Beech is a kind of wood that is well suited for use in any home, building or establishment that wants a versatile kind of wood for the floor. Since beech is a durable, affordable and versatile kind of wood, it is one of the favorite choices among wood lovers. Beech wood floors come in three distinct types, the engineered, the laminated and the solid wood variations. Although some people may consider the laminated beech floors as part of the engineered types, many people still place these floor types in a different category.

Which kind of beech floor you choose depends on a few factors. These factors for choosing between the many different kinds of beech flooring options include costs, durability, ease of care, ease of installation and versatility. With these factors in mind and knowing what you want from your beech floor, it will then be pretty easy to choose the kind of beech flooring type to use.

Solid Beech Flooring

Made out of solid wood planks from European or American beech trees, solid beech flooring is the first option for this wood type. Solid beech flooring is installed using the usual nail-down technique that most wooden floors use or with the glue-down technique that some people find easier to execute. Since these are made of solid wood that is not compressed or engineered for added durability, solid beech flooring may buckle and warp with the seasons and the climates.

Humidity will have a huge effect on how this wood behaves and one of the problems that you may encounter with a solid wood beech floor is the shrinking or expanding that it may undergo. Care for solid beech floors may be a bit more tedious than caring for the engineered and laminated kinds of this floor type but if given proper care, this kind of a floor can last longer than a person's lifetime.

Laminated and Engineered Beech Flooring

When you say engineered, it essentially means that something is created with the help of technology. This is what engineered beech flooring is, built with the help of technology. This kind of a floor is created with the use of numerous plies of wood that have been glued together to form the slabs and the panels that are placed on floors. The installation of these engineered floors is often found to be easier than the installation of solid wood floors. This is because an engineered beech floor can be laid out on the floor and installed with the use of wood glue.

Most engineered wood floors, including beech, are crafted out of similar core wood plies with the top wood ply being the wood the engineered slab is supposed to represent. This means that an engineered beech floor can be made out of many different wood plies with the topmost ply being the beech wood ply. These kinds of floors are considered to be more durable in some ways than their solid wood counterparts.

Since these are made with multiple wood plies, these wood plies are placed in a criss-cross pattern that gives the wood more durability. This criss-cross pattern is also used to help give engineered wood the kind of quality that solid wood does not have, the ability to withstand shrinking and stretching with the seasons.

Installation Techniques for Beech Flooring

Installation of your beech flooring, whether it is solid or engineered, should be done by a professional to ensure that your floor is evenly laid out and beautifully done. If you are adept at doing things your own way, you can actually try and install your floor on your own. There are three ways to install your wood floor; nail-down, glue-down and floating.

The first two installation techniques can be used for solid wood and engineered wood floors while the last one is specifically for engineered or laminated floors. Before installing your floors, you should be aware that wood floors of any kind should not be installed in places near moisture. This includes areas that are below ground level where moisture rises and may permeate your beech wood floors.

You should also take note to avoid placing your wood flooring near areas that are also prone to moisture despite their being high above ground. Included in the list of places where you should not install your beech floors are bathroom areas or near bathroom areas, indoor pool areas and your kitchen. These are some of the places that wood floors may suffer damage from moisture. Placing wooden floors in these parts of the house is not advisable and is a waste of money due to the possibility of damage.