Have you already gotten bids on your options? If you already have wood in most of the downstairs, how could it be removed and replaced with new wood, with enough of a difference in cost to pay to install the same wood throughout the second floor? What you claim to want doesn't seem to add up.

Is your existing wood 2" or 2-1/4"?

If you do decide to remove the solid wood downstairs, you should check the thickness of it and the replacement wood. The new is likely to be thinner and will leave gaps under the door jambs and casing. Include the cost of fixing that in your calculation.

The answer to your final question is that it would depend on the buyer. If you put in something cheap that can't be refinished, a savvy buyer might prefer the floor that would have lasted until they passed on. If you get a buyer that's not knowledgeable about floors they'd likely prefer the continuity.

I too cannot see the savings of remove+replace. A sand/refinish averages $5/sf. It is minimally disruptive (ie. it does NOT involve demolition) and it will cure in 10 days (assuming you are using a high-end water based finish).

Now an engineered hardwood is SUPPOSED to be more expensive than solid. Yah. I said it. Engineered (same cut, width, thickness, installation method) should be more expensive than solid. Hmmmmmm. My spidy senses are tingling.

Now on to the cost of hardwood upstairs. Carpet removal/disposal = $1.50 - $2/sf (depends on where you live). Repair and prepare the wooden subfloors (usually 'bad' underneath carpet...carpet hides the WORST subfloors) $2-$4/sf. Yep. Just ASSUME you will be spending $3/sf for the subfloor prep upstairs.

Now for the cost of solid hardwood (regular 3" width) = $5/sf. Installation + finishing = $3-$4/sf. Right. A regular solid hardwood (nothing special) with install = $8 - $10/sf.

Now compare that to a 'sand and refinish' of $5/sf. Wow. It is CHEAPER to do the sand and refinish. Hmmmm.

Now imagine the COST of demolition for the HARDWOOD....yep. You can add MORE to that cost. And again the subfloors have to be looked at. More costs. Now imagine the cost of a MORE EXPENSIVE engineered hardwood....$8 - $12/sf for material only. Installation is extra ($3-$4/sf for factory finished hardwood).

I tell ya. The $5/sf sand/refinish is looking REALLY GOOD right now. Ignore the width of the planks. They are classic and are probably appropriate for the age of the home.

It is your money and your home. If you believe an engineered hardwood is CHEAPER than $5/sf sand and refinish (including install and subfloor preparation) then you are welcome to find out the reality of the situation.

We are going to tell you the 'cheap' wide plank engineered hardwood is not going to give you the 'life expectancy' that a 'regular' 3" wide solid hardwood ($5/sf material). It just won't.

If I were a buyer of your house, I'd like the downstairs floor to be uniform material and finished so it looked great and the upstairs carpet left alone so I could decide what types and colors of carpets I wanted or to replace the carpet with something else.

-- amateur

Thanks everyone. I think we'll stick with the solid hardwood throughout the downstairs. We'll probably replace the carpet upstairs.