Raised foundation, new plywood subfloor, entire house (including kitchen), variable widths (3 - 5 inch), cost is not a factor.

Like the look of hickory but I've been reading its unstable. Really want solid, but colors are limited in prefinished. Will 3mil engineered hold up with kids dog and in the kitchen? Or, should I go with unfinished solid and stain and finish on- site?

It's not that hickory is unstable, just less stable than other woods. The key is controlling the interior ambient rh.

Thanks. I dont think I have a real RH problem living near Los Angeles so solid shouldnt be a problem then correct?

Yup, I'll even run over there and install it for ya.

Dont assume anything based on geographical averages. Every house is different, the only way to know is to test and monitor. Go buy a hydrometer to monitor r/h before and after the install. make sure the guy you hire knows which end of the meter to poke the wood with and knows how to interpret the readings. Id still look at a 5/8 eng with a 4 mil top, with wide hickory over a crawl space id highly recommend a floor from Owens/Real WooD Floors / Maxwell / Shamrock / Graf to name a few.

Thanks for recommendations Kevin,
I'm finding availability of solid Hickory a challenge and leaning more toward an engineered product. A 4-5 mil wear layer is essential to me and also the finish durability.

Of the brands you recommend (or others), which has the thickest wear layer and most durable finish? I looked at Shaw floors and was impressed with the "scuffresist platinum" finish they use. They have a video on their website with a guy rubbing a piece of scotchbrite on a floor with no effect. Do any other floors use this type of finish? Is it different or is it just a super thick aluminum oxide?

Thanks again.

All of the aforementioned have a 4 to 5 mm wear layer. They are sold mostly unfinished. I prefer a site finished square edge look personally. If you go prefinished Shamrock and owens offer a finished product. Aluminum oxide is not a type of finish, its an additive that is put in the polyurethane for added scratch resistance. The more you add the more cloudy and opaque the finish tends to get. I dont like the way factory finishes look as they wear down because those Super hard mega finshes tend to fracture as they scratch so when you do scratch the floor (and you will) it shows up white and stands out like a sore thumb. Your in a practically o voc country so I would look into rubio monocoat as a finish option. Properly maintained the system is great. If you scratch the floor with monocoat all you have to do is buff it out reapply a little oil and bam like new again. Try that with a prefinished floor.

A 4-5 mil wear layer over thin underlying plys is just like a solid but glued to plywood. Just as unstable as a solid hickory unless the plys are of balanced construction.

"near Los Angeles" is a vague area. You have from desert to ocean front, to over 7000 ft mountain elevations out there. Like Kevin mentioned...depends on the homes conditions.

I agree with Kevin and that floorologist guy. But you could be in an area with varying degrees of rh like I have. The good news is Shaw is spec'ing the American National Standard for Hardwood and Decorative Plywood, ANSI/HPVA HP-1-2009 for their manufacturing process of engineered hardwood flooring as is Owens. Not so sure about the rest of them mentioned. And I hear more are jumping on that wagon as the standard has become more accepted and the public hears about it.

Anyone else not manufacturing and putting that in their written warranty should be rejected.

Thanks guys,
I live in Torrance (about 5 miles from the ocean). My house has central air conditioning for the very hot days in summer (approx 10). I've learned so much about floors in the last week, my wife and I seem to flip flop daily on brands, type, etc. My contractor that's remodeling the kitchen said he'll finish on site if that’s what I want.

Since I started this thread, I think we're leaning away from hickory all together mostly because of the look. She doesnt want natural because it looks too "country" and all the stained examples we look at are either too dark or "monotone". We really like a variance look - not within the actual wood but plank variance if that makes sense.

At the moment we've found a company Ark, that makes a micro-bevel solid and we're leaning toward teak, tiger wood or acacia. If really like the teak but I hear its tricky to finish on-site so I'll probably end up with pre-finish and why I like the mico-bevel. I absolutely love this look.

http://www.br111.com/hardwoodfloors/pc/images/brazilian_teak_2.jpg
http://www.coloradocarpet.net/Hardwood%20Flooring%20Picture.jpg