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Interior Design vocabulary · Materials & Finishes

Engineered wood

Meaning in interior design, with examples

/ˌendʒɪˈnɪəd ˈwʊd/nounCommon term

In interior design, engineered wood means: Flooring with a top layer of real hardwood fixed to several layers of plywood or fibreboard underneath, which makes it more stable than solid wood.

In Turkish: çok katmanlı ahşap parke, engineered parke

How it is used

Often specified instead of solid wood because it moves less with humidity and is usually suitable over underfloor heating. The thicker the top layer (the wear layer), the more times it can be sanded. It comes as planks or in patterns such as herringbone.

Example sentences

  1. We specified engineered wood flooring because the flat has underfloor heating.

  2. This engineered wood has a 4 mm oak wear layer, so it can be sanded a few times.

Common collocations

  • engineered wood flooring
  • engineered oak
  • wear layer
  • engineered wood planks
  • laminateA hard, man-made surface made of layers of paper and resin pressed together, often printed to look like wood or stone, used on worktops, cabinets and floors.
  • veneerA very thin sheet of real wood or stone glued onto a cheaper, more stable board such as MDF or plywood, giving the look of the solid material.
  • finishThe final surface of a material, or the material used on a visible surface, such as paint, tiles, wood stain or polished stone; also how that surface looks, for example matt or glossy.
  • natural stoneStone cut from the earth, such as marble, granite, limestone and travertine, used for floors, worktops, walls and bathrooms; every slab looks slightly different.

More terms: Materials & Finishes

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