I've installed the Novalis gunstock in two bedrooms so far and planning to the do the third. So far, we have just installed directly on the existing concrete. The hallway has ceramic tile which sits about 1/4" higher than the Novalis. I am planning to put in a wooden reducer moulding in the doorways to join the two floors. My question is this... I have a large area in my living room that also has the old, nasty carpet, and I would like to put the Novalis in there, too. Two sides go up to the wall, but two sides go up against the tile, and I have the same uneven floor height problem. I would really prefer that the two floors were the same height in this area. Not only for looks, but practicality... there is a lot of foot traffic and dog traffic here (including a 100-lb Doberman) and I think any sort of floor transition moulding would get ruined pretty fast. It also causes problems with the baseboards meeting together properly at corners, where one side would have tile and the other would have the Novalis. So, the question is, can anyone recommend an underlayment that would go over the concrete, be easy to install, and work with the Novalis? I've thought about plywood, but the plywood at Lowe's/Home Depot doesn't seem to be very flat, it's kind of wavy looking and I don't think it would be very good for the flexible vinyl. Is it possible to use cork underlayment? Or is it too squishy for vinyl planks? Also, if it would work, do you still put primer on it? I've used Henry's primer on the concrete, which works great, but cork is probably too porous for that. Any suggestions for underlayment would be greatly appreciated!

I'm not sure I would call Corian "lower end". "Not currently popular" - sure. If you said to the majority (not TKO or HGTV spoiled first time homebuyer) "our kitchen has solid surface countertops," they would nod and decide if they liked the countertop solely on whether they found its appearance appealing. But as someone mentioned upthread, Dupont surely doesn't price it like it isn't currently popular, that's for sure! I think if you're going for a marble look countertop your two Corian options trump a lot of the quartz options in appearance and *feeling*. While it isn't cool like marble, it definitely has a softer hand. Honestly, the *sound* of granite and quartz sets my teeth on edge. And, having forgotten how brutal granite is, I broke three expensive wine glasses when we moved in here. So sad. My husband thinks the Corian feels like plastic, but I find it feels sort of silky. I actually like it. I was shocked myself when I did. But there are also some pretty impressive Formica options out there.

I love wood, and admire people who are woodworkers. However, I've loved our frameless kitchen cabs of high-density particleboard covered in melamine (interior) and laminate (exterior) for 20 yrs of hard usage. As has been pointed out here innumerable times: - There are different quality levels of ALL wood types. This includes plywood and particleboard. I have in my house different levels of both wood products, because we're book fiends and have acquired over twenty 6' tall, 2 - 4' wide bookcases over the last 30 yrs, to hold huge art and reference books that far outweigh anything I put on my kitchen shelves - and I put a lot, believe me, on my kitchen shelves (I own six different dinnerware services). Our kitchen shelves are infinitely adjustable, and have never bowed or bent. (See the next point for the all-important reason) They have a 75-lb rating for each shelf, whether fixed, rotating, or adjustable. - High density particleboard beats low-quality plywood every time. If you are going to load a shelf up, you should never go over 36" without either a center stile or back wall center support. I personally don't go over 31" without a center support, whether it's a bookcase or kitchen cab (which when frameless is just a bookcase with a door, after all). If you doubt this, take a good long look at the Masterbath cabinet line sold by HDepot, which loves to advertise itself as "all wood - no particleboard!" We bought a few of these framed cabs in 2003 when I was in a rush during a bath remodel. They are the thinnest, junkiest plywood possible. I stand on my kitchen cabs to wash the windows all the time, and I weigh over 200 lbs. I wouldn't dare stand on that bathroom cab! Nice looks, but I've got $50 particleboard bookcases that have proven more capable of holding heavy loads. Particleboard cabs are heavier than plywood. Installers always prefer plywood because it's so much lighter and therefore easier to hang the uppers without as much work. But it doesn't necessarily mean plywood is always better, in and of itself. Again, quality is the determining factor. A custom woodworker (like the one we just had built some beautiful birch plywood custom wall units for us) is going to use something nice s/he can be proud of. A big corporation looking at the bottom line knows that their customers have a price point that works within a narrow range. They know the outside counts for 90% over the insides when people are perusing store displays. - There are different qualities in melamine and laminate as well. The very cheapest melamine is so awful, a damp cloth will ruin the smooth finish and raise bumps that are permanent (we have some pretty, but inexpensive stackable "cubes" that are like this). Conversely, good quality melamine resists moisture quite well - not proof against a long soak, but spills and an occasional dampness won't destroy it. Doubt this? I put my dishes away wet from the DW all the time. I have no idea if the heating element in it actually works, because I've never used it (electricity is expensive out here!). I just shake the visible drops off, stack 'em up and put everything away - no problems after two decades. I do my spring cleaning by spraying the insides with cleaner and wiping them out. Not only are the melamine interiors still perfect, we once had a slow, six month leak in the sink cab from a faulty faucet fitting. It caused a small bubble in the melamine, about the size of a quarter. Raised it up but didn't crack it open. No other damage, then or now. One of the negatives often claimed about particleboard is that if a screw tears out, "it can't be fixed." I always thought that as well, until a contractor corrected me. I have a bad habit of leaning on a door as I open it, and one of our base Lazy Susan cabs eventually developed a sagging hinge from a screw tearing out. Our contractor/handyman filled it with quick-set epoxy, then redrilled the hole and put the hinge back in. Problem fixed, and it's been solid as a rock since he repaired it back in 2003. In summary - buy the best quality of material possible, and make sure the design (e.g., in your case the width of shelves vs load rating) is properly functional.

I seem to have gotten confused on the Shenandoah construction thicknesses. For one, sides are 1/2". So disregard whatever I noted if you're considering this line. Funny, I'm looking over these nearly 40 year old junkers that are still standing. They were even uninstalled and shuffled around 30 years ago. The cheap wood grained laminate doors had been replaced. The sides and back seem to be a 1/4" particle board type product. Some of it also looks like luan but is painted and might be particle board. One shelf is loose and I can see the particles on the box side. Particle board 3/4" shelves chipping along the edge but strong. It seems to be solid 3/4" framing for the faces and hanging rail. They are still standing and doing their job! The side panel on the sink base has popped out and it's really bad construction otherwise. The boxes were painted and doors replaced so they don't look as bad as all that. The painted raised panel replacement doors have held up well for nearly 30 years. They look to be solid wood. The only real damage to the finish is on the raised panel edge of the two drawer fronts under the counter. They've lost finish and are chippy because the counter's drip edge doesn't project out far enough. I'm very surprised to see that situation on a lot of store display installations. The cabinets are just about even with the 25" counter edge. That's bad news for finishes. I'll be getting 26" counters for a good drip edge to protect the finish below. Right, the finish will probably not last 30 years and I'll have to deal with repainting whatever I get. I doubt the stains these days hold up that long either. A lot of them look layered and baked on like the paints to me. But hopefully the cabinets themselves will be decently built and still holding together well. I don't know why that would change unless someone was hanging on the doors or overloading areas with very heavy items, as livewire mentioned. The older builder type homes from 40-50 years or so ago seem to get there. They can just look dated at this point. Maybe they all do this but Shenandoah is calling their mdf type cabinets 'engineered wood' which I think is misleading since it makes it sound like standard construction is plywood.