why don't you try laminate?

looks good, easy to install, and cheap, cheap cheap.

Indestructable too.

 

I just did mine. I went with the Bruce Hardwood engineered flooring. 3/8" thick x 2-1/4" wide. This is basically plywood with a 1/8" hardwood veneer on one side.

I went with glue down due to my concrete foundation (I could have nailed down a sub floor, but I did not want to do that). Only caution here is to ensure no moisture is seeping through the floor. I doubt you'd have this problem on the second floor.


^ This 10' x 13' area was covered with carpet. After losing the carpet, I installed ceramic tile along the 6-inch edge. Waited a week to let the mortar and grout to dry. Scraped the floor with a wallpaper scraper. (Buy lots of extra blades.)

^ I started by installing stair-edge molding along the edge. (this molding is incredably expensive. $38 per 6.5' piece.) Then started glueing. If you go the glue route, be warned that this stuff is horrible to work with. It sticks to EVERYTHING and never really hardens.

^ The mostly finished product with new base boards stained to match the floor. I need to refinish the corners where I rounded them from the miter cuts.

This job took me about six weeks from start to finish, working on the weekends. I could have done it faster. The only thing that removes the glue from the floor and tools (you