Renovating your home comes with so many big decisions that it can be overwhelming, and one of the major ones is which floor you should choose for your dream space. To help you decide, this article will compare two popular flooring options, hybrids and engineered timber floors.

So what is the difference between these two floors and which is better? Let’s look at the advantages and disadvantages of each kind of flooring below.

Pros and Cons of Hybrid flooring

Hybrid floors are produced by pressing numerous layers together, thus allowing the floors to come in a wide range of designs and finishes. The top layer is usually UV coated, protecting the floors against wear and tear. This is followed by a wear layer and decorative print film, then a composite board which provides water resistance and additional stability. The final layer is an acoustic underlay which provides both comfort underfoot as well as helping reduce sound resonance.

There are two types of composite boards available for hybrid floors – these are WPC (Wood Polymer Composite) and SPC (Stone Polymer Composite). At Silver Trading, we purely sell SPC hybrids as they are more durable and stable compared to WPC.

Pros

  • Hybrid flooring is highly water resistant 
  • Exceptional durability 
  • Maintains colour and quality 
  • Affordable and simple to install (floating floor) 
  • Minimal maintenance necessary 

Cons: 

  • Doesn’t feel as natural underfoot as natural solid timber 
  • Can feel less solid underfoot than natural solid timber

Pros and Cons of Engineered timber flooring

Engineering flooring is a layered wood flooring that includes a layer of real hardwood on top of layers of plywood. The top layer of natural wood is prefinished before being bonded to the bottom layers, giving the floors a natural wood appearance at a lesser cost. Engineered flooring is ideal because it combines the aesthetics of real wood flooring with the versatility of floating floors.

Pros:

  • Engineered floors look and feel like real hardwood flooring
  • Feels soft under feet compared to hybrid and laminate floors
  • Installation is simple and uncomplicated

Cons:

  • More expensive than hybrid and laminate floors
  • Because there is only a thin layer of natural hardwood on the top, it cannot be sanded and polished like full natural hardwood floors
  • The thin upper layer is more prone to damage, such as scratches and dents, hence a bit less durable than hybrid floors

Which is easier to install, hybrid or engineered flooring?

Both flooring solutions are easy to install as they utilise click-and-lock methods. 

Which flooring is more durable, hybrid or engineered?

Hybrid floors are much more durable and long lasting than engineered floors due to the fact that engineered timbers are natural and more susceptible to scratches, indentation and moisture. However, with proper care, both types of floors can last a long time and are good flooring investments.

Conclusion

Both hybrid and engineered floorings are viable options for Sydney families. When deciding which alternative is preferable, budget, style preference and durability all need to be taken into account.

As can be seen, hybrid and engineered flooring are quite similar, with a few benefits and drawbacks. For example, engineered flooring is the most similar to real hardwood but is more expensive and less durable. 

Hybrid flooring is the better choice for high traffic areas such as living rooms and hallways, as it’s more durable and scratch resistant. Hybrid floors are also more friendly for families who are budget conscious.

On the other hand, engineered flooring may produce a more pleasing appearance in areas of your home where there is less foot traffic and where moisture and spills are not a worry.

If you are still uncertain and want more information on the benefits and drawbacks of hybrid versus engineered flooring, contact us right away or visit our brand new showroom. Any questions you may have will be answered by one of our experienced flooring experts.