Mohawk Engineered Hardwood Reviews | TecWood & SolidWood

Mohawk Industries is an American flooring manufacturer based in Georgia. They are one of the largest flooring companies in North America.

Welcome to our Home Flooring Pros overview of Mowhawk wood flooring. If you’re trying to figure out if Mohawk hardwood is the right fit for your home then read on.

One of the biggest reasons for choosing Mohawk flooring is the wide selection of colors and styles available. From light to dark, classic to trendy, and everything in between.

Both their solid wood (SolidWood) and engineered wood (TecWood) collections are available in a variety of wood species, finishes and plank widths.

Before we move on to our full Mohawk hardwood report, a quick word about Mohawk’s RevWood and RevWood Plus collections. When visiting the wood flooring section of the Mohawk website you could be forgiven for thinking that Mohawk offer a third line of hardwood floor products…RevWood. In fact this is Mohawk’s innovative waterproof laminate flooring and we analyses it fully here.

COMPANY AND MANUFACTURING

Mohawk Industries is an umbrella corporation that has purchased many flooring brands over the past two decades. A publicly owned company, Mohawk employs 42,000 people and has over 25,000 wholesale customers worldwide that in turn sell to the public.

The company can trace its origins to an 1870’s carpet mill and while, carpet remains the heart of its business, it also manufactures solid wood, engineered wood, laminate, vinyl and ceramic tile flooring. Mohawk wood flooring products are all manufactured in the United States.

MOHAWK WOOD FLOORING OPTIONS

Wood flooring has long been a hallmark of sophisticated taste and style, whether urban or rustic, contemporary or vintage. Prized for its natural beauty and timeless appeal, wood provides natural richness and warmth to any home. Hardwood flooring isn’t just beautiful, it’s also extremely versatile and will boost your property value. Hardwood elegance can now be a part of any room in the home.

Mohawk offers two collections for wood flooring – SolidWood and TecWood.

The SolidWood collection consists of solid wood planking and is available in Oak or Hickory. TecWood is available in Oak and Hickory plus Acacia, Maple, Walnut, and Ebony.

Both lines come in many colors, shades, finishes and plank widths. Many of the Solid Wood Collections are available with Armormax, which is Mohawk’s wear and stain protection product.

WOOD CHOICES

Before we consider the SolidWood and TecWood collections individually, let’s look at the available wood species.

Oak

Oak is a hard, dense, open grained wood with inherent, traditional warmth. Its color tends to be neutral but varies widely, and the open graining takes stain very well. The natural color of the wood ranges from a pinkish light wheat color to a rich golden tone.

There is high shade variation throughout the wood. Oak is also not as likely to fade in direct sunlight.

Oak is the most common choice for hardwood floors and is available in both Mohawks Solid Wood and TecWood collections.

Hickory

Hickory is the second most common choice for hardwood flooring. One of the hardest, strongest American hardwoods, hickory’s dramatic pattern, shade, and color variation emphasizes its natural beauty.

Colors range from light blonde to reddish brown and dark brown. Hickory offers medium to high resistance to fading.

Hickory is also available in both the Solid Wood and TecWood collections.

Maple

Hardwood Maple flooring’s light color, uniform texture and attractive variations make it a popular choice. Known for its shock resistance and durability, Maple also takes well to stains.

The natural color ranges from creamy white to golden tan with a medium to high shade variation. Maple has a very high resistance to fading in direct sunlight.

This wood species is available in the TecWood collection.

Walnut

The rich dark brown color of Walnut flooring offers a distinguished, heirloom feel. Strong, yet soft, and light in weight, Walnut’s dark, swirling grain adds depth and luster to the floor.

Natural color is a rich chocolate hue patterned with dark gray-browns and auburn undertones. Walnut has high to medium shade variations and a high resistance to fading.

It is available in Mohawks TecWood collection.

Acacia

Acacia is considered an exotic hardwood and is native to Australia. It offers a fine texture with a smooth finish and is highly scratch resistant in comparison to other hardwoods.

Natural color ranges from a light amber to a dark mahogany with a grain that can vary between straight and wavy.

Acacia is available in the TecWood collection.

Ebony

Ebony is also considered an exotic hardwood. It is a very dense brown to black wood. Ebony comes from a variety of trees native to Southern India, Indonesia, and West Africa.

It is finely textured and has a very smooth finish when polished.

The TecWood collection offers several Ebony flooring choices.

MOHAWK SOLIDWOOD

Solid Wood flooring consists of sawed planks from natural wood timbers. Each plank is a solid piece of wood, typically ¾” thick, from the best hardwoods – Oak and Hickory.

Solid wood must be installed using staples or nails, on a wood sub floor. It is usually professionally installed.

The biggest negative with solid wood is that it cannot be installed below grade or in homes which experience high, or fluctuating, humidity. The wood absorbs moisture, which can cause buckling, cracking or splitting.

One of the chief benefits of solid wood is that it can be refinished multiple times. And with proper care, solid wood floors last for 50+ years. Solid wood flooring can cost about 30% more than engineered wood, but the fact that it can be refinished will save you money in the long run.

SOLIDWOOD COLLECTIONS

Mohawk SolidWood is available in either Oak or Hickory featuring 85 choices within their 7 collections. For instance, the Rockford Collection offers 30 options in plank widths of 2.25”, 3.25”, and 5” with either a traditional or hand scraped finish.

There is a wide selection of color choices ranging from the very light, almost white, color from the Terevina Collection – Magnolia Oak. There is also a variety of light to golden, medium to dark brown, and even a variety of gray tones. The Berry Hill Collection feature oak in a warm cherry tone and the Rockford Hickory Collection includes shale and gunpowder tones.

Many of the Mohawk SolidWood products are available with their advanced stain and wear resistance finish, Armormax.

MOHAWKS TECWOOD

TecWood is engineered flooring and was designed to be more versatile than solid wood. It is constructed with a hardwood top layer or veneer adhered to additional layers of plywood. This veneer provides the same natural beauty and look as solid wood does.

Each plywood layer is positioned in a different direction, glued together and then sawed into planks. This cross-layer construction minimizes warping or bowing in high humidity situations, so can be installed below grade, as in a basement, or a humid room like a bath or laundry.

TecWood can be installed over concrete subfloors and over subfloors with radiant heating systems. It gives you a lot of installation options. In addition to being stapled or nailed, it can be glued to the subfloor or floated, meaning it isn’t fastened at all. The planks are held together by their tongue & groove or interlocking design.

Many DIY-experienced homeowners install their own engineered hardwood flooring, but most leave the work to pros.

TECWOOD COLLECTIONS

Mohawk TecWood is available in Oak and Hickory, as well as, Maple, Walnut, Acacia and Ebony. Overall, TecWood offers 290 choices in 36 collections with plank widths ranging from 3” to 7.5”.

Your options include traditional finish, a hand scraped, or a distressed finish. There is a vast range of color choices from the lightest of oak tones in the Coastal Couture Collection to the Zanzibar Collection which features Ebony, the darkest color in hardwood.

You’ll also find traditional tones of Oak and Hickory in the Brandy Mill, Canyon Lodge or Timberline Collections. The Venetia Collection uses Acacia, which provide rich, medium brown tones.

WOOD FLOORING PRICES & INSTALLATION COSTS

Wood flooring costs are based on a number of factors including the type of wood selected, thickness of the wood, and the finish chosen.

Mohawk tends to be about in the middle of the price range for wood flooring with costs per square foot ranging from $3.50 for Oak to $8.50 for Maple.

Additionally, installation can run between $4.00 and $9.00 per square foot, but most is in the $5.25 to $6.50 range per square foot.

Take a look at this hardwood price table to get an idea of how Mohawk wood flooring compares against other leading brands.

CARE & MAINTENANCE

One of the benefits of Mohawk hardwood flooring is that it is easy to maintain – if you take a few precautions. Water is the biggest enemy to any wood floor, so never allow water to stand on it.

The floors should be frequently cleaned with a broom or a wood flooring-friendly vacuum to prevent dirt and grit from building up and scratching the floor as you walk over it. Do not spray any cleaning liquid directly onto the floor, instead, spray the cleaner onto the mop. For more read our best vacuums for hardwood floors report.

Use a steam mop with caution. Make sure the one you select is a steam mop for a hardwood floor and that you use the appropriate steam setting. Forcing hot water between flooring planks is not a good idea, even for engineered flooring.

Mohawk sells their own line of cleaning products – Mohawk’s FloorCare Essentials. Mohawk wood floors require no waxing. In fact, wax will dull the flooring over time. The Mohawk warranty provides additional details on care and maintenance.

MOHAWK MEETS INDUSTRY STANDARDS FOR SAFETY AND RENEWABILITY

Mohawk hard wood flooring is a green and healthy choice. Because all of their floors are manufactured in the United States, we can know exactly what they contain in terms of finishes, and we can be assured that the hardwood was sourced in a sustainable and environmentally friendly manner.

All of Mohawk’s hardwood floors are certified by the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) to be sustainably sourced.

Mohawk wood floors are also indoor air quality certified, which means that they meet rigorous indoor air quality emissions requirements regarding VOCs and other harmful pollutants. In short, they contain few, if any, of these dangerous agents.

Flooring and adhesives that earn the FloorScore certification achieve a legitimately enhanced market position.  Mohawk wood floors bear the FloorScore certification label.

The Mohawk flooring brand is also compliant with, and adheres to, the requirements of the expanded Lacey Act. The Lacey Act prohibits trade in wildlife and plants that have been taken illegally. Consumers can have full confidence that they are purchasing flooring that meets the strictest standards in the world.

Mohawk’s manufacturing process for TecWood features Purebond technology. Purebond is an innovation that replaces urea formaldehyde adhesives traditionally used in composite wood products, such as engineered hardwood. Purebond eliminates formaldehyde emissions associated with UF adhesives. There are no adhesives in Mohawk Solid Hardwood.

MOHAWK WARRANTY

The longevity of your Mohawk wood floors depends on how carefully you maintain them. It’s worth spending some time browsing the Mohawk Warranty brochure before making the purchase.

If you plan to make a warranty claim, Mohawk requires that you:

Hire a professional installer who will follow Mohawks written instructions.

Care for the floor in accordance with Mohawk’s written maintenance instructions.

Keep the floors free of moisture and shaded from excessive direct sunlight.

You will need to keep your original invoice from your retailer.

In general, we don’t recommend making a purchase based on the warranty. Wood flooring inevitably wears over time and filing a warranty claim can be a long unrewarding process.

In the case of a manufacturer defect, your professional installer will probably catch it at installation. You will need to contact your place of purchase to begin the claim process.

FINDING A DEALER AND PURCHASING

Mohawk products are available at flooring centers all over America, and the company has retailers in nine other countries worldwide. But whether you’re shopping in the U.S. or abroad, a great place to start your journey is the Mohawk website.

The site features detailed photos and information on both their Solid Wood and TecWood collections plus warranty information, care guidelines and style tips.

CUSTOMER REVIEWS

The customer reviews are mixed with the biggest negative pertaining to the engineered flooring, TecWood. Complaints suggest that, in some cases, the wood veneer has lifted or peeled.

“We initially loved or floor. The variations in colors are beautiful and it’s easy to maintain. However, after a year and a half, the top veneer is peeling off.”

“We’ve had Mohawk engineered flooring for 10 years and it’s still looking great. It’s proved to be a good investment.”

“Flooring (Mohawk Engineered) chipped and splintered, veneer lifted up.”

“The ease and convenience of wood flooring is well worth the time and effort. Clean up is a snap even though we have a dog. The boys play their remote controlled car on it. It’s always beautiful and attractive.”

“Through the extreme carelessness of amateur movers, the Mohawk hardwood (6 years old) in our living room was damaged. We had it refinished, and it looks amazing. So nice to know that real hardwood can be saved from an untimely demise.”

If you have a Mohawk flooring review to share with us please leave your comments below.

About the Author: Greca Fotopoulos

Greca is the lead style writer at Home Flooring Pros (more), with a BA in Technical Art, she’s focused on flooring trends, flooring ideas, and flooring brand reviews.

“There’s nothing more satisfying than creating a home that you love. The hardest thing about this job is trying not to covet all the great floors I get to review; if I could remodel my home every month, I would!”