[wdfifteen]

I read some old threads on this but they didn't exactly answer my questions. I am planning on replacing the carpet in my great room with hardwood. I've talked to 4 contractors, two of whom say pre-finished engineered wood is the way to go, and two of whom swear by solid hardwood sanded and finished in place. The floor is going over 3/4 plywood subfloor over a basement. It's fairly dry, but the humidity does get up over 60% in the summer and drops to 20 in the winter. To hear them talk, the solid wood is nice, but it sounds pretty dicey when it comes to moisture. The width of the room is 35 feet, so the wood wouldn't have to expand and contract much with humidity percentage wise to make a bid difference in overall dimensions. The engineered stuff sounds foolproof, and looks pretty much just like a solid wood floor. "We've never had a problem" sounds pretty lame compared to "you'll never have a problem." Why would anyone consider solid wood? What advantages does it have over engineered wood that I'm not seeing?