Thanks for the quick response. I should have mentioned that we will actually be on a basement foundation. I have definitely looked at engineered but am worried that if/when we go to resell that the buyer may be looking for a certain “level” of flooring and that engineered may not reach that level? I know I probably wouldn’t know as much about hardwoods if I wasn’t building a home so not sure if I am worrying myself for no reason or if that’s a real concern we should be considering.

We had 8” and 10” wide pine board floors for nearly 20 years in south Florida! Large dogs, a cat, party central 20-60 people at a time, grandkids- nothing fazed our oil finished floors.

Hmmm so @remodeling1840, is there something special about the oil finish vs just a regular sealant? I do like the look of the matte finish but not sure if that is more difficult from a cleaning perspective.

You cannot visually tell the difference between solid and a good quality engineered. Other than it won’t develop large gaps, cupping, tenting, checks, splits, and other hallmarks of wide wood subjected to uncontrolled humidity and hard living.

Ahh @ProSource Memphis....you’re making me thing engineered again!! This may be our forever home or it may not so trying to balance how we currently live with what others may want in the future. When you “good quality” engineered....do you have any recommendations? And can the good quality engineered be sanded and refinished at least once? And you mention the issues above with wide wood. I assume that’s why the 4” recommendations seem to consistently come up with these floors and that the larger widths give the issues. So it seems as if I want a wider width...I would want to consider engineered but if not then the 4” may do ok?

Yes I am thinking that I do...thank you for the feedback everyone!

Engineered wood is not the same. My floors were installed about 1835. Let’s see engineered floors do that!

To be clear, Air Conditioning is NOT enough for high humidity. You MUST HAVE humidity control at the touch of a high-priced button (called a humidi-stat). You must have a whole home dehumidifier/humidifier. This is an upgrade you will need regardless of solid or engineered.

Your HOME dictates your choices. Personal choices do not enter into it (sigh...no one tells us these things when we look at flooring options...that's why I'm telling you NOW). The HOUSE and it's CLIMATE control (or lack thereof) will be the deciding factor.

If you WANT wide planked solid...go for it. But BE AWARE what you are about to live through. The COST will be PHENOMENAL. You will need to work with the BEST cut possible = Rift cut. Even in a 3-4" wide plank that gets expensive. Now add in a WIDE plank rift cut and you get into double digits per square foot immediately. I mean NOW!

Good. Now that you have paid $15/sf for this, you have to use FULL SPREAD glue application. If you are on concrete slab your install just got SUPER expensive (yes....more expensive than you ever thought possible).

Imagine an install cost of $5+ per square foot (not including the subfloor preparation...that's another cost of $2-$4/sf). We just topped $22+ per square foot all in. And I haven't mentioned the worries about moisture in a concrete slab. That's another topic with another price tag to it.

Whew! Now image the pain you can/will go through when you find your ENTIRE FLOOR tenting and cresting by the time you get to August. Everyone will point to your non-existent humidity control and say, "Sorry. Your home did not meet the warranty requirements."

Before you do ANYTHING with wood, please get your HVAC professional into the home and give you a quote for a whole-home humidity control (you MUST keep it between 35%-55% humidity every day of every week of every month of every year x80 years).

Once you have that level of control, you can plan on your very expensive (and stunning) wide plank oak floor. Not a moment before.

I am in love with that same look! wide plank white (or european?) oak but it's just not practical for our apartment.

I have been leaning toward tile, as Quercus suggested.

Nonsense on the humidity control! South Florida, slab construction, open windows spring and fall- no buckling or whatever doom and gloom some people want to espouse. I loved my beautiful pine floors and they were in perfect condition when we sold our house after nearly two decades and three hurricanes ( no power for AC). We did lay the floors ourselves after the recommended acclimation time in the house. Are the floors at Mount Vernon buckled, did Thomas Jefferson keep the air conditioning on all year, and did Independence Hall floors trip the Signers because there was no humidistat? Get a grip you people who are obsessed with engineered flooring. For all you environmentalists, engineered flooring is glued together layers of materials, some of unknown origins and chemicals. I know exactly what was in my pine floor-pine.

I've seen that as well Vert, but it was the reverse. Actually a company I started out with in the business back in the eighties. 3" southern yellow pine. Shrunk ungodly with climate control after being installed from a local lumber yard. SJ makes a good point about older floors with purposeful gaps. Something rarely mentioned.

USA made 3/4" engineered 3 1/4" to 8 1/4" widths