Hi,

Any recommendations on my situation will be really helpful.

We have an area which was carpeted on our first floor (Concrete foundation).
The rest of the floor is engineered wood and kitchen is on tile. (We are 2nd owners and moved in 3 years back)

The upstairs is carpeted and we would like to replace it with wood as well.

My understanding is on concrete I can only go with Engineered wood - glued.
In general our first floor gets cold, so what do you recommend?
For the 2nd floor, can I go with Pre-finished Engineered-wood - nailed down?
I am hesitant to go with hardwood at this point, since doors may have to be trimmed and it can get messy with staining/finish.(need to move furniture around) have a kid with respiratory issues as well.
Called 2 installers and the price difference for installation is huge -
Installer 1 - $3.50 / sq ft (Installing) (I would need to provide material)
Installer 2 - $3.50 / sq ft (Installing) (I would need to provide material)
Installer 3 - $15/sq ft just for material

Thoughts/recommendations?

Thanks!

The most practical floor installation will be a pre-finished floor. It can be glued and nailed or just glued to a sub-floor. Important things that go with it like nosing and reducer strips are made in the same color. The flooring will come stained or natural. Most pre-finished flooring has a small micro-bevel around the edges to reduce the chance of a splinter at the edges of the boards and is smooth so it is easy to clean. Most is engineered so expansion and contraction during changes of humidity is reduced.
All the finishing process is completed at the factory. You only need to find a mechanic that knows what to do and is careful with installation. You will find the right color so the floor will never need to be sanded to bare wood except to change color. When the finish starts to begin to get worn you can have another coat of finish applied to protect your investment and keep the floor in top shape.
Do some research so you are ready for the installation estimate. It can come in three eighths inch thickness to 3/4 inch. Trim around the edges will make your job look well.

Hi Pete, Good points! thanks for the response. Have you heard of a NWFA certified installers? I asked about this certification to a friend who trains building contractors to inspect buildings and he was not aware.
The NWFA guy's quotes was like 10 times the cost of flooring companies.

Well, the apprenticeship for hardwood floor layers is five years. Interested mechanics can still learn for years. A lot of work that needs to be done is not apparent upon the first look, but an experienced mechanic will most likely do more work that is important for the life of the floor. Even simple things, like getting the floor flat before installing the flooring takes experience to get done right and be worthy of the money invested.
Compare and question any contractor who will be working on your house. You might not know what questions to ask each subsequent estimator until you have seen them all and compared their contracts which ought to be detailed. You want to know what makes the price so different. It is great to have a talk with their clients after the job has been done at their house to be able to get confidence the work will be done well.

Thanks for the tips. All the installers have been consistent about glue-down downstairs and hardwood nailed for the 2nd floor. Does the time/season matter when it comes down to installing. We would like to install now but I read that installing in Spring is the best?

Engineered can go in anytime without much worry about expansion/ contraction issues. Get the color and species you like and when you start to have wear, you can have another coat of finish applied without sanding. There are several methods.

Thank you all for the responses.

We are going with Engineered Hickory for the first floor family room (425 sq ft)
and upstairs we are deciding between Bruce Oak - Butterscotch (3/4 inch, 3 1/4 wide) or Hickory Prefinished ( 3/4 inch , 6 inch wide).

Any cons about Hickory? I am reading good reviews and also to be careful about cupping and crowning. My installer plans to acclimiate the wood for 5 days regardless of Oak or Hickory. Thoughts on this?
We are in the NC Piedmont region, hopefully the weather should be ok with Hickory right?