You can get an engineered floor that is as good if not better than a solid product. We produce solid unfinished flooring but we also produce unfinished engineered flooring as well. Solid flooring typically has a 1/4" (6mm) of "sandable" or "usable" surface. Basically after you get 1/4" deep you'll hit the nail heads and so you can't sand below that point. Our engineered unfinished product has a 5mm wear layer. However, the engineered product is already pre-sanded to 80g which means once installed the amount of sanding that takes place is minimal. On a solid floor, most contractors will need to do a rough sanding to get the floor even, then one or two more cuts to get it smooth. Even if you have a very talented sander he is going to take 1/32 off in his sanding on the solid floor. That equates to roughly 3/100 which is nearly the difference between the 6mm and 5mm usable surfaces we began with. So in essence, you are getting very close to the same "usable" surface. Not to mention the engineered is more stable, will keep you from having to install a subfloor as it can be glued directly to concrete, eliminates transition issues between hardwood and tile or carpet AND should take less time to install. My two cents. Sam @ Real Wood Floors realwoodfloors.com

My husband and I put Bella Cera Monza french oak flooring (color Adriana) in our home about a year before we decided to sell. We loved it because it was the only engineered flooring I could find that actually looks like authentic traditional wide plank solid hard wood. There's no sheen to give it away. In fact a RE agent who sees tons of homes asked if it was solid wood and our installer who does tons of floors said he wanted it for his home. We got lots of compliments. We love it so much that we plan to put it in our new home that we're currently building.

LM is the brand. I live in Texas also. I bought mine at a local floor shop. I have them in the kitchen, living area, halls, and utility room with no problems so far. We also have a dog. They're 3/4" thickness with aluminum oxide finish. LM has a lot to choose from as far as plank size and finishes. Look up LM Flooring. They have good reviews and also a good warranty. I have a great floor guy and he said they were good quality floors. I've also had other engineered hardwood floors that peeled like a layer of plastic when they scratched like you said above.

You have to take online reviews with a grain of salt. People who are satisfied are less likely to take the time to post a review than people who are dissatisfied. Can you tell whether the people who are dissatisfied are that way because of the product, or the installation? The manufacturer can't be held responsible for the installation. Every product is going to have some negative reviews. Look for ones that seem coherent and give good descriptions of the issues to try to discover where the problem actually is. It's very time consuming to figure this stuff out.