Today, we’re taking a look at the Regal Final Touch Engineered Hardwood flooring line. We’ll note the line’s pros & cons, and dive into what other consumers have to say.
Hardwood floors are highly sought after these days. After all, they provide a warm, inviting and interesting environment for your home, office or storefront.
However, not all wood floors are the same. Most old homes and buildings have solid, wood floors that were nailed down to the subfloor (the only installation method back in the day). The problem with solid, wood floors is that they are far less durable when it comes to humidity, water, kids and pets.
These days, some of the engineered wood floor products may be the smarter choice over solid hardwood floors. The main difference is that several layers of different woods and finishes encompass engineered wood. Solid wood floors are made from a single piece of wood.
Engineered hardwood floors offer a variety of benefits and few big drawbacks. If you still need some education on this type of floor, check out our guide on the pros and cons of engineered hardwood floors.
Without further ado, let’s get into our review of the Regal brand of engineered hardwood floors.
- Who is Regal Hardwoods?
- What Flooring Collections Are Offered?
- What Makes Regal Floors Different?
- How Do I Care for Regal Floors?
- How Environmentally Safe Are Regal Floors?
- What is the Overall Opinion About Regal Hardwoods?
About Regal Hardwoods
Regal Hardwoods is a U.S.-based flooring company that produces high-end engineered wood floors. They also have vinyl plank flooring in natural wood designs. Rustic, decorative accents, like fireplace mantels and beams make up their Reclaimed Antique Beams collection.
As far as engineered hardwood flooring goes, Regal appears to have a superior and highly durable product. Whereas many engineered hardwood floors have a “soft wood” core layer, Regals’ floors have a hardwood core layer made of Birch. This makes it extra strong and less susceptible to expansion and contraction in changing humidity. We know this is a major issue with traditional hardwood floors.
Regal Hardwood Flooring
Regal boasts many engineered hardwood flooring collections including Curator, Final Touch, Elements, New England, American Backroads, Olde Time Luxe, On The 9ine, Walla Walla Valley, Su Vino and Havana.
The Curator collection is small, but classic in look and feel. The collection is designed to match the look of real hand-scraped Hickory floors. It has oversized 7-inch wide planks that come in four colors.
Similar in design is the Final Touch collection. These 5-inch wide planks were designed to highlight the look of wire-brushed Hickory in six modern colors like Ash Gray and Pewter.
The Elements collection features lightly hand-scraped birch wood looks. This provides for a very bright, clean and modern floor. Conversely, the New England collection features five shades of classic browns that mimic the look of what you might find in a historic building somewhere in the Eastern Seaboard.
Similarly, the American Backroads collection features planks of varying lengths and widths. With a very rustic, worn-in look in three colors, each has interesting and wide color and grain variations.
The Olde Time Luxe collection features reclaimed, distressed woods with knots, cracks and wearing. This wood gives the floors a timeless, historic appeal. The On The 9ine, Walla Walla Valley and Su Vino all feature colors and textures that are far more modern and refined.
All in all, these are floors are beautiful, but many of the colors are repeated, and the color selection is somewhat limited. However, they offer colors that seem the most desirable and sought after choices. They adhere to today’s color and style preferences.
What Makes Regal Floors Stand Out
So, what makes Regal Hardwoods stand out from the other engineered wood floor options? Quite simply: the plank construction and quality finishes. Glue or staple down Regal planks with the Baltic Birch engineered hardwood core, or you can install it as a floating floor.
The Birch hardwood core is far more stable than the softwood core you would typically find in other engineered hardwood floors. It provides stability and prevents expansion and contraction of the floor.
To provide a natural, classic hardwood floor look, Regal offers planks that vary in lengths from 1.5 ft. to 7 ft. These longer and varied board lengths will visually elongate the room by providing fewer joints and less visual clutter.
They have two proprietary finishes, depending on the flooring collection you select. The Titanium ScuffGARD finish uses nano-technology that provides rugged and durable, yet transparent wear protection. It resists scuffing and maintains the floor’s beauty year after year. The finish requires minimal maintenance, and very little refinishing – making it a time-saver as well as a damage deterrent.
Their Natura Gard finish is a hard-wax oil finish that enhances the natural highlights of the wood’s colors, textures and grain features. The protective coating creates a solid barrier while enhancing the colors and natural look of the wood. It also resists scratches and can you can reapply for touchups down the road.
Environmental Considerations
Regal Hardwoods takes great care in providing an environmentally-friendly product. All their wood flooring complies with the California Air Resources Board (CARB), Phase 2 Airborne Toxic Control Measure (limiting formaldehyde emissions from composite wood products). It also has a Chain of Custody Certification from the Forest Stewardship Council.
In addition, all their hardwood floors are compliant with the Lacey Act, which protects against illegal logging. Regal Hardwoods has also been certified for LEED credits for Home, New Construction and Commercial Interiors.
Care and Maintenance
Care and maintenance of an engineered hardwood floor can be tricky. Most, if not all, store-bought floor cleaners are off limits when it comes to these types of floors, mainly because of their finishes. Regal floors are no different.
Regal recommends dust-mopping or vacuuming hardwood floors at least twice a week. Wipe up spills immediately to avoid trapping moisture between and under the planks. Because moisture is the biggest destroyer of any wood floor, you should never use a traditional wet mop on this type of floor.
When deeper cleaning is necessary, they recommend ProCare Citrus Floor Cleaner (for Titanium ScuffGARD/Urethane finish floors only) or WOCA Natural Soap.
Overall Opinion
It’s hard to say what other consumers think about Regal Hardwood floors. Currently, there aren’t many online reviews to draw from. From what we see and hear, contractors voice their love of these floors, citing the quality of the product as the chief reason.
While the pictures we’ve seen show a good quality flooring product, obtain samples or visit one of their showrooms in Texas or Utah to get a better visual. You could and should also ask your contractor for their opinion.
Regal Hardwoods offer a more limited selection than some of the larger flooring manufacturers. Their product though is a definite engineered hardwood contender for its durability, hand-detailed beauty and installation options.
We purchased a brand new spec home in May of 2013 and by the next year the floors were delaminating. We had an independent floor inspector and a lawyer get involved along with the builder, Regal, and the place where the flooring was bought and was still not satisfied with the outcome. We were also told the humidity in our home was not suitable for the flooring, my issue is why is it sold in this area if it can not withstand the environment. The temps in our house do not fluctuate wildly, our ac unit is never turned off. We are looking at replacing them but it hurts to spend thousands to replace a floor that should’ve lasted longer.
I’ve been fighting my claim with Regal for almost a year now and they have quit responding to my calls/emails. The finish is coming off within the grain in all areas of traffic. Now that the finish is wearing off the boards are splintering. My expensive wood floors are literally falling apart only three years after installation. So sorry that you’ve had a terrible experience to!
I had flooring from Regal Hardwoods installed in the house I had built in 2016. By the end of 2019, the floor was showing signs of wear in several locations and was coming apart in others. Keep in mind, I have no pets, no kids, live by myself, only wear socks in the house, and only used the cleaner the dealer recommended. Despite all this, the inspector blamed all the issues on humidity, lack of rugs, and sunshine. In other words, the floor must be covered and kept at a particular humidity range for the floor to last. What’s the point of having wood if it has to be covered? Their warranty exclusions are almost five pages long, so their intention is to never have to pay a warranty claim, no matter what. My advice is to avoid this company if you want wood flooring of any kind, because they will never stand behind their product.
Mike, do you know how much per sq yd you paid for your Regal flooring? We jus had it installed and wish I had seen your reviews before now…The floor we replaces was 28 years old and still looked like it was new…I feel like I’ve been taken advantage by the flooring store that sold us this product and keep saying it was the Merceds of flooring…Ty!
I’ve used regal Luxe in two homes (HOUSTON area) and it’s been phenomenal. Far better wear than previous flooring we’ve had.
Hope yours goes well.
Holly
What color and style floor did you have installed ?
Louise
Which Regal wood product did you use ?
Thinking of their Regal wood Tavern – Red Ale and noticed your review.
We installed Regal engineered flooring throughout our home and it was peeling before we even moved in!! When I contacted the retailer about the problem he referred us to Regal, who didn’t even come out to see the problem!! In the end Regal told us it was an “installer” problem, not the flooring. What a mess. The floor shows wear throughout…even where you dont walk!!!
Which floor did you have installed? We are also having a similar problem with the Pigeon Cove by Regal! I’m so disappointed! They have been installed for less than 3 years!
Hi- I was doing some research on engineered wood flooring and I came across Regal Hardwoods. I was wondering if they had a ‘parent’ or ‘mother’ company. In other words, who they are owned by? I thought I had come across something that said Shaw was the parent company and they were a subsidiary of them. Can you validate that for me? Thank you.