You have a ton of questions and I will do my best to address them, I also have AADD so if I start to ramble and jump back and forth just overlook that :). We need to simplify this more because there are certain issues you can't change..... being on a slab and the weight issues. Any slab has to be reasonably flat and dry, but in your case it needs to be almost dead flat and dry. We are supposed to always check slabs for vapor emissions that can go unoticed when there is carpet over top that allows the slab to breath and release moisture without any problems. You have an 18yr. old glued down wood floor that has exhibited no problems, in my view that is as good an indicator one is going to get..... so we'll just say you are dry. I don't know how many sq.ft. is involved but it takes some space for an installer to check the slab for flatness and then take measures to correct it. Sometimes a low spot can be a few feet in diameter and with the feathering needed I may need 6', 8' or more to deal with it. If I don't have space I could be featuring up to a high spot underneath furniture. It is best to try and figure a way to go one room a time, clean it out, then go on to the next room. If you have your heart set on an engineered BC, then get it :), life is too short to fret over that as long as you know about this issue and are okay with it. On glued down floors the thickness does not really matter as much as opposed to floating. What does matter is the top wear layer thickness and using the right adhesive. A 3mm or 4mm thick wear layer is actually better in the long run as a 5mm thick . Going too thick with the wear layer can cause a phenomenon called "dry cupping" .... the NWFA and NOFMA are aware of this and it is being addressed. If you go with a glued down engineered wood floor and want to put on a sealer as "insurance" , then do it. In your case I would strongly consider using Stauf 960 which is a quality sealer and adhesive combined in one application. You pay alot more for the adhesive but you only have one labor issue. Imo you could also go with a floating floor. But to pull this off you must use a quality product and (here I go again)..... the concrete must be flat. There is a laminate out there that I have personally installed that is almost bullet proof. That would be Wilsonart , which is a high pressure laminate referred to as an HPL. Putting that down along with using their blue fusion glue in the joinery can take any weight you want to put on top of it. When I do that I recommend to the client upgrading the underlayment to a product Sound Solutions. You cannot walk on this type of install and tell that it floats. You could also go with a floating engineered wood... this is where thickness comes into play. I prefer to use nothing less than a 1/2" in thickness and a where the joints get glued up, or, choose a good reliable click-lock system like the valinge or Uniclic joinery systems. They both hold together well. The wood should also be waht is called balanced.... the top layer equals the bottom. You are very typical of alot of my clients. Quit stressing so much :).

You're right about it being hard to find pictures! But then it's hard to find pictures of non-white kitchens these days. There is a huge variety in the photos that I found. They cover everything from ultra modern to very rustic. Take a look and see what you like and what resonates with you. You're obviously drawn to wood (me too!) and I think you could have a beautiful kitchen with wood floors, cabs and counters. It's probably also something that would be pretty easy to make a mess out of. But you can say the exact same thing about a kitchen that is all white. You'll want to make sure your wood tones work together. I'd love to see pictures of samples you're thinking of using. Do what you love! [[(https://www.houzz.com/photos/eclectic-kitchen-rustic-kitchen-minneapolis-phvw-vp~347229) [Eclectic Kitchen design[(https://www.houzz.com/photos/eclectic-kitchen-ideas-phbr1-bp~t_709~s_2104) by Minneapolis General Contractor John Kraemer & Sons [[(https://www.houzz.com/photos/rustic-contemporary-rustic-kitchen-austin-phvw-vp~916372) [Contemporary Kitchen design[(https://www.houzz.com/photos/contemporary-kitchen-ideas-phbr1-bp~t_709~s_2103) by Other Metro Design-build Legacy DCS [[(https://www.houzz.com/photos/ktichen-rustic-kitchen-atlanta-phvw-vp~1942555) [Traditional Kitchen design[(https://www.houzz.com/photos/traditional-kitchen-ideas-phbr1-bp~t_709~s_2107) by Atlanta Architect Peace Design [[(https://www.houzz.com/photos/natural-wood-countertop-traditional-kitchen-nashville-phvw-vp~2299390) [Traditional Kitchen design[(https://www.houzz.com/photos/traditional-kitchen-ideas-phbr1-bp~t_709~s_2107) by Atlanta Furniture And Accessories Littlebranch Farm [[(https://www.houzz.com/photos/rustic-kitchen-dining-room-rustic-kitchen-nashville-phvw-vp~2299400) [Eclectic Kitchen design[(https://www.houzz.com/photos/eclectic-kitchen-ideas-phbr1-bp~t_709~s_2104) by Atlanta Furniture And Accessories Littlebranch Farm [[(https://www.houzz.com/photos/michelle-fries-rustic-kitchen-minneapolis-phvw-vp~312323) [Traditional Kitchen design[(https://www.houzz.com/photos/traditional-kitchen-ideas-phbr1-bp~t_709~s_2107) by Minneapolis Interior Designer Michelle Fries, BeDe Design, LLC [[(https://www.houzz.com/photos/cambridge-contemporary-kitchen-contemporary-kitchen-boston-phvw-vp~36342) [Modern Kitchen design[(https://www.houzz.com/photos/modern-kitchen-ideas-phbr1-bp~t_709~s_2105) by Boston Architect LDa Architecture & Interiors [[(https://www.houzz.com/photos/spanish-style-rustic-kitchen-austin-phvw-vp~81317) [Traditional Kitchen design[(https://www.houzz.com/photos/traditional-kitchen-ideas-phbr1-bp~t_709~s_2107) by Other Metro Kitchen And Bath Palmer Todd

Ok, so my DH brought it home and..... I don't like it :( Sometimes things have a way of growing on me but I don't think that this will. And, of course, the cabinet isn't finished yet so it's a bit hard to see it and judge with the cabinet looking the way it does above rather than the rest of the cabinets. My complaints - I think it'll be too dark. It's the darkest thing in the kitchen and it's basically the longest uninterrupted stretch of counter (the area next to it is 112 but that includes the sink) so it seems very visually prominent. I'm not a huge fan of the strips of wood next to the strips of wood in the floor. The finish on it is pretty shiny and somehow it appears very lifeless and flat - DH commented that it looks like laminate! I realize that this could be changed with a different finish on it. The positives - it looks really nice with the dark wainscotting in the dining room. It's not in the dining room of course but the view through is nice. The wood itself is pretty gorgeous. The colors and patterns are SO pretty. I'm thinking now that I need a different wood species. I think I'd prefer something that's more in keeping with the colors in the floor. Anyone have any recommendations? I'm thinking about sapele, mahogany, cherry, teak and maple. I think I'd probably prefer a plank style so that it's not as visually similar to the floor. Any thoughts or recommendations are appreciated!!

OK, I renamed the best pics of each of the three wood species I chose and took pics by my file cabinet by the window, by my credenza that is in back of my desk and by the front of my desk which is by the front windows. I also took pics of the room that is a little messy right now since I am working on a major project and do not have time to clean if I am working as well as obsessing about which wood floor for my office. I was going to wait until the end of the year to change the carpet but then when my air conditoner/heating/compressor unit died on me and caused a flood in the foyer area between the two rooms that are part of that big room, I had to decide what to replace the engineered warped and darkened oak wood with. Pieces of the veneer have come up and it is bumpy and was smelling a muscky smell until I had carpet cleaners deodorize it and steam it lightly to get rid of the musky smell. I either have to replace it with wood or maybe I should put tile there and wood floors in the rest of the office? The 80 pics are now about 23 or 24 pics labeled. Tomorrow I will reduce the number of pics and insert them into my picture program to share with you. I may start a new thread.