WOOD FLOORING
A NEW GENERATION OF WOOD What to know about composite/hybrid floors By Don Finkell
S
tudies show that wood is the overwhelming preferred flooring of consumers today. Its natural beauty and practical performance are both highly desirable. But despite being the most favoured flooring choice, wood only enjoys approximately 12 per cent of the total flooring market. The reasons for this attrition are many. Price is a big factor, as is its perceived vulnerability to moisture. This has provided an opportunity for composite/hybrid wood flooring to shine. THE RISE AND FALL OF WOOD
Prior to the Second World War, most solid 16
\\ Spring 2022
wood flooring was three-quarters of an inch thick. Afterward, multilayer wood flooring (engineered) came into use. The cross-ply lamination and waterproof glue that allowed patrol torpedo boats and amphibious landing craft to stand up to the rigours of seawater resulted in the creation of a wood floor that was stable enough to be glued directly to a concrete slab. For the next 60 years, engineered wood went from a small percentage of the North American flooring market to the majority, accounting for more than two-thirds of market share now. During this time, wood flooring steadily gained a market hold over other choices like carpet and lami-
nate. However, with the advent of vinyl plank flooring in the last 10 years, wood, along with all other flooring categories, has rapidly lost market share. Vinyl now captures more than 24 per cent, largely because of its claim to be waterproof. Seeing a decline in business, wood flooring manufacturers started innovating floors that had the realistic appearance of a real wood surface bonded to a waterproof core. The success of these early composite/hybrid wood floors was mixed. Most performed like vinyl and, unfortunately, looked like vinyl, too, because of the high amount of water-resistant finish. With some trial and er-
