Solid vs. Engineered Hardwood
Choosing between solid and engineered hardwood comes down to where the floor is going, how the space is used, and Ottawa's humidity swings across seasons.
Solid Hardwood
Solid hardwood is milled from a single piece of wood, typically 3/4 inch thick, and is installed by nailing or stapling through the tongue into the subfloor. It can be sanded and refinished multiple times over its lifetime, which is its main long-term advantage. The drawback: solid hardwood is sensitive to moisture and humidity changes. Ottawa's interior humidity ranges from around 25% in deep winter to 55–60% in summer — that's a meaningful swing, and solid hardwood will expand and contract accordingly. Proper acclimation and a stable environment are essential.
Solid hardwood is best suited to above-grade or on-grade installations over wood subfloors. It is not recommended for basements or over concrete slabs due to moisture risk.
Engineered Hardwood
Engineered hardwood is a real wood product — it has a genuine hardwood wear layer bonded over a plywood or HDF core. The cross-ply construction makes it far more dimensionally stable than solid hardwood, allowing it to be installed over concrete, on radiant heat systems, and in environments with greater humidity fluctuation.
Installation methods for engineered hardwood include:
- Glue-down: ideal for concrete slabs; provides a solid, rattle-free feel underfoot
- Float: the planks click or are glued together and float over an underlayment; fast installation, no fasteners into the subfloor
- Nail or staple: used over wood subfloors, similar to solid hardwood installation
The wear layer thickness on engineered hardwood determines how many times it can be refinished — a 3mm or thicker wear layer can typically be sanded and refinished once or twice.
Subfloor Preparation
Hardwood installation is only as good as what's underneath it. Before any flooring goes down, the subfloor must be level (within 3/16 inch over 10 feet per NWFA guidelines), clean, dry, and structurally sound.
Levelling and Flatness
High spots are ground down; low spots are filled with floor levelling compound. Squeaks and movement are addressed before installation — fastening loose subfloor panels, adding blocking where needed. This work takes time but prevents callbacks.
Moisture and Acclimation
Solid hardwood must acclimate on-site before installation. Ottawa's climate means wood arriving from a warehouse in winter can be significantly drier than the home's ambient humidity once heating season ends. We test subfloor moisture content with a pin-type meter and allow solid hardwood to acclimate in the installation space — typically 3–7 days, sometimes longer — until it reaches equilibrium. Skipping acclimation leads to gapping in winter or buckling in summer.
For concrete subfloors, we conduct a calcium chloride or RH in-slab test to verify moisture is within the adhesive manufacturer's acceptable range before proceeding with engineered glue-down installation.
Site-Finishing vs. Pre-Finished Hardwood
Pre-finished hardwood arrives with factory-applied stain and finish. Installation is cleaner and faster — no sanding dust, no waiting for finish to cure. The factory finish is often harder and more durable than anything applied on-site. Most residential hardwood installations today use pre-finished product.
Site-finishing (installing unfinished boards, then sanding and staining on-site) is the right choice when:
- You want a seamless transition between rooms at different levels, sanded flush after installation
- You're matching existing hardwood in an older home
- You want a custom stain colour that isn't available pre-finished
- You're installing stair nosings that need to match perfectly
When site-finishing is required, we use HEPA dust extraction during sanding — a belt sander without proper containment fills an entire home with fine wood dust. HEPA filtration keeps the job site and the home as clean as possible.
Transitions, Stairs, and Stair Nosings
The details matter. At doorways and room transitions, the right transition strip (reducer, T-mold, or threshold) depends on the height difference between adjacent floors and the flooring types involved. These are measured and cut on-site for a clean, tight fit.
Stair installations require stair nosings — a bullnose-profiled piece that overhangs the riser and matches the flooring. Stair nosings are available pre-finished to match most hardwood lines. We install nosings with both adhesive and mechanical fastening for a safe, secure result that won't loosen over time.
Stringers (the side of the stair) can be wrapped or left painted depending on the design intent. We can discuss options during the site visit.
Radiant Heat Compatibility
Hardwood and radiant heat can coexist, but it requires the right product and the right installation. Engineered hardwood is strongly preferred over concrete radiant systems — its dimensional stability under temperature cycling is far better than solid hardwood. The maximum floor surface temperature for most hardwood products is 27°C (80°F); exceeding this dries the wood and causes cracking or gapping. We verify manufacturer specifications and set thermostat limits accordingly before any hardwood goes down over a heated floor system.