Thank you Annz. One of the installers called me back so he is the one I will use to install the floor. He is the middle of the price range and he told me he will take a break from the job he is on tomorrow to come by to let me know exactly what we need but from my description he feels I need 2 T-moldings (88" long and I need 4" more than this from my measurements for the two areas) and the reducer will not be good if the area is only a 1/8th difference. But he will see for sure and bring a floating pad and a 1/2" board. He also will let me know the exact number of reducers we will need since they are not returnable I just found out. He feels we have enough extra waste for the wood and he is very good at not wasting wood and is good at what he does. Hence, I guess I will wait for him to arrive tomorrow. Truehardwoods.com has been so patient with me and will give me a few more days (they have the order in the system but it is not yet sent to their distributor) to be sure about what I need as well as let me know which glue I ordered to allow me to change the wood glue to waterproof glue between the seams. Another installer just called me back and had no idea and that is not a good sign. So if the installer comes by tomorrow that called earlier, he has the job. I guess I better get back to my work and get a good night's sleep tonight and see what the installer has to stay that is stopping by tomorrow.

There is a lot of controversy right now about the glues in engineered flooring making people sick. That being said...I just don't like it, you can always tell it's engineered and just looks cheap to me. With hardwood, you can sand it down if it gets damaged, with engineered, you can't.If it is anywhere near water pipes, you have to look into the future, a leak, or flood will ruin engineered..hardwood will dry out. Hardwood won't cup if it's been dried properly. Cupping is from wet wood (not dried down to 8% or less moisture)being laid down, then trying to dry, and having nowhere to go because it's been nailed down. It then cups.

A high quality engineered floor will have the same or longer wear life as a solid wood floor. This isn't usually a big deal in residential as you are talking at least 45 years of life... Engineered wood flooring can cope with changes in moisture better than a solid wood floor, but if you have a good HVAC system and monitor the humidity in your home, both will be fine. Solid wood floors are not recommended below grade, for example in the basement. Our standard 5/8" thick engineered floor will give you 3-4 sand and refinishes. This floor can be glued to the slab and will line up with carpet and most tiles. This means you don't have to drop the slab (money saver!) or use transition pieces. Some areas where it is very dry have had issues with the thicker engineered floors (3/4" with 6mm wear layer) as the plywood base dries out at a different rate to the wear layer. One of our clients (Flooring installer) in Arizona is replacing engineered with solid as it handles that climate better. Since it sounds like you are doing a remodel, you are probably best to go with an engineered floor. A 5/8" thick engineered wood floor from our company has a 4mm wear layer and will give you 3-4 sand and refinishes. This you can glue to the slab and will take up around the same amount of thickness as the travertine did. This means you will not have to replace the trim, cut off the bottoms of doors etc. Typically a solid wood floor is installed on a plywood sub-floor. On a new build the slab would be dropped on those areas to allow for the extra thickness. A quality engineered wood floor is not inferior to a solid wood floor in anyway. Once it is installed you will not be able to tell the difference. If you have further questions, feel free to reach out! We are only a email or a phone call away -- debbie@woodco.com // (210) 298-9663 Keep safe! -- Debbie George | WoodCo www.woodco.com

It probably makes no difference structurally. It might be easier to use plywood in that it comes in different thicknesses so it would be easier to achieve the correct height of each riser.