Hand scraped distressed hardwood floors are the most popular style of wood floors used today. They offer maximum beauty and ROI (return on investment).
Hand scraped and distressed hardwood flooring is when the surface, or finish layer, has been textuered and customized by various techniques. These techniques can vary and consist of "scraping" with hand tools such as a planer, hammer and chisel. The most desirable is the TRUE HAND SCRAPE technique. This techniqe allows for the hardwood floor to look custom and not machined or too worn. This technique creates a "rolled" and "pillowed" appeal which is the most desirable. Most designers and remodelers prefer hand scraped hardwood floors because it can accomodate all types of lifestyles. Hand scraped distressed wood flooring is great for active households due to the wear and tear that can be tolerated. HAND-SCRAPED & DISTRESSED wood floors are practical and allow for active households to have beauty, style and function.
Engineered Hardwood Floors
Engineered hardwood floors are generally 2,3, 5, or 7 thin sheets of wood (called veneers) that are laminated together to form a single plank.  These floors range from 1/4" to 9/16" in thickness, and from 2 1/4" to 7" in width with random lengths. The top layer (called the finish layer) is cut from a variety of domestic hardwoods, as well as many exotic wood species. The type of cut, of the finish layer, plays a role in overall wood floor appearance.
In the construction of engineered wood floors the wood plies are stacked on top of each other, but generally in opposite directions. This creates a floor that is dimensionally stable and far less effected by moisture than 3/4" solid wood floors. Engineered wood floors are the best choice for going over concrete slabs. You should be still sure excessive moisture and humidity are not present. (Note: concrete slabs must still be dry, clean and well-cured.) This makes these floors ideal for many homes southern or western United States.
 Wood always wants to expand in a certain direction. In the presence of moisture solid wood planks will always expand across the width of the planks, rather than down the length of the boards. To avoid this problem, manufacturers of engineered planks place each ply in the opposite direction of each other. This is called cross-ply construction. Once the wood plies are glued together (under heat and pressure) each ply will counteract the other plies natural expansion and contraction with changes in humidity. If humidity is a concern, then you should strongly consider an engineered wood floor or floating floor rather than choosing a solid wood floor.
Another advantage of engineered wood floors is the top ply can be a wide variety of wood species without driving the manufacturing costs out of sight. Thus, engineered floors are offered in a variety of American hardwoods, as well as many exotic hardwood species. If you a looking for some of the more unusual, or exotic wood species than you should definitely take a look at manufacturers offering engineered hardwood floors and also look at hand scraped & distressed wood floors.
Most engineered floors can be nailed-down, stapled-down, glued-down, or floated over a wide variety of subfloors.  | 
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