jiffer21225, that $7 mark puts you in range for some good quality American made flooring. Especially if you are looking for Solid Plank. That would be a good first thing to look for. Keep in mind American owned companies often still make their products overseas.

I know low gloss is all the rage....but people have issues with oily paw prints showing up with matte polyurethane finishes. The Hardwax oil finishes have had issues with DOG DROOL turning gray/brown/staining. Personally I LOVE a light/natural coloured floor (like hickory or character grade white oak) that has lots of movement (no stain) in a satin or semi-gloss finish. A factory finish SOLID hardwood is a great option as the factory finishes are often made using aluminum Oxide or ceramic infused nanobeads = SUPER TOUGH finish (hard to scratch). The LIGHT/natural gold tones are VERY forgiving. The MODERATE gloss levels like satin and semi-gloss are VERY forgiving. The FACTORY FINISHES with either Aluminum Oxide or Ceramic infused polyurethane are VERY tough. So....simply ADD all those qualities together and you get this type of purchase: Solid prefinished (aka factory finished) natural hardwood (no stain) in a satin or semi-gloss (personal choice). That's what you are looking for. Have fun.

Ok...first things first. Janka hardness ratings only apply to solid hardwood. Engineered planks do not work with Janka because the plied layers underneath are often 'soft woods'. Considering Janka measures how much force it takes to imbed a metal ball into the wood, it isn't possible to offer Janka scores for engineered. They just don't compute. The next thing I'm going to point out is the oddity of trying to match the ENTIRE HOUSE to a single room of existing hardwood. You have a small amount of hardwood that is dictating the rest of the house. It's not impossible but it is HIGHLY unusual. In other words, you are trying to put down more than a thousand square feet of flooring by trying to match 150 - 250sf of dining room (I don't know the size of your dining room so I'm only guessing here). That's a little like putting the cart before the horse. Usually we see this the other way around. Usually we have a house full of hardwood (big amount) but the bedrooms have carpet (small amount). The homeowners then agonize over getting a match for the smaller area. That is normal. As for your price range that you are looking at, they are too low and a little thin. The gold standard is 3/4" thickness (solid or engineered). An engineered product with 3mm or more of wear layer is the base level. The thicker the wear layer the more times a floor can be refinished. The Gold standard is 6mm wear layer (usually in the $10/sf range). If you are having a hard time finding floors that you like, you might want to think about replacing the dining room at the same time. This takes away all the pressure to work with low-grade hardwoods just to get a match to a small amount of hardwood. Solid or engineered should be more than what you are looking at for price. Prefinished wood flooring should be in the $7/sf just to start and they go up from there.

@uniquewoodfloors Thank you for the prompt and thorough reply! I was just about to reach out to a local flooring expert in Atlanta to help, and now I plan to ask about the floor in your second photo. The "Vintage Noir" is exactly what I am looking for in terms of aesthetics. I clicked on the link, but I didn't see whole lot of information regarding that floor, so I plan to do some research. It seems very similar to the Shaw Expressions floor I have been considering (see link below). Thank you for all this information. Incredibly useful! https://shawfloors.com/flooring/hardwood/details/expressions-sw707/coda