I have been reading the discussions on this forum intermittently for over one year. Thank you, I have learned a great deal.

Question: Is the extra price of engineered,~$3 sf, worth it for the added stability or is solid quartersawn narrow red oak adequate.

I am trying to decide between Owens 3" R & Q red oak eng. unfinished, Sheoga solid 2 1/4 Q sawn red oak unfinished or something that may be more compatible with my house.

I plan to staple the floors. The house RH 20 to 38%. Subfloor OSB 3/4 with 1/2 " plywood screwed down and flat. Crawlspace 3' to 6' high and ~2% different from living space. Heating is force air and cooling is a swamp cooler. One problem is vacation time when the house is closed and may be hot, 95 degrees and dry. Area 700 sf. Larges room 16 x 27. Boards will be running parallel across the 27'.

I have built alot of furniture so I know how much wood can move.

Am I trying to do something that is just not going work?

Even quartersawn can expand and contract. My biggest concern is the swamp cooler. You see, temp is one thing but high swings in relative interior humidity are another. I'd expect movement with a solid unless you get a very stable wood. From my understanding, Mesquite is about as stable a wood as someone can hope for. Plus, it's pretty hard to boot. If you do not want to pay much, there are inexpensive prefinished engineered floors. But if you want to go with an unfinished product, Owen's is first class. Or a stable wood like Mesquite.

http://www.mesquitefloors.com/hardness&stability.html

Gary, thank you for taking the time to answer my question. The suggestion to consider mesquite was very good. I had not thought of this desert wood. My wife liked the pictures on the web site.

Keep in mind that unless you plan on taking your floor on vacation with you, you should provide adequate living conditions for it as well as all other wooden components in your home while you are away. I know that sounds a little sarcastic somehow; but my intent is that you shouldnt just shut down your home when you go away.
Fans should be kept running, cooling systems set to at least exchange the air in the house, etc. We advise our clients to have someone come in periodically to check things out before potential problems can grow out of hand.

Dennis, thank you for your reply. I thought the advise of taking my floor on vacation was pretty funny, not sarcastic.