True hardwood flooring planks will each be a one piece solid, real plank of wood.
Available with or without a surface finish. Available with tongue and groove edges or not. Can be American wood or imported exotic varieties.
Often, this floor is laid, sanded and finished/sealed on site. Probably best to do before you move in. It can be refinished (if needed) a number of times.
Engineered wood planks have a real, hardwood veneer on top, bonded to a sub-strata of another material. The sub-strata material and the way the boards connect varies from brand to brand. These floors are pre-finished and
can be matte, satin or glossy. Sometimes this type of floor can be refinished (if needed) one time. Can be made in US, Canada, China, etc.
Wood floors in potentially wet areas (kitchen, laundry room, bath) are a gamble. I have had them times before with both great luck and not so great luck. As much as I like the continuous look, I would not do it in our present home. Maybe if I had a cabin in the mountains...!
Your best bet is to do some homework by visiting different stores and deciding first what appeals to you. There must be 20 floor stores here in within a 30 mile radius.
Not all stores carry all brands and there are so many new varieties and price points that it would be impossible to predict what you might like, or wish to spend.
I found it helpful to do some research online. I started with the name brands we are most familiar with. (The ones who make carpeting)
It's okay to take your time choosing .... we had engineered hardwood installed months after we moved in and it wasn't very disruptive at all.
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