If you are looking to add some value to your home, I would definitely recommend going with a hardwood. If you are looking to save a little money, you could look for an engineered hardwood (many are less expensive than solid), just make sure that it has a thick wear layer. Engineered hardwood can be re-finished just like solid hardwood, as long as that layer is thick enough. In solid hardwood, you are able to sand and refinish just before going to the tongue and groove. If you find an engineered product that has a wear layer that is almost that thick, you will get just as much use out of it. Species including White Oak, Red Oak, Hickory or a stained Maple will hold up very well, as they are harder woods.

Laminate can be a tough sell for many people when shopping for homes. If there is any damage to it, you have to replace it, you can't refinish it.

Many people turn to bamboo as a "green" flooring option because it can be grown and harvested so quickly. The reviews you are reading most likely refer to chemicals used in the lamination process of making the bamboo flooring. If you are seriously considering going with a bamboo product, make sure to research the manufacturer to be sure that it meets your standards. Our company and many others will not re-finish bamboo, because it is a grass and not a wood.

Do you think that we could install the engineered ourselves?

What is your experience level? Do yoU own a bunch of tools and know how to use them? Do you understand how to level the floor? Unless you are an experienced DIY geek, you are better off leaving it to the pros.

If you are looking to DIY this project, stay away from hardwood (solid or engineered), bamboo, ceramic/porcelain tile. Even a floating engineered hardwood is tricky/persnickety and requires knowledge and precision. Laminate floating floor, cork floating floor, vinyl floating floor can all be done by DIY. Bamboo is TRICKY even for the most seasoned pro. And when it goes wrong...it goes HORRIBLY wrong in a heart beat. If you install yourself you will be told "installation error" = money down the drain.

Read everything you can get your hands on when it comes to subfloor preparation. I suggest you find a library that carries a copy of the NWFA Flooring Manual (the Canadian version = 1000+ pages and weighs 8 lbs) and read everything there is on "appropriate subfloor preparation". Most laminates and ALL vinyl products need FLAT subfloor. Flat, Flat, Flat. And if you aren't sure, go with FLAT. A cork floating floor is allowed "slightly less than flat" but that's as good as it gets. If you have installed a laminate floor before, then you can do so again. If you have not laid a floor then bamboo is not the one to cut your teeth on.

The installation costs you pay are also "insurance" against problems with the install. If the floor fails due to installation error you can turn to that pro and say, "Do it again - at your cost". If YOU are the installer then you get to say to yourself, "Do it again - at your cost."

If you plan to stay for 10 years, then you will need to update the floor before you sell anyway. If you install hardwood, it will require a 'buff and coat' before you show the house (roughly half the cost of a full sand and refinish = 1/2 of $5/sf). If you install laminate it will need repairs/full replacement before you show the house. If you have bamboo, it may or may not make it to 10 years depending on your climate control, brand you purchased and how well it was installed. Cork can be refreshed before you put the home up for sale. Vinyl can be repaired or replaced before you put the home up for sale.

DIY and flooring can work out well...or it can cost 3 times what you thought it would (2 purchases and 1 cost of install...'cause you need a flooring expert to come in, rip out what you did wrong and then do it all over again with newly purchased product).