Types of Top Veneer Layers for Engineered Hardwood Flooring

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

The top veneer of engineered wood flooring can be manufactured with minimizing wastage and it is available in three veneer varieties: rotary peeled, sliced, and sawn. We present you brief descriptions of these three veneers:

Rotary Peeled Veneers

This type of veneer presents the logs processed in a conditioning tub and put onto a large wood lathe. Furthermore, the wood veneers are peeled off the logs in long strips. This enables maximum yield from the log. The rotary cut shows dramatic wilder graining and they provide the maximum use of raw materials for a very low cost.

Sliced Veneers

The lumber of this type is first cut from the log in a saw mill and processed in a conditioning tub and then sliced off (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 excellent yield with medium cost, visual appeal and strong structural integrity.

Sawn Face Veneers

This type of engineered wood flooring is manufactured using a traditional process where the lumber comes from the log in a saw mill. Furthermore, the lumber is graded and sorted for maximum yield and usage. Later it will be 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 compared to the slicing or peeling of the grain.