Thanks. It IS the logical suggestion. And, without a doubt will end up somewhat time-consuming. I guess this is all just trial and error? Would ID'ing high and low spots in advance help? At first I had planned to build the room walls right on top of the Platon to keep a continuous vapor barrier from wall to wall. I was told by Platon people that it can be done. But, I think it will be easier and with fewer unknowns to put down the bottom wall plates directy on the slab and deal with the Platon and laminate on a smaller room by room basis. Should there ever be a water event it would be easier to pull up materials locally. Avoiding subfloor this way keeps cost down but it also is one less thing to tear up and discard should there be a water problem. I don't work fast but I will report on results and any course changes that I might make.

I'm a newbie at this too but here's some stuff I've learned in the recent past researching for my own floors. Something to consider especially in the kitchen is the substrate the veneer is laminated too. A lot of manufacturers use a high density fiber material like MDF or some similarly derived material. If its not pre-treated for moisture resistance (usually soaked at the factory in some treating solution before the final veneer is applied) then if there's a spill or a pet has an accident that isn't cleaned up shortly after it happens it can start to warp the tiles on the edges. Only way to fix that is to replace the damaged tile as far as I know. A floorings susceptibility to this problem even if the substrate isn't treated has a lot to do with the style (beveled edges vs. 'seamless')and how well they are put down. Just throwing this out there for thought without really knowing anything about the product your considering. That might all be old news to you anyway. I definitely helps if your floor is level though. A foam or other sound deadening pad is almost always installed under floating floor options these days which also takes care of the small bumps, dips and other minor subfloor perturbations. However, if you have a dip or bump that covers a larger surface area (probably approaching any sizeable fraction of the smallest dimension of one of your new laminate tiles) it will likely be noticeable to you, especially if it lands near the on of the edges when the flooring is laid. Options I've heard about are floor leveling compounds for big dips, sanding for big bumps. I'm sure there are many other solutions too. Even hacking out a section of the subfloor for really bad spots. This should be done for areas that show water or other damage anyway. I'd definitely ask your installer about uneven or warped areas you have some concern about and make sure their approach make sense. Also make sure your installer has a good guarantee on their work as well. It can take a little time for installation problems to show up. Well, probably not much help but good luck.

Odours can building up once a house has been 'closed up' for a few weeks. The way to deal with it = remove carpets/flooring to find the odour and then deal with what you find. The odour will not go away until you remove the soaked products (usually carpets...sometimes drywall...depends on the animal that made the mess) and replace with clean/fresh products. There is no easy fix. The 'musty' smell is from dampness caused by water or moisture promoting mildew or mold growth. This can be easier to find but much harder to fix. Again, the only way to find it is to search for it. Look for 'water stains' on ceilings, in bathrooms, in the basement, under the sinks, around windows, etc. These are the natural places where moisture damage will show up. Can you take photos of any 'stains' on walls or floors or ceilings?

Change in temperature = change in dimensions in the planks. Bamboo is NOT hardwood, therefore it has it's own issues outside of the normal issues with hardwood. And morning star has SERIOUS issues over time (go ahead and google LL and lawsuits....you will find DOZENS of class actions just waiting to go). I'm thinking this has TWO reasons for happening: Indoor living conditions. Something has changed and that needs to be looked at. 2. Improper install with not enough expansion left at the walls. As a floating floor, most of them will NEED transition strips at ALL doorways. Your FIRST priority will be to look at all your doorways (and pinch points such as hallways) to see if T-mouldings or thresholds were used. The SECOND priority is to REMOVE the baseboard in the area where this is occurring and MEASURE the gap between the floor and the drywall/vertical surface. Is it the REQUIRED gap? Go ahead and do this in an area that is UNAFFECTED and COMPARE the gaps. My spidy senses are telling me that a "too narrow" gap at install + change in household living conditions are to blame. The two put together have manifested itself into an issue. The fact that you have squeaks and the floor bounces tells me the subfloor condition was probably not dealt with to the degree needed to get rid of the noise. What is your subfloor? Plywood/OSB or concrete?