What Engineered Hardwood Costs in Lillington, and What Changes the Price

The short answer

Entry-level engineered hardwood can cost about the same as a good luxury vinyl plank. Premium wide-plank engineered oak with a thick wear layer can cost as much as, or more than, solid hardwood. Installation adds to either, and it varies more with your house than with the product.

So a price per square foot for the material alone tells you little. What matters is which of the factors below you are paying for, and whether they match how long you plan to keep the floor.

Wear layer: the factor that decides lifespan

Engineered hardwood is a layer of real wood, the wear layer, bonded to a core. The thickness of that wear layer is the biggest single difference between cheap and expensive engineered floors, and it decides whether the floor can ever be sanded and refinished.

A very thin wear layer, around a millimeter, cannot be sanded at all. When the finish wears through, the floor is replaced. A wear layer of around two millimeters can usually take one light refinish. Three to four millimeters or more can be sanded and refinished several times, much like solid hardwood. If you plan to stay in the house for a long time, the wear layer is where to spend. Our guide to refinishing or replacing hardwood explains what a refinish involves.

Core, species, width and finish

The rest of the price comes from how the plank is built and what it looks like.

• ✓Core: multi-ply plywood cores are the most stable and the most common in better floors. Some lower-priced products use a fiberboard core, which is less tolerant of moisture.
• ✓Species: oak is the best value and the most popular choice in Lillington. White oak usually costs more than red oak. Hickory is harder and more dramatic in grain; maple is smoother and more uniform. Walnut and exotic species cost more again.
• ✓Width and length: wide, long planks cost more per square foot than narrow, short ones, because they need larger, better-quality wood. They also show the grain best and make a room look bigger.
• ✓Grade and finish: clear grades with few knots cost more than character grades. Wire-brushed, hand-scraped and smoked finishes add cost, and so do thicker factory finishes.
• ✓Brand and warranty: we carry engineered hardwood from Bruce, Shaw, Mohawk and Hallmark, and longer finish and structural warranties usually come with better construction.

Installation method changes the labor

Engineered hardwood can be installed three ways, and the right one depends on your subfloor, not on preference.

Floating: the planks lock or glue to each other over an underlayment and are not fastened down. It is usually the quickest to install, but it can sound and feel hollower than the other methods. Glue-down: the planks are bonded to the subfloor or slab with adhesive. On a slab it is the most solid result, and the adhesive is often a moisture barrier as well, which adds material cost. Nail- or staple-down: the planks are fastened to a plywood subfloor, the traditional method in crawlspace homes and the one that feels most like solid hardwood.

Lillington has both. Older homes near downtown and along the Cape Fear River district are often on crawlspaces, while many newer homes off Ballard Road and McKinney Parkway are on slabs. That one fact often decides both the method and part of the cost. Our solid vs engineered hardwood guide covers why engineered is the usual choice over a slab.

The costs that are not the floor

Quotes that look far apart are often different because of what is included. Check that each quote covers the same work.

• ✓Removal and disposal of the old carpet, vinyl, tile or wood. Tile on a slab takes the most work to remove.
• ✓Moisture testing and subfloor preparation: slabs need testing before glue-down, and uneven slabs or subfloors need grinding or leveling. Soft spots need repair; see our guide to subfloor repair.
• ✓Stairs, which are priced per step and take far longer than flat floor.
• ✓Trim and transitions: new baseboard or shoe molding, thresholds and reducers where the wood meets tile or carpet.
• ✓Moving furniture and appliances, and allowing for the floor to be installed under or around kitchen cabinets.
• ✓Extra material: you will order more than the measured area to allow for cuts and waste, plus a few spare boards for future repairs.

Engineered against solid and against LVP

Engineered and solid hardwood of similar quality are closer in material cost than most people expect. Over a slab, engineered is usually the less expensive choice overall, because solid hardwood cannot be glued straight to concrete and needs a plywood subfloor built over it first.

Luxury vinyl plank is usually less expensive than mid-range engineered hardwood and is waterproof, which makes it the better choice for kitchens and baths in busy households. Engineered hardwood is real wood, adds more to a home's appeal, and with a good wear layer it can be refinished rather than replaced. Our guide to hardwood vs luxury vinyl in NC humidity compares them in more detail.

Getting a real price in Lillington

Lillington is about 12 minutes from our Angier showroom, close enough that you can see full boards of each floor in person, and we will also bring samples to your home. At the estimate we measure, check the slab or subfloor and test moisture where needed, recommend the installation method, and give you a written quote with material, preparation, installation and trim listed separately, so you can compare products on a fair basis.

APW has installed hardwood across central North Carolina since 1973 with our own background-checked, trained installation professionals, and every job carries our 100% product and labor guarantee, with 0% financing (same as cash) available. See hardwood flooring in Lillington, flooring installation in Lillington and hardwood flooring in Angier, or book a free estimate.