Engineered hardwood floors and traditional Solid hardwood floors have the same look and feel and are indistinguishable to the human eye because they are the exact same thing, both are real hardwood floor surfaces. The difference lies below the surface. Engineered hardwood floors are composed of multiple layers with only the top surface being 100% natural wood. Because of these multiple layers that are usually composed of a plywood core, engineered floors are more stable, meaning they are less prone to twisting, warping and seasonal gapping from moisture, humidity levels, and heat. Something else to keep in mind is that because only the top thin surface is real hardwood, the amount of times you can sand and re-finish your floor is less than traditional solid floors. However, sanding and refinishing a hardwood floor may only happen once or twice in your lifetime, every 20 years or so. Most engineered floors will offer 1-3 refinishes. Sometimes just a buff and re-coat, which is a process of thoroughly cleaning the surface then applying a new coat polyurethane finish, is enough to refresh a floor with some scuffs and scratches. Engineered hardwood flooring is available as both a pre-finished product and unfinished.