I also agree with dsledge. I have aerated most every year that I have seeded. The couple of years that I did not, were miserable failures due to heavy rains that completely washed the seed away with a couple of days. I had to completely reseed in those years - a huge PITA not to mention $$$. I just put my seed down yesterday, and due to both time constraints and a tight budget this year, decided to forgo the aeration as we are not due for any rain this week, at all. I plan to water appropriately with my sprinklers, to get the seed set properly. I may even walk the yard in the bare spots (I have several - our summer was just brutal). If you have the time and money to aerate, I highly recommend it. It has always worked best for me. I am keeping my fingers crossed this year.

The vines are not massive and unruly since they are in heavy shade for 45 years or longer. How can the vines not be massive and unruly if they are over 45 years old? I am severely allergic to Carolina jasmine, even though I love the flowers and their fragrance. Not only am I allergic to the flowers, but I am also allergic to the mold that grows on the dead parts of the vines - I cannot go anywhere near those vines without a horrible attack of hay fever. You could easily be wrong about who the inconsiderate party is. If you had a tangerine tree overhanging into my yard, that would be a different story. I used to get tangerines from my neighbors in Venice, and they would get figs from my tree that shaded part of their patio. It's a good thing they liked figs, however, as they can be very messy. I think you are best growing vines on a trellis that is placed in front of your wall, so that the vines do not grow over it. I consider Carolina jasmine a pest, no matter how much I want to love it.

It's impossible to tell what walls are structural support from a photo of an interior room. Until you actually go into the attic and look, this is just speculation. There are no two homes alike, this house looks like (if I had to guess) built in the 70's or early 80's. When it comes to structural support, if the wall is a structural support doesn't necessarily mean you can't do what you intend to do... just means there is more work needed to do it.... off load the roof support to a new support, before old support is removed. (if you do it wrong, roof collapse is the risk.) What is required to do this will vary, depending largely on how roof supports are placed in the attic currently. If the roof collapses thru the ceiling because support was removed is primarily the worse violation of structural changes to a structure. In some cases you may need support columns placed, which tends to do less as imagined to having a 'open' room.

You could do any of several things but the point is that this is a new install and you shouldn't have to. The gap is too big; whoever installed it knows that & the proprietor of business knows that. OTOH, if the supplier offers a 50% discount, I could work around & live with it. Probably.