There is a post for free shed plans. Look how those builders created floors. Water is the problem. Let water vapor move or completely stop it. Concrete stops most of it. The gaps in the shed will allow the dampness to evaporate. Gravel is also a good shed surface - it is not too objectionable to walk on or park a tractor on, and it allows moisture in and out. Or, you can put skids down which are lengths of 4x4, attach plywood to the skids, then lift the shed onto that. The skids will provide air circulation and slow mold growth.

Are you planning to keep the same brick on the fireplace or going over it with stone veneers? I would say that if you are going to be replacing the cabinets at some point, don't even consider the color they are now, consider what they will look like when they are finished. I moved into a home 3 years ago and had a hard time getting my new wood floors to coordinate with the cabinets. I ended up going with BR-111 exotic Brazillian Walnut because it has many different tones in the wood and a lot of character. Worked out perfectly. We are now moving into a new home. Will be replacing the cabinets but have to try to coordinate all the wood trim with our new cabinets & wood flooring. I will again be going with a wood flooring that has different shades and more character as to pull all my other colors together. I love your wood ceiling and would definitely incorporate some of that color into the floor. That's just my opinion and I'm no decorater :) Kelly

If you see wear on your wood floor after two years, it's time to recoat it, not refinish it. You only get so many resandings. As your kids grow they should get a little more responsible and be easier on the floor. You should evaluate why you have so much wear so you can extend time between recoating. Sand is often the culprit. When I look at floors with wear issues I run my hand across the floor to see if it's clean. Do you have dogs that come in the house after laying in dirt? Do you have mats inside and outside each entry door? How often do you vacuum to remove sand? What do you clean the floor with? Installing new hand scraped factory finished floor would be expensive and would only buy you a little extra time. Once it's scuffed and scratched you'll have to recoat it. Then you'll be in the same boat you're in now. You say you got Swedish finish. Is this Swedish finish as in acid curing urethane, or as in waterborne urethane? If you got waterborne urethane (and you've been maintaining your floor correctly) you could have the floor recoated with a more durable finish like oil-modified polyurethane. You could possibly do one room as a test first. Refinishing your existing floor and staining it dark will not lessen the appearance of dings and dents. For people in your situation I usually recommend they soldier through, maintain their existing floor until the kids get to a certain age (like college age) then have the floors done the way YOU want them.

If you want the STRONG GREY colours shown in your photos, you will need to work with factory finished. If you like the liming or cerusing effect (the white in the grain) then you will need to work with the factory finish. I've heard of a small handful of HIGH-END professionals who can achieve these looks on a site-finished floor. If you think that the population of the US+Canada is around 375,000,000 that is a SMALL amount of humans....like 100-150 professionals who can handle a job like that. Imagine the price tag! We will see this level of workmanship on $25Mill homes. The price of the professional is not at issue in a home that has multiple millions of dollars in financial backing. I understand your Project Manager's concerns. Repairing damage to a factory finished floor isn't fun...but it isn't difficult either. The worst case scenario = cut out the plank and drop another one in. A bit of glue...a bit of waiting and everyone's happy. I'm not sure why the push back is so hard (the PM has probably had something go wrong in the past and had it bite him/her in the arse pretty hard). So long as you assure him/her that you will pay for all the damage control (ram board, etc) you should be fine.