Do a search on the topic. Determine your parameters based upon your location, humidity, room for a sub-floor or no, etc.

If engineered is called for, go for 3/4 inch with 1/4 veneer. That will provide refinish options and frequency similar to regular hardwoods on a sub-floor. That will eliminate quite a few brands of engineered, though.

In my opinion, Engineered Wood Flooring offers more stability and it looks good. It is best for kids and pets as well. So, i recommend Engineered wood flooring.

Slab foundation or Crawl space?

You could do either solid OR Engineered. Make sure the 8' crawl space area has an 8 mil (black) polyethylene plastic installed over the soil to keep the area under the home dry. You'd also have to make sure a barrier was installed in the basement as well. I've read where people put plastic on the joists and others have sprayed something on the underside.

The obvious advantage with solid is you can sand and refinish if you ever want to and with solids you've got two options.

1) Site-finished which would be raw wood that's stained on site with a few coats of polyurethane to finish it out. The benefit is you can pick the exact color and look you want but the big drawback is the finish would not last nearly as long as a commercially manufactured product that you'd purchase at a retailer.

2) Pre-finished floors that you buy from a local shop are typically finished out with a layer of aluminum oxide which makes the finish harder and more scratch-resistant (they generally hold up longer).

Either way you can sand and refinish at any time but given the fact that doing so can be a daunting and costly task and it isn't usually desirable.

Engineered floors are veneered but when they're laid down, it's virtually impossible to tell the difference. They are more moisture-stable meaning you'll have less gaps both post-installation and when seasons change over the years. That said, most engineered products cannot be refinished but they are typically more cost-effective than solids.

Either floor should hold up fine with kids, they will get their knicks and dings and you can generally conceal the damage with furniture pens. Damage from pets is generally dependent on the size of the animal and how much you maintain their hygiene. If they're small dogs and cats, you'll likely have no issues. For medium-to-larger animals... regular pet maintenance will go a long way to ensuring the floors experience minimum damage.

I'd be fine with either one but long term, depending on your pet choice, you may get more mileage out of solid hardwood.

YW, LMK what samples you're looking at and I might be able to steer you in the right direction.

floorfreak - went to flooring store today, took home samples of: Armstrong Great Plains Solid Hardwood, Chesapeake Greystone solid hickory hardwood and Armstrong Cascade solid hardwood. we don't want anything too dark or light, something sort of middle of the road. intrigued by hickory as the graining isn't as pronounced as the oak. husband is concerned the cascade has too much gray too it.

Thanks kmoriarty25 for starting this thread. I am in same boat as of you. We are planning to go with nice quality product as its not easy to change it, So I brought sample of PROVENZA FLOORS, American & Guild, Paramount, Bella Cera products. I am so confused with so many brands and type of wood and would appreciate hand in right direction.

kmoriarty25, glad to be of assistance. Hickory is slightly harder than oak and does have a thinner, albeit somewhat similar grain. Armstrong makes great products, I don't sell them direct but they do make some of the products that we sell private label. I'm not in to shameless promotion but If interested, you can message me and I might be able to help you out with something similar... same goes for everyone else.

One of the seller informed me that Armstrong has sold their flooring to non-flooring retailers. So the future of the Armstrong engineered wood brand is not certain.

I'm a fan of Hickory. Love it! I love it's STRONG variation! Yep. Variation is the word that can be used for Hickory. If you are going for "mid-tone" then it means the Hickory is stained. No problem. That's fine. Hickory takes a stain very nicely. But it will still have plenty of variation. The stain will even that out a little bit, but not entirely.

The finish is UV cured urethane. I'm not very excited about that finish. If you are going for factory finish, you will want to work with the TOUGHEST finishes on the market (that's why you go with factory finished...for the TOUGH finish). The UV cured urethane is a ho-hum type of finish. Average would be the best way to describe it.

The thickness of the plank is 3/4" = normal for sold. The plank width is 5" with random lengths UPTO 60" (5ft). That tells me there will be many planks in the 3' - 4' range. Again, this is ho-hum average. And with a wide plank product, it will need "glue assist". And Hickory certainly needs it because it has a bit more movement (less stable) than white oak.

And then there is the "low gloss" format. The low-gloss finish on this depth of colour = nightmare to live with. It will show dust, etc as well as oily foot prints, sock prints, paw prints and will look hazy at certain times during the day. The "haze" is part of the chemical make up of the finish itself = that's how they take away the gloss...they haze it with a chemical additive. The haze goes away when you sand and refinish the floor. That's the only way to fix it.

If you must have a mid-tone floor, I would recommend a TOUGHER finish (aluminum oxide or ceramic infused polyurethane) in a satin. Satin is FAR MORE livable. It offers a lovely glow without being shiny. It hides skin oils (like paw prints from dogs) because it is the same gloss level as skin oils....it isn't hazy....you get the idea.

zaccaii , there are boutique products that are available made to order for less than $10 per SQ FT. Just something to consider. The quality is going to be much higher too!

Do any of you have experience with Paramount Flooring?

https://www.paramountflooring.com/products/engineered-hardwood/lakeshore/

Kirsten Eloise , I do not but look at those plank lengths in the product. Will that look good in your living space? 1'-4' and 1'-6' .

JUST DONT GO WITH NATURALLY AGED FLOORING. THEY ARE THE WORST

https://www.houzz.com/discussions/3901809/problems-with-engineered-flooring-splintering-and-more#n=29

Mehta did the op choose and how has it held up? Looking for the best engineered floors in Wyoming