Understanding the different types of timber flooring.

Timber is an iconic flooring choice that looks stylish and feels great. It can provide your home with a real sense of warmth and personality. Yet when it comes to deciding on your timber floor, there’s often a dizzying amount of choice involved.  

Before you even get to questions about colour, board width or grading, there’s one big question you have to ask yourself first: What type of timber floor are you looking for? 

Below, we’ll break down the 5 main types of timber flooring available today and talk about some of their standout features.

1. Solid Hardwood Flooring

Hardwood flooring (or ‘solid flooring’) is made of solid hardwood planks that are traditionally cut from one piece of timber, sealed against moisture & water, then laid directly over joists or subflooring. 

Hardwood floors are sturdy and long-lasting, with an authentic look and feel that’s hard to match. Because it’s a natural material, it’s easy to resand or restain the timber when you feel like a change.

The unfortunate downside is that hardwood flooring is an increasingly expensive choice. Installation is also extremely time-consuming compared to other timber floors, as your hardwood planks will need to sit on-site for 2-3 weeks to properly acclimatise to moisture conditions and prevent rapid warping. 

Even then, your hardwood timber will still warp gradually over time, and your floor will require ongoing maintenance every 3-4 years to keep it in great condition. An old-school hardwood floor is beautiful – but it’s a big & expensive commitment. 

2. Engineered or Timber Veneer Flooring

Engineered & timber veneer floors are an extremely popular choice nowadays. These floors are multi-layered, with a thin layer of hardwood timber (called a ‘veneer’) placed above a base formed by multiple layers of plywood. They come ready to install and can be laid over any flat surface, including foam or concrete subfloors. 

These are commonly installed as floating floors, meaning that their interlocking construction holds them in place without any glue. All of this makes them a great choice for those who want the look of solid hardwood but can’t quite justify the price or the extra installation time.

Because they use significantly less hardwood timber, they’re generally a much more affordable option. Thanks to the plywood underlay, engineered floors are also more stable (meaning you can use wider planks) and they’re far less subject to moisture damage. Yet thanks to the veneer, they still have that great firm hardwood feel underfoot.

Any downsides to this one? Not really. The only thing might be that because of their complex construction, engineered floors can be slightly more expensive to fix if they’re damaged. Overall, though, this is an excellent choice of flooring that’s easy and low-cost. 

3. Laminate 

Laminate flooring is another multilayered floor. The laminate base layer is made from multiple strands of thin, pressed wood. A photorealistic image of timber is placed on top and coated in clear, durable melamine plastic. It also commonly makes use of floating floor techniques, though the underlay is often foam rather than plywood.

If you’re looking for that timber-floor feel in your home, laminate flooring is a super easy and very affordable option. It’s also much harder to scratch or tear than hardwood or a timber veneer, making it a durable choice for those with pets or young kids. 

Because the thick laminate base uses thin pressed timber, laminate flooring will give you that firm feel when you walk on it and has great insulation properties. For a product that’s so much more affordable than hardwood, it’s amazing how much laminate gets right.

 We do recommend choosing higher-quality timber laminate products, however, as cheaper options can often repeat patterns too often and fail to look convincingly like real timber. 

4. Hybrid Flooring

Hybrid floors are constructed in a similar way to laminate floors – the difference is that they don’t use any timber at all! Instead, it uses a material similar to vinyl floors. 

So why are hybrid floors on this list? It’s because it’s an extremely popular option for those who want a timber-style floor but don’t have the budget or don’t want to deal with the upkeep.

Hybrid floors can look almost as convincing as a laminate or even a veneer, but they’re much more affordable. Best of all, hybrid floors don’t have the temperamental qualities of natural timber. Instead, they’re waterproof and highly resistant to temperature changes.

All of this makes hybrid flooring a great, affordable option. The only real downsides are that it feels less solid underfoot than laminate or veneer, and it’s temperature insulation qualities are a bit reduced compared to the other flooring options.

Overall though, you definitely shouldn’t overlook Hybrid Flooring. It’s a great choice, especially for wetter rooms like bathrooms or laundries where real timber just won’t work.

5. Parquetry Floors

Parquet flooring is made up of small pieces of timber flooring, laid out in distinctive repeating patterns. It’s attached to a subfloor, and generally comes either prefinished or finished on site.

Traditionally, these floors were painstakingly installed a single piece at a time. These days, most modern parquet flooring comes in tile form, where the timber has been bonded to a backing material. Patterns that use larger planks may still go in piece-by-piece.

Often made of hardwood, these floors generally behave the same way as solid timber planks. However, there are some areas where they perform slightly differently. The smaller parquet slats are less prone to moisture & warping, but more prone to cross-grain scratching when refinishing.

Parquet floors are the most decorative form of wooden flooring, and they can be used to incredible effect. We’d suggest choosing parquet flooring for larger, well-lit areas. For smaller or crowded rooms with dim light, adding patterned floors can sometimes feel a little too busy.

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Now that you’ve got a better understanding of the different types of timber flooring, you should have an easier time deciding which choice is right for your home.

If you’re looking for some inspiration, check out the huge range of timber flooring at Multifors. We’ve got an exciting selection of laminate, hybrid and timber veneer floor products to choose from, delivered Melbourne-wide for only $19.95!