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When you’re designing a space with Hickory hardwood flooring, you have a choice between solid Hickory flooring and engineered Hickory flooring. This brief overview is designed to help you understand what an engineered floor can do and the benefits that engineered Hickory flooring offers in a residential or commercial setting.
Hickory is a hardwood that is among the strongest and most durable options for hardwood floors. Engineered Hickory flooring is made of floorboards that contain multiple layers of material glued together to form a strong core. The top layer is a veneer of Hickory hardwood, while the middle layers may be made of fiberboard, plywood or another hardwood like Birch. The core of engineered Hickory flooring is less likely to expand, contract or shift as moisture, temperature and humidity fluctuate. Consequently, engineered Hickory flooring is ideal for rooms like basements or for installation on concrete slabs and over radiant heating systems.
Carlisle wide plank engineered Hickory flooring is simply an engineered floor made with planks that are as wide as 4-10” with lengths up to 1’. A wide plank floor provides a more spacious and luxurious feel, where the width of the floorboards allows the grain of the wood to emerge as a compelling design feature. With far fewer seams than a traditional commercial hardwood floor, wide plank engineered Hickory flooring will feel less busy and will also be more durable.
In the past, engineered flooring has had a bit of a negative reputation, as some customers believe it feels less solid than a traditional hardwood floor. Carlisle engineered wide plank flooring appears and feels identical to solid wood floors because the same quality materials are used for both – an uncommon practice in the industry.
The advantages of Carlisle engineered Hickory flooring over other engineered options include:
• Thicker boards. A Carlisle engineered floor is 3/4″ thick, while standard engineered floors from competitors are usually 1/4” – 1/2”.
• Greater stability. Carlisle engineered Hickory flooring may have up to 11 layers or plies, depending on the thickness of the floor, while the industry-standard is 5 plies or less.
• Wider, longer planks. Carlisle engineered Hickory flooring is available in widths up to 10” and lengths up to 12’, while the industry standard for engineered flooring is only 3” wide and 3’ long.
• Wear-resistant. The top layer, or “wear layer”, of a Carlisle engineered Hickory flooring is thicker than competitors’ products, enabling the floor to last as long as a solid wood floor.
• Warranty. Carlisle offers a Refinishing Warranty that guarantees your engineered Hickory flooring can be sanded up to three times over the life of the floor – the same as a solid wood floor.
With Carlisle, customizing your engineered Hickory flooring is as easy as customizing any solid wood floor.
• Choose a color. Engineered Hickory flooring can be finished to virtually any color, including light applications like Whitewash or our Blacksmith staying for smoky and dark Hickory flooring.
• Add some texture. Distressing your floor with handcrafted surface treatments can make a new floor look like an original Hickory floor. Brushed, Footworn or handscraped Hickory flooring add a look of age and time-worn beauty to your engineered floor.
• Select a grade. Carlisle offers engineered Hickory flooring into grades. Our Heirloom grade features fewer knots and variation in natural character, while our Signature grade provides more organic features, such as mineral streaking and ingrown bark
• Decide on width. Engineered Hickory flooring is available in boards that range from 4” to 10” wide. Choosing consistent widths provides a more uniform look, while mixing widths adds visual variety.
• Pick a pattern. Patterns like Chevron or Herringbone add distinctive elegance to engineered Hickory flooring Carlisle offers both unfinished and prefinished Hickory flooring, in addition to engineered flooring options.
Carlisle engineered Hickory flooring is made with boards that feature a Hickory veneer cut from the best and most mature Hickory timber. The wear layer is4mm thick to extend the life of the floor and allow for multiple sandings and refinishings if needed. The backing of a Carlisle engineered floor is made from 9 to 11 layers of plywood substrate which contributes to greater stability, performance and longevity
Hickory is ideal for everything from modern California bungalows to rustic lake-side retreats.
Solid Hickory flooring is made with boards cut from a single piece of Hickory hardwood. Engineered flooring uses multiple layers of wood that are glued together to form a board that is more resistant to changes in humidity, moisture and temperature. Because Carlisle engineered Hickory flooring uses a top layer of the finest Hickory hardwood, our engineered floors look and feel identical to our solid wood floors.
Engineered Hickory flooring from Carlisle is highly durable and designed for rooms where there may be greater changes in humidity, temperature and moisture levels. The multiple layers of wood in engineered Hickory flooring help to keep the floor from expanding or contracting as humidity and temperatures rise and fall.
Engineered Hickory flooring is best used in higher humidity environments and in rooms below ground level, like basements, where normal changes in humidity and temperature might otherwise cause solid wood floors to expand and contract dramatically. Engineered flooring is also ideal for installation over concrete slabs and radiant heating systems. In rooms where the relative humidity consistently falls below 30% for long periods of time, a solid wood floor is a better option.
Carlisle has been an innovator in wide plank flooring since 1966, and our premium engineered wide plank flooring continues this tradition. Our engineered Hickory flooring looks and feels identical to our solid wood floors because both are made of the highest quality materials. We selectively harvest wood from areas where Hickory grows best and cut each board from the center of the log, never from the limbs. The wood is cured in a 4- to 12-month process that includes both air and kiln drying, and our engineered Hickory flooring has a higher heart content in every board for greater stability and appearance. At Carlisle, our customer service is as legendary as our extraordinary wide plank floors. Our team works diligently to manage every detail and to ensure that the process of selecting and designing your engineered Hickory flooring is as pleasurable as living with the final product in your home or business.
