Another vote for solid hardwood, site-finished in water-based polyurethane. I grew up in a house with solid oak, and we have it in two properties now. It's very durable, and can be sanded and refinished. Plus it's environmentally sound.

The average sanding removes about .75 to 1.0mm of the surface. A 4mm wear engineered wood will allow about 3 refinishings. But honestly. most people don't choose to refinish. (I certainly wouldn't!)/

I too was considering engineered wood floors, but have since decided against it (did go back and forth about it for a while). I dont want to put down tile either (concrete subfloor). The reason being is we've had a few water-related incidences and that concerns me when considering engineered hardwood floors. I am now leaning towards 100% Waterproof laminate' flooring (not vinyl as I've heard laminate is better). It's very pretty and looks like real wood. It's waterproof and is supposed to be scratch-resistant too (to a point I'm sure). I'm looking at Pergo brand. A lady on Pinterest has dogs and she was told its good for having pets. Others have said it holds up very well and has lasted them a long time. I've watched many youtube videos on installation (Home RenoVision is one) and I've learned quite a bit. I hope this helps a bit.

Solid wood would be great, but we’re in Southern California and I was told it isn’t really put in here. I doubt we’d refinish any wood flooring since we probably won’t be here longer than 10 years. It’s possible scratching (or lots of it) I’m most concerned about. But then again, I’ve also read that vinyl can scratch too.

In socal also and we have hardwood, and have seen it used in tons of flips. We have a dog and honestly the chairs and the traffic in the kitchen did way more damage than our dog has. You could also look into a matte finish, it wears a lot better and doesn't show scuff marks...https://www.architecturaldigest.com/story/matte-wood-finish-trend-hardwood-floors

Really. Every type of floor needs some care. Sand on site hardwood, Pre finished hardwood, engineered hardwood, Vinyl Plank with the look of hardwood, , Vinyl Tile, porcelain tile, all of it. Sweep, vacuum, wipe up spills, ( we'll assume you don't plan on flooding the place ) felt bumpers on chair legs. Runner rugs at sink or cook top. Area rugs in great rooms..........

It's a lot of had wringing, over not much. : ) other than cheap quality in any of them will get you cheap looking floors

I find the idea that hard wood CAN be refinished a non factor. In the lifetime of a family in a home--how often does one do this?? ONCE at best??? The hassle is prohibitive is the truth and the "perfect" look lasts not a year. Carpet/vinyl is swapped out a few times. People who choose wood/wood look find the dings/scratches/damage part of the "patina" and embrace it from what I understand. We have a long gravel driveway so was rather concerned about damage but went with a high grade luxury vinyl and are very happy with its forgiving nature.

Get the hardwood you like since it is distressed it probably will not show too much wear over the 10 yrs. Make sure the gogs nails are trimmed and get things like swivel stools to save scratching from dragging them in and out and put a chilewich floor mat under your table to protect that floor.

I think it really depends on the kids and dogs to some degree. I grew up with dogs in so cal and real hardwood floors that they ruined by marking (we kids were not to blame). My current dogs never pee inside, and so they are a non-issue with the solid wood floors in our rental. Knowing that I will always have a mini zoo in our home, I went with engineered hardwood for our new build. When I brought home samples of different options (engineered, LVP, tile), they all passed the animal test. When talked to friends with kids and animals, prefinished engineered hardwood had the best reviews, which surprised me! But more important, I chose the sample that I liked the best aesthetically and that felt the best to me underfoot. Happy hunting!

On our first floor, we went with a lighter color solid hardwood, to hide crumbs and dog hair. The finish is called cashmere, which is a no sheen. It really hides scratches. We have a dog that zoooms thru the house and slides to a stop by a door, at bottom of steps, etc. The trick is to keep the nails trimmed, and the no sheen finish is definitely hiding scratches. We have a older semi-gloss hardwood upstairs and I can see some of his doggy scratches.

I've had engineered hardwood for 20 years...3 kids lots of friends family no rule about shoes or no shoes and 2 dogs [though they are small]. it's fine.

our wood has lots of grain though which hides dirt and any scratches....

As others have posted, the issue of durability for engineered floors versus solid hardwood is moot for all practical purposes.

Engineered floors of medium quality have a wear layer that can be refinished at least once if not two or three times. As posted, almost no one goes through the incredible hassle of refinishing a floor while living there. Typically floors are refinished - if then - when people move in.

I just replaced my wood floor during my gut remodel because refinishing it would have been a logistical nightmare. I have NO intention of ever refinishing my current engineered wood floor which is why the actual finish was important to me since that goes to the durability - engineered floors (or at least the higher quality ones) have extremely durable finishes.

As recommended a light wood finish is far more forgiving than a darker wood both in terms of showing normal wear and tear as well as not showing every speck of dust. I have some inevitable dings in my floor but they are really not noticeable. I grew up with wood floors and we had dogs as well.

A 5/8" Engineered floor with a 4mm wear layer will last you plenty of time. Being able to refinish it several times to look like new is one of the big advantages of a quality Engineered floor. You dont need to have Solid planks to do this. The great thing about a thicker Engineered floors is you can glue it down over concrete and install it below grade or in humid climates.

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Thanks for everyone’s input!