Solid Hardwood, Engineered and Laminate Flooring - Finished or Infinished Oak

I am in the process of buying hardwood flooring. We are on a tight budge and can get unfinished Red Oak flooring for about 80 cents to one dollar a square foot. This is instead of getting finished maple for about $2.70 a square foot. I am very good at doing things right but is it worth the extra elbow grease? Also, is red oak good stainable wood to get the color that we want. We have dogs so I will definitely have to put down at least 3 coats of polyurethane. Any help will be appreciated.

Drew

The choice between pre finished and unfinished will go on forever. Opions vary widely on the subject but i can tell you that you will have ALOT less mess with a pre finished and you will be able to use the floors right away. Also with pre finished you can achieve the color you like with out the application of stains which take longer to dry before you can coat with the poly. Choosing a floor should not be taken litely way all the options and choose the floor that best fits the application you are using it for.
Be wary though that with pre finished often times you get what you pay for...

Philly

I like unfinished because you can sand them to make the floor PERFECTLY flat and smooth. If the subfloor has any irrugularities then your prefinished floor edges will be slightly up and down

Good point Mike. However chances are good it won't stay perefctly flat and smooth unless the home is tightly climate controlled. I'd also be very leary of the prices mentioned here as they are usually indicative of sub standard milling, but do offer a very good rustic look