Hi,

I just found this board and need to get some advice. We are prepping our house for the market and I am at my wit's end about repairing the engineered hardwood in a couple areas. I hired a guy who said it wouldn't be that difficult to replace the flooring in 2 small areas in the kitchen. The previous owners didn't leave any extra floor planks. This is builder installed engineered wood. I matched the current flooring finish, which was Butterscotch Oak. The guy pulled up the damaged floors and then realized that it was a 5/16 thickness . This thichness has been largely discontinued and is hard to find online or at any local shops. I have 1 box (Columbia flooring) coming that may match (it is coming in the mail). But, my dad asked me about the possibility of getting a woodworking expert to plane the 3/8 plank down to 5/16. I am talking about 1/6 of an inch that needs to be removed to fit flush with the other planks. I hate to replace 1100 sq ft (it all runs together downstairs) for these areas in the kitchen. We don't really have the money to spend 8k on that with all of the other home upgrades. Is this a lost cause? Any feedback would be appreciated!!!! I can submit a photo if needed.

An abrasive planer, which would be a sander that would take off an even layer would be better than a thickness planer. You should get more even thickness since it might be close to a layer of the backing that would need to be removed and planer blades on most machines may grab the layer and take too much off.
Taking the sixteenth off in two passes would be the safest in getting the right thickness.
You may need to use a table saw with a thin blade to rip the groove to match the existing flooring, or take off the tongue so it will fit.