Wood – “Laminate hardwood” vs. “Engeneered hardwood” flooring

As far as books, I highly recommend The Complete Book of Woodworking: http://www.amazon.com/The-Complete-Book-Woodworking-Detailed/dp/1890621366/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1335885982&sr=8-1. It's easy to follow even for the uninitiated. It goes over the major tools, what they are used for, and has excellent instructions on some starter and intermediate projects. There are even some workbench projects toward the end, one of which is made only from plywood and 2x4 lumber. I made it with a jigsaw and really uneven cuts, and it's held together well for about a year (it's usable for everything except hand planing). I'm also a software engineer by trade and learn well from books, so I spent a good few months obsessing over this book in my apartment before buying a house and really getting started.

For video instruction, The Wood Whisperer is one of my favorites; he gets into what tools are used for, how to set them up and tune them, and has some videos dedicated to safety. He's also very technical and comes from a science background, so the engineer in me relates well with him. He doesn't leave out many details. Fine Woodworking is also very good and for $5 a month you can get access to a ton of video content.

http://www.thewoodwhisperer.com

http://www.finewoodworking.com

SawmillCreek and WoodworkingTalk are nice forums to search through for tips and discussions about what tools are best used for what projects.

http://www.sawmillcreek.org

http://www.woodworkingtalk.com

Most of these will discuss fine woodworking, furniture making, and detailed joinery, which you may or may not be interested in. All of them, however, will give you information you want about tool usage. It may be more detail than what you're interested in for the projects you describe, but if anything you'll be over-prepared.

@iLikeDirt covered a lot of important information, but I'd like to add something since the majority of the information assumes that there is a problem of excess moisture due to the concrete, while the expert assessment says it is actually dry cupping that is the problem.

Dry cupping implies that the interior humidity is dropping below the average frequently enough that the wood surface dries out. It sounds like they are suggesting that the vapor barrier between the slab and floor is probably doing its job correctly.

One way to help prevent this is to bring the wood into house and allow it to be exposed to the air within the home so the moisture content is similar to that within the home (acclimation). I like to assume this is standard practice and this was already done, but if you're using a special reclaimed antique pine wood, then maybe a longer period would have been desirable. Major seasonal humidity variation can still have an impact.

Do you know if there is a period during the year where it seems more prominent, or has it not been long enough? If I had to guess, it could be during the summer when the AC/dehumidifier is running more frequently. I'm not as familiar with the climate there, but in parts with cold winters you are more likely to encounter dry air issues during the cold months.

One thing that could be happening is that the glue on the underside of the wood is acting as a seal on just that side, inhibiting the wood from 'breathing' underneath. The only surface area for moisture to leave the wood is on top. A solution that allows the wood to better breath on the bottom, or simply avoids using glue or too much glue, might help. But then you need make sure the vapor barrier is doing its job or you will end up back where you started with too much moisture underneath, the expert seems to imply you no longer have that issue though.

You can still end up with this problem with engineered floors. It could still be a problem with an unknown source of moisture throwing things out of balance as well. I'd see what the neighbors are doing as a solution for your area and if they have similar problems before I spend more money.