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Types of hardwood floors: which one fits your home?
Choose Solid strip flooring for a floor with narrower seasonal cracks than wider solid boards (HUD, 1999); Solid plank flooring for a face-screwed and plugged look, which wider sections typically get to restrict cupping (HUD, 1999); Engineered (laminated wood) flooring for replacing a solid floor that cupped, split or buckled, as a material that can be less susceptible to moisture (HUD, 1999); Parquet for laying with mastic (it is made suitable for this); Acrylic-impregnated (wood-polymer) flooring for floors that take rolling, concentrated and impact loads (it resisted indentation more than white oak in tests).
The right choice depends on how much the room's humidity swings, how wide you want the boards, and how much wear and denting the floor will take.
| Type | Best for | Main advantages | Main drawbacks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Solid strip flooring | a floor with narrower seasonal cracks than wider solid boards (HUD, 1999) | industry association estimate reported by HUD: a tongue-and-groove oak floor could theoretically be sanded and finished 6 to 10 times or more before "the top of the groove is weakened" (HUD, 1999) | solid wood flooring contracts during periods of low humidity, usually the heating seasons, leaving cracks between boards (HUD, 1999) |
| Solid plank flooring | a face-screwed and plugged look, which wider sections typically get to restrict cupping (HUD, 1999) | no official source names one | wider boards develop correspondingly wider seasonal cracks than a strip oak floor (HUD, 1999); its moisture content should be within 2% of the subfloor before installing, against 4% for strip flooring (HUD, 1999) |
| Engineered (laminated wood) flooring | replacing a solid floor that cupped, split or buckled, as a material that can be less susceptible to moisture (HUD, 1999) | cross-grain plies limit shrinkage and swelling, so it is dimensionally more stable than solid wood flooring (Oklahoma State extension, 2012); can be made from the same species as solid flooring, including oak, maple, ash, birch, cherry and beech (Oklahoma State extension, 2012) | no official source names one |
| Parquet | laying with mastic (it is made suitable for this) | small sections of solid or laminated wood are combined to create geometric designs and patterns (HUD, 1999) | no official source names one |
| Acrylic-impregnated (wood-polymer) flooring | floors that take rolling, concentrated and impact loads (it resisted indentation more than white oak in tests) | a very durable flooring, available in both solid and laminated forms (HUD, 1999); abrasion resistance is also increased | no official source names one |
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| Priority | Choose |
|---|---|
| narrower seasonal cracks between boards (HUD, 1999) | Solid strip flooring |
| more room between flooring and subfloor moisture content at install (HUD, 1999) | Solid strip flooring |
| a replacement floor less susceptible to moisture (HUD, 1999) | Engineered (laminated wood) flooring |
| geometric designs and patterns (HUD, 1999) | Parquet |
| a very durable wood floor (HUD, 1999) | Acrylic-impregnated (wood-polymer) flooring |
What does flooring installation cost?
For flooring installation prices, see How much does flooring cost?
Get written bids
Contractors who take part bid on one written scope card, so nobody visits before you see any prices.
Contact details stay hidden until the homeowner picks a contractor and they confirm the connection.
Sources for the facts on this page
- U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), The Rehab Guide, Volume 5: Partitions, Ceilings, Floors and Stairs (1999), government, read 22 October 2026.
- Oklahoma Cooperative Extension Service, Oklahoma State University, fact sheet FAPC-178: Basics of Laminated Flooring (2012), university extension, read 22 October 2026.
- USDA Forest Service, Forest Products Laboratory, Wood Handbook: Wood as an Engineering Material (FPL-GTR-282, 2021), government, read 22 October 2026.