How the two floors are built
Solid wood
Solid wood flooring is made entirely of a single piece of wood. Solid wood comes in varying thicknesses, and it is usually nailed or stapled to a wooden subfloor.
Engineered wood
Engineered wood has a real-wood top layer, or veneer, over a core of plywood or HDF. Havwoods describes wear layers of up to 6mm on its engineered floors. Engineered boards can be floated, glued or stapled.
What you see on the surface
Both floors show real wood on top, so the surface of a well-made engineered board looks like solid wood. The difference is below the surface, and it is the difference that decides where each floor can go.
Stability and moisture
Havwoods describes engineered wood as more dimensionally stable, so it is less likely to warp or cup when temperature and humidity change. Havwoods describes solid wood as more prone to expanding and contracting, and says solid wood may not suit areas with high moisture levels and is not recommended below grade.
Where each floor belongs
The difference makes engineered wood the safer product for a kitchen, a basement or a concrete slab, and solid wood the product for a dry, stable room with a wooden subfloor. The guide to flooring for kitchens and bathrooms covers water in more detail.
Moisture in the board and in the base
The Solid Wood Flooring Company recommends engineered boards dried to at least 8% moisture content. A dry board on a wet base still has a problem, so the subfloor preparation guide explains how the base is tested.
Fixing and subfloor
Havwoods says engineered wood can be installed by floating, gluing or stapling, while solid wood is usually nailed or stapled to a wooden subfloor and needs a stable environment. If your base is a concrete slab or screed, the fixing method you can use is narrower, so ask the fitter which method the maker allows for your subfloor and put it in the quote.
Underfloor heating
The Solid Wood Flooring Company recommends engineered boards for heated floors, says never to install solid wood flooring over underfloor heating, and says never to buy cheap engineered flooring. The full temperature and warm-up rules are in the guide to engineered wood over underfloor heating.
What to ask the supplier
Ask the supplier for the maker's written approval for the exact board on a heated floor. If the board is solid, expect the answer to be no.
Wear layer and refinishing
Solid wood
Havwoods says solid floors can be sanded and refinished multiple times. The depth you can sand away depends on the plank thickness above the tongue, so ask for that figure in millimetres.
Engineered wood
The wear layer sets the limit. Havwoods also says engineered floors can be sanded and refinished multiple times where the wear layer is substantial, up to 6mm. A floor with a thin veneer may take fewer sandings, and neither source gives an agreed number of sandings, so the wear-layer thickness in millimetres is the question to ask.
Finding a sander
The floor sanding guide shows what a sanding visit involves. The directory lists 39 floor sanding businesses in Wales.
What each costs
| Source | Solid wood | Engineered wood |
|---|---|---|
| MyJobQuote, supplied and fitted per m² | Oak £41 to £69; pine £51 to £72 | £43 to £85 |
| MyJobQuote, materials per m² | Oak £35 to £45 | £45 to £60 |
| Checkatrade, supply per m² | £80 and over (hardwood) | £50 |
| Checkatrade, installation per m² | £35 to £60 | £45 |
Solid species compared
MyJobQuote lists supplied-and-fitted prices by species, which shows how much the choice of timber moves the total.
| Species | Supplied and fitted per m² |
|---|---|
| Oak | £41 to £69 |
| Cherry | £52 to £71 |
| Pine | £51 to £72 |
| Maple | £66 to £88 |
| Walnut | £76 to £105 |
Labour by room size
The same guide gives labour of £14 to £25 per square metre for a 14m² room, £12 to £22 for 16m² and £11 to £21 for 18m², so the rate per square metre falls as the room grows.
Why the guides disagree
The two guides disagree on which is cheaper, so price the exact species, board width and grade you want. A solid oak floor and a solid pine floor are different products, and an engineered board with a thick oak veneer costs more than one with a thin veneer. The flooring fitting costs guide lists the extras that change a wood quote.
Extras that change a wood quote
Labour and removal
MyJobQuote says fitters usually work in pairs, so labour is £300 to £500 a day on a day rate of £150 to £250, and typical labour for an installation is £300 to £750. Removing the old floor is £40 to £180 in labour for two to six hours, plus £50 to £150 for waste. Professional refinishing is typically £200 to £400.
Checkatrade's extras
| Item | Checkatrade (May 2026) |
|---|---|
| Carpet removal and disposal | £7 per m² |
| Skirting installation | £22 per metre |
| Beading | £6.50 per metre |
| Door trimming | £30 per door |
| Floorboard replacement | £45 per m² |
| Floor levelling | £6 per m² (2mm) to £30 per m² (50mm screed) |
| Furniture relocation | £25 to £30 per hour |
Room conditions and expansion gaps
Humidity
The Solid Wood Flooring Company gives room humidity targets of 40% to 65% for acclimatisation and 35% to 60% in use. Ask the supplier how long boards must sit in the room before fitting and what humidity they expect.
Expansion gaps
The same supplier calls for a perimeter expansion gap of 8mm, often 13mm to 15mm, around the room edges and fixed objects. A gap hidden under skirting is part of the job, and you should check that the quote includes the skirting and beading.
A rough cost for a 20m² room
At MyJobQuote's supplied-and-fitted rates, 20m² of oak comes to £820 to £1,380 and 20m² of engineered wood to £860 to £1,700. Checkatrade's supply and installation figures give £1,900 for engineered wood (£50 plus £45 per square metre) and £2,300 to £2,800 or more for solid hardwood (£80 or more plus £35 to £60). The sums are arithmetic from per-square-metre figures, not quotes, and the two guides differ because they price different products.
Which to choose
- Choose engineered for a heated floor, a kitchen, a concrete slab or any room where humidity changes.
- Choose solid for a dry room with a stable wooden subfloor where you want the option to sand deep.
- Ask engineered suppliers for the wear-layer thickness in millimetres and the moisture content of the board.
Finding a fitter
63 Welsh businesses list wood and parquet floor fitting. The guide to hiring a flooring fitter gives the checks to make before you book, and the fixing method should be written into your quote.
What this page does not cover
The comparison comes from a supplier, a technical article and two price guides. The page does not rank species or brands, it does not cover bamboo or reclaimed boards, and neither source gives an agreed number of sandings. Havwoods and the Solid Wood Flooring Company both sell wood flooring, so check any claim against the data sheet of the product you are buying. Prices are UK price-guide ranges, and only the MyJobQuote laminate guide gave a Wales row.