I wish you hadn't mentioned who wanted what. : ) I like the real deal.

I too like "real" hardwood floors, but I think some of the flooring people on Houzz have recommended engineered wood floors for the wider planks because they are less prone to warping. I suspect one of the professionals will weigh in on this, but if not, do a search in the discussions section on hard wood vs engineered wood floors and you should find some informed discussions of the question.

Not a professional, just a homeowner..... we actually have 5" laminated hardwood over real hardwood....its awesome with dogs and super easy to care for! Who would have guessed!

Would be wise to have a flooring person come in and assess your area to see what your options are and then weigh the diffrences. If you are on a concrete slab, then standard hardwoods would not work well. If you have a subfloor then maybe. Engineered flooring is "real wood" as well, just reformatted to work better in varied conditions.

mcw, thanks for asking this very good question. There are so many variables. Typically a 5" floor does not need to be engineered UNLESS it is going to be "below grade (in the basement)". If you go above 5" above grade and not in the basement you can consider either a Quarter Sawn floor or go with engineered for added piece of mind. We have several clients with 10" wide Oak floors that didnt go with engineered or Quarter Sawn and they are very happy. If you have any other questions you can reach me directly at joel@eutree.com We make each floor one at a time for each client.