I think it depends on what you're talking about re: difference.

Difference in look? Feel? Sound? Durability? Resale of your house?

IMO I think real wood floors are the best value for your dollar. They really add to the value of the home.

One of the advantages of the wood floor in my house is that it was locally harvested and milled and finished on site. Oh so greeeen...if that is a consideration and such things are available where you live.

To me real is always better in most cases. And like Yayagal says, it adds value to your home.

Do some googling of each type of product. Go check out the Flooring forum for many good discussions about hardwoods and laminates. They each have their advantages.

Just keep in mind that engineered hardwood is real wood. It is for a different application than what has long been called solid wood. But it is a real wood floor. Here in California, many homes are built on slab. Engineered hardwood is a much better product to install on that type of foundation than solid wood.
Ours is lovely.

Red

I would prefer real solid wood flooring, for all the reasons above -- looks, feel, sound and durability. I would also pay more for a home with real wood floors and likely steer away from those with the other products (or want to upgrade).

We have in-floor (radiant) heating throughout our home, so we opted for laminate, which is more dimesionally stable than hardwood. We could have used engineered hardwood, but there was a fairly substantial difference in cost (at a time when we were already over budget.) Plus with a dog and two kids, the durability of laminate can't be beat.

Carrie

I think it depends on the price point of the house - any solid surface is an upgrade to carpet but vinyl in a 500,000 is not gonna cut the cake! You have to do real hw in a pricier house or people will walk in & walk right back out - floors are a big undertaking.
My in-laws live in a very nice custom home - gorgeous antiques & such - it just kills my DH that she put a vinyl hw in her kitchen next to waxed nail down hw in her DR with her Baker table & chairs but she didn't want to go thru the trouble.
But in a starter home - or moderately priced home - I think it is appropriate to go with a laminate or vinyl.
2nd home - I think there are some great engineered woods available. And it is real wood able to be sanded & refinished. I did this in our last house. The house before that one had gorgeous Brazilian kempus floors so it was a step down but it sure beat the cream carpet that was there!
My current house has #2 red oak nail down hw - it has alot of knots - so it is not a high end wood at all. I like it b/c it disguises all the scratches and gives it a more rustic look - matte finish. Shiny finish shows more dust and scratches.

I am not knocking any of the product or the price of them. I have been in every situation (except the high dollar custom home!!) but if you plan to stay in your home - I would do nail down HW with engineered HW second to that.
Enough rambling.....
Smiles:)

I included a link to a picture I just posted (looking for feedback on the paint samples) and it is of my bamboo floor. It is STRAND bamboo...regular bamboo seems way less durable. This stuff is HARD.

We were VERY torn between engineered wood and the bamboo...and we also considered laminates as my DH brough home some wood planks and some laminate planks and I truly could not tell the difference. Also, I have recently started noticing some friends' homes with gorgeous hardwood flooring and it is totally scratched up.

So far, we have been happy with the bamboo. The cons are that it is so hard, it kind of feels like tile underfoot, rather than comfy and warm wood. There is no "give". Also, it odes have a slightly "manufactured" appearance when the light hits it a certain way...has kind of a sheen to it.

We do have one scrape on it that happened when we moved furniture. So it certainly is not indestructible, but I think it is hardier than wood.

Mine is by Morningstar, and is the 3" planks. My friend just got the 5" planks...I think the name of hers is "fusion?" You can google both. My bamboo was from lumber liquidators and we paid $3.89 a sq ft.

Good luck with whatever you decide, there are definitely pros and cons to all of them!

Here is a link that might be useful: {{!gwi}}

I add my vote to solid wood flooring. We installed 3 in x 3/4 inch planks ourselves and love everything about them. We did oak in the main living areas, and solid brazillian walnut in the kitchen. Two very different looks and different benefits but equally beautiful.

Obviously, the oak hides dirt a little better. It's prefinished and is wearing beautifully. We take the necessary steps to protect it by removing our shoes at the door and using soft pads on the feet of our furniture.

The Walnut is in the kitchen & dining area and is amazing. We get compliments on it all the time because it's different. It's not stained, that dark color is completely through the wood, so scratches don't show very easily and when we do have to refinish it, all we'll need to do is put some poly on it and it will look exactly the way that it does now. It's one of the hardest woods there and very durable.

The reason we went with the solid flooring is because we felt it would be more durable, it will last a life time and it can be sanded several times.

I have family members who have laminate, and with all do respect to those who have it, it looked fake to us, we could see the repeat of patterns and hated that fake sound when walking on it. Although many will disagree with me, engineered (which implies man made) wood seemed flimsy and fake as well. I know it has "wood" veneers but we didn't want to pay so much money for a thin piece of wood glued to a cheaper piece of wood. That just didn't make sense to us. Especially because of it's limited life span when compared to the solid wood.

We just laid engineered hickory flooring, and got the thickest it comes in. I'd have to ask my dh how thick it is, but we did pay extra for it.

I grew up with wood floors, I can't tell a difference when I walk on this, or look at it either. It has a 25 year warranty.

One thing I like about this floor is how it's hard as heck to scratch it. One, because hickory is one of the hardest woods, and two, because it has a lot of coats of varnish on it which protects it even more.

We would have had to move out of the house if we laid solid wood because of the fumes.

I'd steer clear of laminate because it's just a thin piece of paper over some material, and they ruin pretty easily.

Here's a pic of my hickory.

What a great discussion. I love reading your stories about the pros and cons of the various flooring choices.