And I was trying to be so careful how I worded that :). Hickory is fine to use. NOFMA has a well written article on selecting a species that I will link to below. Checking is not a common problem one will run into everyday. It is where the wood drys out too much and starts to split in the top face (wear) layer of an engineered wood. Inside environments should be maintained at above 30% RH. Some parts of the country the inside RH will drop down to the teens or single digits during the heating season. That is where dry cupping or checking can occur. If you are partial to an exotic wood, most will work if they are manufactured correctly, installed correctly and maintained correctly. When i asked about non-vented gas logs, they can be problematic too because they emit huge amounts of moisture into the inside environment. If a house is too tight you can get condensation forming on colder flat surfaces. That can cause the wood to gain too much moisture, then when it drys out it can and will check. Too high of an RH level is just as bad as too low. Not every single home built in the US is a prime candidate for a wood floor. The manufacturers recognize that and throw the responsibility of maintaining the RH levels on the end user. Fair or not, that's the way the current system works. Here is a link that might be useful: NOFMA species selection

Thanks everyone, your replys make me feel more confident in his ability to get nice wood. BTW- He is not a carpenter, he is a retired mechanical engineer who does woodworking as a hobby, restores turn of the century cars and shows them, and is basically a handy and METICULOUS guy! I am going a bit out on a limb by having him make my countertop- I think though, that if he did not feel confident he could do a good job, he would tell me. He has a hand router, so he told me that the edge style I want would be limited- that's okay with me. As long as he has the tools to achieve the right finish! Right??

Choosing the right flooring type isn't enough for your living condition. You will have to consider the types of cut: flat sawn, rift and quarter sawn, quarter sawn or live sawn. Quarter sawn and rift & quarter sawn will be best choices, because expansion and contraction is along the thickness of the wood. You will need climate control all year round. 70 degrees at 40 % relative humidity is where you want to be throughout the year. The use of a humidifier/dehumidifier will be needed year round. Although, engineered flooring is more stable than solid. Using the wrong wood specie in your living condition can run the risk of de-laminating with engineered wood. If, the top veneer is more or less stable than it's core and backing. You will experience de-laminating in extreme humidity swings. Take in account of what the engineered flooring is constructed of: mdf or plywood. The width of the flooring will account for how much expansion and contracting also. 2 1/4" strips are the most stable. As you go wider, expect to see more wider seasonal gaps. Proper acclimating is critical, should be performed with a moisture meter. For 2 1/4" strip flooring , sub-floor and flooring moisture should be within 4%. For all other widths 2% moisture differentiation is allowed or should not be exceeded. Don't forget proper expansion gaps, which is the thickness of your flooring, example: 3/4" thick = 3/4" gap. Sub-floor type and condition will affect the performance of wood floors. All this needs to be considered for the proper and successful performance of your wood floors.

Another thing to consider when looking at the engineered floors is plank length. I just realized why I didn't like some of the photos I saw ... they had too many short pieces which gives the floor a choppy look and to me, it looks too much like a tile effect. The Uptown Floors suggested above sound great, and I will look at them more closely, but they still have "shorter" board (12" to 8 ft). I am looking at another company with board lengths from 3 ft to 12 ft. Those longer boards make a big difference in the overall look in a larger open floor plan. The longer boards do cost more, so I need to do some more comparisons and value of spending more for a more pleasing look. Their other specs are mostly similar. I think floors are going to be my hardest decision!