This is going to be long, so I apologize in advance.
My home is 40 years old. I knew from the last time we had carpeting installed that the floors in my living room, dining room and hallway were red oak, approximately 400 square feet. The carpet has seen better days, and my wife and I liked the idea of having hardwood floors. The original plan was to have the existing floors refinished. However, after pulling up the carpeting, the floors have many stains and watermarks from spills, pets, and especially from kids who were told to water the plants, but were in a hurry to go out and play. I assume the builder put some kind of finish on the floor, but it seems like it was minimal at best. I talked to some refinishers, who said that the floors could probably be refinished, but we would probably have to go with a darker stain to hide the stains. My wife was hoping for a light wood. Another big, big problem was logistics - where do we put all the living room and dining room furniture while the work is being done, and where do we go to live with 3 kids and 4 dogs?
While researching, I came upon the wonderful world of prefinished hardwood floors. The answer to my problem! I could get any color I want, get a harder wood than oak, and a harder, factory-installed finish than could be done onsite. I could move the furniture around as need be while installing it, and we would all live happily ever after.
My first choice was 3/4 inch hardwood. When I went to a store to start checking out my options the first thing I was told was that it couldn't be installed over my existing oak floor in the same direction as the existing planks. Due to the layout, it wouldn't look right going any other direction, so it seems like if I want to go this route I'll have to rip out the existing floor. How tough of a job is this? Can I just grab my crowbar and go at it? Also, someone suggested that doing this will leave raised areas (bumps) where the nails went into the subfloor, which I believe is 3/4 plywood. Will this cause a problem? Is there something I can do about it?
I then heard about floating, engineered floors. I could float this over my existing floor. Back to the store to check it out. I saw an engineered click together that I could probably put in over a weekend. Seems like it would be perfect, but I have some concerns. The salesman clicked 3 sections together to show how easy it was. For the life of me, it reminded me of Pergo. It was 3 planks wide, but you end up with a 3 plank wide end seam every 3 feet or so. Also, I worry about a hardwood floor where the hardwood is measured in millimeters. Is it going to be durable? Won't that thin layer chip? Bottom line, will it look, feel and act like a hardwood floor?
So I can't decide. I keep going from excitement, to frustration, to despair. I really don't want to just throw another carpet on there. Because of the dogs, I would probably go with a non-high gloss finish in a lighter wood tone. Something with a visible wood grain, so that I don't have a real even tone, to make the inevitable scuffs and scratches less noticeable.
Any advice?

OPTIONS:
1) Rip out the carpet and have the floors refinished in dark color to disquise water stains. Moderate cost but big inconvenience.
2) Rip out carpet and existing wood floors and have a quality, prefinished wood floor installed. Moderate inconvenience but more cost.
3) Rip out carpet and float a hardwood floor over that. Less inconvenience but not a "traditional" wood floor look or feel.
4) Do nothing till the wife nags you to death!

My preference is #2 IF you are planning on living there awhile. If selling soon, just carpet it again and let it be the buyer's problem.

I agree with you on the cheaper engineered flooring...However, the more expensive engineered wood often comes in strips/planks. They have a thick wood veneer that can be sanded down in the future. I think you should look around and brands like http://www.miragefloors.com/floors/application-technologies/lock.html . You should be able to find a nice quality product to float for your home.



Good Luck!!