloor, not the other way around:
- Nailed — solid or engineered over a wood subfloor
- Glued — engineered over a slab that passed its moisture test
- Floated — engineered or LVP over a flat slab or existing tile
Keep reading
- Service Hardwood Installation in Tulsa
- Service Luxury Vinyl Plank in Tulsa
- Guide Refinish or replace hardwood floors? How to tell
- Guide How long hardwood floor refinishing takes, and how to get ready
- Guide Luxury vinyl plank vs. hardwood: which floor for which room
- Guide Hardwood floors and Oklahoma humidity: gaps, cupping, and squeaks