Of course you can use real wood, if what you mean by that is solid unfinished.

You also have the option of using an unfinished engineered product, such as that offered by Owens.

For solid wood, I would recommend floating a subfloor and attaching your solid to that. For the Owens unfinished, or similar, the product gets fastened with adhesive.

Then you have all the factory-finished options where some get floated with just a foam underlayment over the concrete, where others get adhered with adhesive. There is even a solid that uses metal clips to attach boards to each other in a floating install concept.

When installing with adhesive you even have the option of first adhering a sheet cork underlayment and then gluing your flooring to that.

Lots of install options. Discuss these with your floor guy and do lots of internet searches for an education.

I HATE being so ignorant of the options open to me.
Thank you, glennsfc, for your information.

I did mean solid unfinished when I said ''real'' wood. I so much dislike the look of the factory finished wood and laminate floors I have seen. I don't yet know anything about what ''engineered'' wood floors means. I will do more searching tomorrow.

''For solid wood, I would recommend floating a subfloor and attaching your solid to that.'' Does this mean laying down 3/4'' inch plywood and nailing the flooring to that? If so, that sounds very doable.

Can anyone give me a few specific sites to look at? And somewhere that will define terms such as ''engineered product''?

Because your slab is suspended above a basement, you could float a plywood subfloor or adhere a subfloor to the slab.

When we float a subfloor, it is usually two 1/2" or 5/8" plywood layers installed on a diagonal layout to the room with each layer staggered so no seams line up. The layers are attached to each other only. The plywood needs to be dry and reasonably flat. Garbage sheathing will not suffice. Since yours is such a large space, I would suggest you do a lot of research on different install options and consult with installers who have done solid over concrete slabs.

One important thing to note is the fact that even though your slab is suspended construction does not mean it is entirely safe to assume it is dry enough to install wood flooring over without providing for some sort of moisture barrier or retarder. Concrete can take up moisture and emit moisture depending upon the temperature and moisture vapor content in surrounding air at any given time period.

There have been remarkable advancements in adhesive technology with some adhesive manufacturers making the claim that now you can install a solid to concrete directly when using their product designed to do just that. I have not done that.

Engineered wood flooring construction is basically a quality plywood with a veneer face that is the specie of choice. The veneers differ from product to product; some have a thin peeled veneer and others have a sliced (sawn) veneer. The unfinished Owens engineered is of the sawn type with a veneer that is almost a full 1/4" thick. I did an Owens unfinished over sheet cork over a slab where the product married to an existing 3/4" solid wood floor attached over a portion of the house that had a basement. You could not tell the solid from the engineered.

Good luck with your searches.

Thank you for generously sharing so much info, Glennsfc.

I will look at Owens engineered flooring.

It makes sense that a subfloor floated over concrete would be best if two layers thick and laid diagonally to the direction the floor would run.

The slab is over a ''basement'' that is mostly above ground. There is a drive-in two car garage beneath the room. There is occasional moisture at the base of the back basement wall, but otherwise the basement is dry. Don't know if that means moisture in the concrete garage ceiling/ basement floor would or would not be a problem.

Anyway, I am off to look at flooring.

Sandra

So. . . . As I now understand it after reading your responses and searching archives and websites:

1. Solid hardwood, which is in most of the rest of the house, is not a good choice on the concrete slab in this addition that has no moisture barrier across the bottom. It might be possible but probably not cost effective with a floating plywood subfloor.

2. Pergo or other laminates might look sorta OK, but would NOT be desirable to most buyers in our area

3. Cork might have problems with my 80# labradoodle's exuberant claws AND might fade in the light from the BIG windows flanking the SW corner of the room

4. I don't want the look of an unbroken expanse of surface, as with marmoleum

5. So. . . I think engineered HW is the way to go.

Given that I have pretty much decided on engineered hardwood, can anyone guide me to specific brands to consider or avoid?

As always,
Many thanks to those who share experience and expertise.