The choice of flooring impacts the look and feel of your workspace. It can be one of the biggest decisions when designing a home office, and has the potential to be one of the bigger costs. The right flooring can add to the comfort of the room and how it functions. This is very important for a home office as the relationship between you and your surroundings is key to how you work. Specific home office renovations can make a big difference to the workflow. Along with having ergonomic equipment to prevent bodily pain, and nice decorations that will keep you positive, the actual foundation of the office should be conducive to hard work. According to Stories Flooring, that’s where engineered wood flooring comes in.
Hardwood flooring is a timeless choice for many home offices as it brings that touch of sophistication. But, it can have its drawbacks. It can move around in heat and the cold as it expands and contracts. It can be expensive, and can also suffer damage from moisture. But thanks to engineering, you may be able to have your cake and eat it too.
There are three main types of wooden floors:
- Hardwood flooring – which is made up of planks nailed onto the foundation of the house
- Laminate flooring – which is a printed digital photo of wood attached to particle board on pieces which click into place
- Engineered wood flooring – larger pieces of prefinished wood made up of multiple layers which click into place over existing flooring or foundations.
Engineered wood flooring brings the Wow factor and the X factor to your home office
Engineered wood flooring spruces up the home office and is a more viable option than hardwood as it’s more versatile, cost effective and stable. Minus the price tag, noise, labour costs and the impact on the environment. Plus, there are no additional labour costs as you don’t need carpenters or builders to install the flooring as it comes with tongues and grooves that click into place.
The cost of engineered flooring
You don’t need to pay a carpenter or a builder; you don’t need bearers or joists. It doesn’t need sanding or lacquering, so there’s no chance of dust getting into the lacquer. It doesn’t need nailing down, which is definitely a job best left for the professional carpenters!
Engineered timber clicks together with tongue and groove style cuts, so that even the least experienced DIY’er can install. Engineered wooden flooring comes pre-finished, meaning that you don’t have to do anything to it once it’s in place. So, no need to wait up to three days to seal or climatise.
Choosing engineered wood for your office is more environmentally conscious. There’s less wastage compared to hardwood flooring and it can last upwards of 25 years. The engineered wood flooring industry is a carbon positive industry too.
On top of the environmental impact and the cost, when you’re running a business you need to be comfortable in your surroundings. Engineered wood flooring can affect the majority of your senses. It not only feels and looks great; it also doesn’t smell or make too much sound.
Less chance of flaws in your floors
Engineered floors and hard wooden floors look the same, even to very trained eyes. With a wood floor there can be many flaws. It can scratch, stain and move in the hotter and colder climates. Engineered wooden floors are more stable.
No noisy floorboard echoes with impact resistance
Engineered wood floors have their own noise deadening impact resistance. Laminate is one of the hardest plastics in the world when combined with aluminium oxide. It is therefore very loud. The engineered wood flooring doesn’t echo as the layers work together to soften the sound.
Engineered wood flooring doesn’t emit plastic smells
Being more environmentally friendly, engineered wood flooring has very little Volatile Organic Compound (VOC) which is a common trigger for allergies and being a synthetic plastic smell, it is undesirable.
Engineered wood flooring feels, sounds and looks great. It is easier to clean and is a long-lasting and hard-wearing flooring choice for the home office. When planning to remodel your home office, choose this type of flooring for increased potential for success.
