Engineered Wood vs LVT: Real Oak or Rigid Vinyl
Real oak on a cross-laid core against a textured vinyl plank on a rigid core: water, underfloor heating, wear, fitting, and which suits which room.
Engineered wood and LVT can look alike in a photograph and feel nothing alike underfoot. One is a layer of real oak bonded to a cross-laid core; the other is a printed, textured vinyl surface on a rigid polymer core. In our range that is 65 engineered floors against 36 rigid vinyl floors, and the choice between them comes down to three questions: how much water the room sees, whether the floor should be renewable, and what it should feel like.
On this page
What each one is
Water
This is where the two part company. Wood is hygroscopic; it takes on moisture from the surrounding environment, in the words of the Wood Handbook of the US Forest Products Laboratory, and the same Handbook says moisture content changes can be retarded, but not prevented, by protective coatings such as varnish, lacquer or paint. On an oak floor a spill is wiped up; water left standing is the risk. All 36 of our rigid vinyl floors are listed as waterproof, which is why the wet end of a kitchen, a utility room or a bathroom goes to vinyl. Listed as waterproof describes the plank rather than the floor: the MMFA, the association for these floors, says to avoid ponding in any case.
Underfloor heating
Both work over underfloor heating: all 65 engineered and all 36 rigid vinyl floors in our range are listed as compatible. They work to different limits. BEAMA, the UK underfloor heating trade association, notes that most floor covering manufacturers state a maximum floor surface temperature of 27 °C, and that most vinyls should not be heated to above 26 °C. Over heating, the vinyl is the floor that sets the lower ceiling, and the setting belongs to whoever commissions the system.
Wear, and what comes after it
Day to day both floors are protected by their surface: the lacquer or oil on the oak, the clear wear layer on the vinyl. The difference is what can be done once that surface has worn. Engineered wood can be sanded and refinished, though not as many times as solid wood flooring, in the words of the US National Wood Flooring Association; how often depends on the thickness of the oak wear layer. Rigid vinyl has no wood to sand back to: its wear layer protects a printed surface, and a damaged plank in a click floor is taken out and replaced.
Feel, sound and fitting
Oak is wood underfoot, with the grain and texture of a real board: 43 of our 65 engineered floors are brushed and 9 deep brushed. Rigid vinyl reproduces the look, with a textured surface on 32 of the 36. The fitting differs as much as the material. Our engineered floors are tongue and groove and are glued, floated or fixed according to the board's instructions and the subfloor. Our rigid vinyl floors click together and float, and the MMFA says floors of this kind should only be laid as a floating installation, with an expansion gap of at least 1.5 mm per running metre on each side of the room as a rule of thumb.
Room by room
Common questions
Is LVT better than engineered wood?
Neither is better in general; they suit different rooms. Rigid vinyl is listed as waterproof and belongs where water stands; engineered oak is real wood that can be sanded and refinished. Over underfloor heating both work, the vinyl to the lower temperature limit.
Does LVT look like real wood?
It reproduces the look with a printed, textured surface; 32 of our 36 rigid vinyl floors have a textured finish. Underfoot and up close the difference shows, which is why a sample in the room settles it.
Can engineered wood go in a bathroom?
Not where water stands every day. Wood takes on moisture, and a finish slows that down without stopping it. In our range the floors listed as waterproof are the 36 rigid vinyl floors.
Which works with underfloor heating?
Both: all 65 engineered and all 36 rigid vinyl floors in our range are listed as compatible. BEAMA notes that most vinyls should not be heated to above 26 °C, against the 27 °C most manufacturers state for floor coverings in general.
Can LVT be sanded?
No, there is no wood to sand. A worn or damaged click plank is replaced. Engineered wood can be sanded and refinished, though not as many times as solid wood flooring.
Order a sample of each and look at them in the same light. We deliver both ranges town by town across the UK. Browse by town and region.
What the published standards say
Who publishes this guide
- Samples £1.99 each
- UK-wide delivery
- Advice before you order