My contractor put down a reusable compressed paper product that comes in rolls. I think it's called "Rhino Board"? He said it's billed that you're supposed to be able to drive a forklift over it and not hurt the floor. I had no problems with workmen walking and moving heavy appliances with sharp metal feet and cabinets and other pieces of heavy furniture, parking them on it and moving them a few days later. I would point out that you have to make sure you put it (and tape it with the right tape) down over a perfectly clean floor. Putting it down over a couple of pebbles picked up in the treads of a boot could roll them around for weeks under the paper and -- bad surprise. But if you happened to have a bunch of old carpet you were ripping out somewhere, that would work too, pile side down. I wouldn't pay for it though, personally, or send extra carpet to the landfill.

I hate to be the voice of doom, and maybe this is an issue in new construction rather than a remodel, but you must make sure that your contractors, installers, etc., don't get lazy or careless because of the cardboard or masonite layer of protection. A dropped tool will still do serious damage. Also--and I can't stress this enough--if you will have something protecting the floor you must make absolutely sure that grit and small stones, etc., do not get caught under the protective layer and get ground into the floor. Someone should be checking the floor and sweeping it periodically to make sure it's okay. This is important after the floor is installed and even more important once they start sanding and finishing. Good luck!

Here's a tip on how to determine if you have a leak ... this wont tell you where it is, but will tell you if one exists. Your "experienced" plumber should of done this if they were not able to find an obvious leak in the kitchen. Make sure there is no water running in the house. This means turning off all water inside and outside the house including showers, sinks, washing machines and any appliance that uses water. If you have a sprinkler irrigation system, manually shut it off. Find your water meter. If it's above ground it's usually on the side of the house. If it's underground, it's usually in the front, near the curb, under a metal plate. The meter has a dial with some numbers and usually a small triangle. If either the triangle is spinning or the hand on the dial is moving you are currently using water and thus have a leak. If neither is happening, take a close look at the current position of the hand. Wait 15 minutes and look at the dial again. If the hand moved, you have a small leak. If you do have a leak, I would suggest you first check the toilet before fretting about the kitchen. It's very common for there to be a leak in the toilet flapper that does no damage (just wastes water). Flush the toilet as normal and while the tank is refilling with water and 3 drops of food coloring. Check the toilet bowl in half an hour. If you see color in the bowl, you have a leak that will probably be fixed simply by replacing the flapper. Fix any toilet leaks and then repeat the meter test to see if there may be leaks anywhere else.

I'm not a fan of rugs in a kitchen because of the risk of tripping (I'm a person that trips over my own two feet). We do have one in front of the patio doors in the eat in area. However, over the years the wood underneath is a bit darker than the rest of the area that wasn't covered. Our kitchen/eat in area faces west, and even though we have protective lining on our windows and doors, we still get a lot of sun. So just a warning that over time the floor that the rug covers may be a different color than the rest of the room.