Wood flooring
Engineered hardwood gives you a real wood surface in the places solid boards fail: concrete slabs, finished basements and rooms with in-floor heat. Kitchener Prestige Flooring has installed it in Kitchener and across Waterloo Region for more than 16 years.
We work for homeowners finishing basements, builders fitting out new homes and property managers who want a wood look that survives tenants. We choose the installation method from what is under your floor, not from what is fastest to put down.
Every engineered floor starts with a moisture test of the slab or subfloor. It ends with a written 1-year labour warranty, and our crew is licensed, insured and WSIB covered.
Solid hardwood swells and shrinks with every change in humidity. Over concrete or in a basement, that movement turns into cupping, buckling and gaps.
Engineered boards stack thin layers of wood in alternating directions. Each layer resists the others, so the board stays flat when the air around it changes.
That stability is why engineered is the only wood floor we recommend below grade, directly over concrete or over radiant heat. On a wood subfloor on the main level, solid hardwood is still a great choice, and we will tell you when it is the better buy.
Two floors can look identical in the showroom and perform very differently in your home. These three specifications explain why.
The wear layer is the real hardwood on top. It decides how many times the floor can be sanded, and it is the number retailers mention least.
Budget boards run 0.6 to 1 mm, which cannot be sanded at all. Quality boards run 3 to 6 mm, which gives two to four full refinishes and a floor that can last as long as solid.
A multi-ply core, usually birch or poplar, is the most stable and holds nails and staples well. It is our first choice over radiant heat and for nail-down work.
HDF (high density fibreboard) cores are dense and dent resistant but dislike water at the edges. They are best floated in dry, above-grade rooms.
Sawn-face boards are cut from the log like solid lumber, so the grain looks natural and the layer is thick. Rotary-peeled veneer is unrolled from the log like paper and shows a wide, plywood-style grain.
Peeled faces can develop fine surface cracks, called face checking, in dry Ontario winters. We point this out before you choose.
The subfloor decides the method. We confirm it with a moisture test and a flatness check before we quote.
For slabs we use a urethane flooring adhesive with a built-in moisture membrane, from makers such as Bostik and Mapei. The trowel notch and open time follow the manufacturer's sheet exactly.
We test concrete with an in-situ relative humidity probe before any glue goes down. Glue-down gives the most solid feel and the quietest floor.
A floating floor is not fastened to the slab. Boards lock or glue to each other over a 6 mil polyethylene vapour barrier and an underlayment pad.
It is faster, it tolerates small slab imperfections and it can be lifted after a flood. The slab still has to be flat within 3/16 inch over 10 feet.
On a plywood or OSB subfloor above grade, we staple or cleat engineered boards the same way we install solid. We use a thinner 18 gauge fastener so the core does not split.
This is our preferred method for main floors when a customer wants engineered for its width or price rather than for moisture reasons.
Radiant heat dries wood from below, all winter long. Solid boards gap badly and can split, so we only put engineered over heated floors.
We keep the floor surface at or below 27 degrees Celsius, choose plywood-core boards under 7 inches wide, and glue or float rather than nail near the tubing. The heating system is turned down before installation and brought back up a few degrees a day afterwards.
Planning heat and wood together? Our radiant heated flooring team can install both in one project.
Many basements in Kitchener, Waterloo and Cambridge sit close to a high water table, especially near the Grand River. Slabs poured before the 1990s rarely had a vapour barrier underneath.
Before we install wood below grade, we check for efflorescence, sump pump history and slab humidity. If the readings are high, we add a dimpled plastic membrane or a raised subfloor panel system such as DRIcore.
For basements with a history of water, we are honest that luxury vinyl plank may be the safer choice. A proper floor vapour barrier matters for either product.
Both are popular for basements and main floors. They solve different problems.
| Engineered hardwood | Luxury vinyl plank | |
|---|---|---|
| Material cost per sq ft | $5.00 to $12.00 | $3.00 to $7.00 |
| Installed cost per sq ft | $8.50 to $18.00 | $5.50 to $11.00 |
| Water resistance | Surface resistant, not waterproof | Waterproof core |
| Can be refinished | Yes, with a 2 mm or thicker layer | No |
| Typical life | 25 to 60 years | 15 to 25 years |
| Feel underfoot | Warm, real wood | Firm, slightly cooler |
If resale value and a real wood surface matter, engineered wins. If spills, pets and basement flooding worry you more, LVP is the practical call.
Installation labour for engineered hardwood usually runs $3.50 to $6.00 per square foot in Waterloo Region. Glue-down sits at the top of that range because of adhesive cost and trowel time.
Slab grinding, levelling compound, membranes and stair nosings are priced as separate lines on your quote. You see exactly where the money goes.
All engineered installs carry our 1-year labour warranty. We follow the manufacturer's installation guide to the letter, which protects the material warranty, often 25 years or longer on quality brands.
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FAQ
Straight answers to the questions we hear most. Still unsure? Call and ask.
Ask for a Free QuoteIt depends on the wear layer. A 2 mm layer can usually take one light sanding, 3 mm allows two, and 4 mm or more allows three or four. Boards under 2 mm can only be screened and recoated, never fully sanded.
Yes, that is what it is built for. We test the slab first, then either glue it down with a urethane adhesive that doubles as a moisture barrier, or float it over a vapour barrier and underlayment. Slabs that test too wet get a dimpled membrane or a raised subfloor first.
Yes. The top layer is solid hardwood, the same species you would buy as solid, bonded to a stable plywood or fibreboard core. You see and walk on real oak, maple or hickory.
For main floors we recommend 3 mm or thicker so the floor can be sanded at least twice over its life. For basements and rentals, 2 mm is a sensible saving. Anything under 1 mm behaves more like laminate over time.
Free estimate
Tell us about the floor. We will call to book a time, measure on site, check the subfloor and moisture, and leave you a written quote.
Prefer to talk it through first? Call and speak to a flooring specialist directly.
Kitchener Prestige Flooring
137 Glasgow St, Kitchener, ON N2M 5E3
Monday to Saturday: 7:00am to 9:30pm
Sunday: 9:00am to 9:00pm