Squash Floor: Solid hardwood or engineered?

Squash, like no other sport, requires a unique style of movement in a relatively small space, with two players battling to occupy the same position around the “T” in the middle of the court. This requires a safe and reliable type of squash floor. Below a small comparison is given to assist you when choosing the correct flooring for your court.

And the winner for squash is?

Please allow us to focus on the most important attributes of squash floors which leads us to the following conclusions:


Engineered Squash Flooring

Hardwood Squash Flooring

Elasticity and shock absorption

Designed as area elastic – flexible with a wide area of deformation, therefore HEALTHY

Low elasticity as the planks come in one piece. Permanent use is applying too much pressure on joints and muscles

Resistance to humidity and moisture

More resistant towards humidity/conditions changes due to more layers and smaller element size

Risk of swelling and permanent sports floor damage in case of humidity changes in the court area

Sweat absorption

Considerably higher thanks to the structure of the upper layer

The structure of the wood plank does not allow the sweat to absorb and therefore causing the risk of slipping

Surface uniformity

Uniform surface with NO GAPS

Gaps are to be expected in solid floors, caused by swelling and shrinking


Top layer can be sanded several times, renovation needed about once in a decade. Requires only a very gentle surface sanding

Biggest myth is that solid floors can be sanded by far more often than engineered floors. Solid floors need deeper sanding when renovating and sanding is limited only down to the tongue and groove joint of the planks