Where as solid hardwood floors are typically 3/4 inch thick planks cut directly from a tree, engineered hardwood floors are composed of three to five layers of wood glued together using cross-grain lamination. Additional layers mean additional stability so more is better. There are a couple of different reasons why you would want to purchase an engineered hardwood floor:

Value Engineered hardwood floors are made from several layers of hardwood glued together. In cases where the wood is expensive, like Brazilian Walnut, only the top layer will be Brazilian Walnut while the other layers will be made of a more inexpensive material, like Pine. This allows you to save thousands of dollars on installation while at the same time getting a floor that looks just as good. Once down, only a flooring professional will be able to tell the difference. Installation Locations When an engineered hardwood floor is put together, the layers of wood alternate depending on the direction of the grain. This means that when an engineered hardwood floor absorbs moisture, it counteracts the natural tendency of hardwoods to expand, contract, warp, or cup. As a result, engineered hardwood floors can be installed in places where a solid hardwood floor would not be appropriate – like a basement. Thinner than solid wood flooring, engineered wood floorings are also more stable. They can be installed over concrete subfloor, above, below or on-grade level. Engineered wood floors use floating, glue-down or staple-down methods, depending on the type of subflooring. IMPORTANT: Some may argue that an engineered hardwood floor can’t be refinished as many times as a solid hardwood floor. This is debatable. However, technology has improved with regards to finishing to such an extent, that 95% of hardwood surfaces are never refinished anyway. 30 years ago, a hardwood floor was simply stained. Today, prefinished floors are coated with an Aluminum Oxide finish which gives a significant degree of durability and scratch resistance.