Flooring decisions are often driven by aesthetics, which makes sense. But in a Canadian climate, where indoor humidity swings significantly between summer and winter, the wrong flooring choice can lead to gapping, cupping, or buckling within a year or two of installation. This guide covers the main flooring options and the conditions under which each one performs well.
Solid hardwood: beautiful but demanding ¶
Solid hardwood is dimensionally unstable in response to humidity changes. In a Canadian home with forced-air heating, indoor humidity in winter can drop to 25 to 30 percent, which causes wood to shrink and gaps to open between boards. Solid hardwood can work well in a climate-controlled home with a humidifier, but it is not a good choice for basements or for homes with significant humidity variation. It also cannot be installed over radiant heat.
Engineered hardwood: the practical middle ground ¶
Engineered hardwood has a real wood veneer over a plywood core, which makes it significantly more dimensionally stable than solid wood. It can be installed over radiant heat, in basements (above grade), and in kitchens. The veneer thickness determines how many times it can be refinished: a 3mm veneer can typically be sanded and refinished once or twice. We source engineered hardwood from Torlys and Lauzon, both of which have strong track records in Canadian climate conditions.
Luxury vinyl plank: the practical choice for high-traffic areas ¶
Luxury vinyl plank (LVP) is 100 percent waterproof, dimensionally stable, and comfortable underfoot with an underlayment. It is the right choice for basements, mudrooms, bathrooms, and any space where water or heavy use is a concern. The quality range is wide: thicker wear layers (12 mil and above) hold up significantly better than thinner options. We install LVP from Torlys and COREtec, which are at the upper end of the residential quality range.
Subfloor preparation: the step that determines everything ¶
The most common flooring failure we see is not a material failure but a subfloor failure. Flooring installed over an uneven, soft, or damp subfloor will move, squeak, and eventually fail regardless of how good the material is. We do our own subfloor assessment and preparation on every flooring project. If the subfloor needs leveling, patching, or replacement, we do that work before the flooring goes down. It adds cost and time, but it is the only way to stand behind the finished result.
If you are trying to decide between flooring options for a specific room or project, we are happy to talk through the trade-offs during a site visit. See the full list of project types for more on what we install.