Engineered Wood Flooring - Types of Top Veneer Layer

Engineered wood flooring is made up of an inner core of hardwood or HDF and a top layer of hardwood veneer that is glued on the surface of the core. These layers are formed in a cross-grain pattern and bonded together under heat and pressure.

The top veneer of engineered wood flooring can be manufactured with a variety of wood species, while minimizing wastage. This top layer is available in three varieties: Rotary peeled veneers, sliced and sawn face. Following are brief descriptions of all of these varieties:

Rotary peeled veneers: For this type of veneer, the logs are processed in a conditioning tub and put onto a large wood lathe (shaping machine). The wood veneers are then peeled off the logs in long strips. This process also enables maximum yield from the log. The rotary cut shows a dramatic wilder graining. Rotary peeled veneer provides the maximum use of raw materials for lowest cost, lowest visual appeal, and weakest grain structure.

Sliced Veneers: For this type, the lumber is first cut from the log in a saw mill and processed in a conditioning tub and then sliced off, just like the cheese slicing process. The slicing process produces better yields because of zero loss of saw dust. This hardwood wear layer shows an original look of the wood and finer graining. Sliced veneer provides better yield with medium cost, better visual appeal and stronger structural integrity.

Sawn Face Veneers: A type of engineered wood flooring manufactured by a traditional process in which lumber comes from the log in a saw mill. The lumber is then graded and sorted for maximum yield and usage. It is later sawn into the desired thickness and prepared for application to the engineered construction. Sawn faced veneer gives lowest yield for the highest cost, best visual appeal, and the strongest grain structure due to a natural sawing process if compared to the slicing or peeling of the grain.