| Refinishing hardwoods every 5-10 years is probably about right for heavy use. That is the beauty of floors that can be refinished. Scratched sheet vinyl or laminate is just ripped out and thrown away. Solid hardwood is generally cheaper than good quality engineered hardwood. You can buy lower quality material with either. For example, I saw 5" wide solid pre-finished hardwood (Russian white oak- made in China) at Menards the other day. The first thing I notice is the obvious seams on the planks where two 2.5" strips are edge glued together like furniture. I sure hope the glue holds up over time! The price was low at $3.50/sf, but Menards also had pre-finished solid red oak strip on sale for $2.40/s.f and that product is made in the USA with quality standards. Engineered is more dimensionally stable than solid. Rift and quarter sawn solid flooring and/or narrow solid floorboards are more dimensionally stable than flat sawn and/or wide solid planks. Pre-finished is quicker and less mess, but you get bevels or micro-bevels between the strips or planks. Unfinished gives you more stain and topcoat options and a floor with no bevels due to sanding. Both types of finishes can be scratched and will require refinishing the top coat at some point in time. | 
