Thanks for the responses! @live_wire_oak, I think I can safely be classified as a masochistic gloss floor lover! It's not the least bit unusual here for people to remove their shoes upon entering a home and that would definitely be my rule. I have a dining room and an eat in kitchen where all glops will be relegated to. Neither of those rooms will have the glossy wood floors. If it gets a glossy as I want, I will wear a bib to handle my drooling. I will check out a flooring store for that piano finished flooring, though! @JFCWood, that is an excellent point about the wood expanding and contracting. I hadn't thought of that. Is there an oil-modified poly that you would recommend? @gregmills, the sample idea is another good one! What I think I'm going to do is buy a sample of a couple of the recommended ones, buy some salvaged flooring and have at it to see what it looks like in person. It was also suggested that I look into whatever marine products are used on boat decks so I will investigate that as well.

I'm curious to see the replies. My son almost bought an older house, 1951, the wood under the carpet is about 2"wide strips looks like solid wood, but seems to have a lot of nails. Is that how it was done back then? I wondered how it would look if he had them finished, but he backed out of the deal after the inspection. We are about to tear out decent wood because the sun has faded it and since it is not a big area it would cost a lot to refinish, and I hear the refinished floor would need to be done again much sooner than a new prefinished. I wish I could take out the old wood in a way that it could be used by someone, but I think it will get wrecked. The store I am using charges $3 sf to install it, the wood price obviously varies. They use their own employees, no subs, and did a nice job on our mbr and hall, so I will use them even though I dont know what an independent installer would charge. My maple will cost $5.54 sf, plus install.

My concern is the layers of vinyl underneath the hardwood. Hardwood doesn't like sitting on vinyl and vinyl doesn't like sitting on hardwood. The two do NOT like each other. If you think this is a good idea (which it is considered on the technical side of things a horrible approach to this) then you might have to add another layer of subfloor. A nice, fat, thick 1/2" plywood to cover those two layers of vinyl. Now you can go ahead and lay the hardwood. Technically, my suggestion is hideous. It is atrocious. It is so "unprofessional" that I could weep. But if you insist on leaving the vinyl in place, then you need to think of a way to separate the vinyl from the hardwood sitting on top....and one very sure way is with plywood. Again, my suggestion is a travesty. Then again so is laying hardwood over two layers of vinyl. In the flooring world, we 'allow' ONE layer of resistant flooring (like vinyl) to sit underneath another floor. For example: the first layer of vinyl was considered "OK" to lay another layer of vinyl over top. All good. No one in the technical department batted an eye. If a THIRD vinyl floor was proposed (or a laminate, or linoleum, or cork, or hardwood, or tile, or even carpet) it would be a "NOOOOOOOO! STOOOOOP! DON'T DO IT!" type of answer. So I will officially say: No. Stop. Don't do it. There. It has been said. That being said, if you as the homeowner choose to forgo the installation instructions and the "Best Practices" as set out by the National Wood Flooring Association (as homeowners your word is "law" when it comes to things like this), you are welcome to go ahead and lay hardwood over two layers of vinyl. If you do it, I suggest a new layer of plywood to help things along - because you need FLAT. And most "old hardwoods with two layers of vinyl sitting on them" are anything but flat. Good luck. You would be better off remediating the asbestos/vinyl and getting down to bare hardwood. Now a new floor (with the help of a layer of plywood) can go down. Or you remove the original hardwood with the vinyl (this is easier to do than scrape off the vinyl...and easier = cheaper) and start with a new layer of subfloor and go after it like it should be done. But as homeowner your word is "law". If you tell a professional to "just do it", they will say "yes ma'am/sir" and do it. But they will not warranty their work. You will be left holding the bag - and all the pit vipers that lay inside. It's your call.

Helpful discussion! I am installing hardwood on our top floor, and I'd like a good quality hardwood. The trouble is that I have an open staircase going upstairs with lots of railing on both sides of the open hallway. I pulled up the existing carpet upstairs and realized that I only have 1/2 inch between the carpet and the railing. The hardwood contractor says that I'll have to go with 3/8 inch engineered hardwood; If I don't, the new floor will be higher than the railings. Alternatively, the railings will all have to be pulled out and their height increased-which will cost thousands. My question is this: Are these the only two options? 3/8" hardwood or raise the railings? Since we have a dog, I am a bit concerned about getting a flooring product with a 2 mm wear layer.