Thanks guys- I am not sure why those pics didn't load properly. I will upload them again. RE: the nailer. To put in the actual plank hardwood he patched into the pantry area, DH used this apparatus that you have to manually swing. he used to be in the flooring business and has laid more than his share of floors, and he said it was grueling. He really doesn't want to do it again on 300 sq ft. And since he's also doing all the electrical, plumbing, and finish carpentry, I am not keen on insisting he do this as well (although, personally I think that is the right thing to do: match exactly what's here/.....) Anyway- the engineered stuff goes in with a pneumatic nail gun. The air compressor does all the work. Plus, less cutting since each board is wider. Plus, no sanding and finish application. He'd be doing all that himself. I'll re-load the pics and see if that helps. And i guess we should get a box of the Euro stuff and lay it down and see how it looks.

Haha! It might just be me projecting since if my husband had his way - we'd be living in a ski lodge! The house layout is 40's center hall colonial but small (1800sq ft) with traditional features like wood balusters and built-in corner cabinets in the current dining room (which will be converted to a playroom - new dining room in the addition). However, with the wood beams in my living room and 6' wide stone fireplace, the house can give a very rustic vibe. Would you recommend continuing the slate into the kitchen as well or transitioning to a new tile for the kitchen?

This is going to take some investigation on your part/flooring professional's part. You will need to pay for this investigation...with full knowledge that the investigation may not pan out the way you want it to. It is *possible (again, this would come with a full investigation...ie little demolition points to confirm what is underneath) to remove the layer of vinyl+plywood substrate. It is *possible you can get all the subfloors back to the original situation. Assuming that this will work, the kitchen isn't going to be much of an issue, and here's why. A floor cutting saw (which is PURPOSEFULLY DESIGNED TO DO THIS) can be used to cut the floor right at the foot of the cabinets. In fact, the floor cutter can cut at an angle for a small "undercut" under the cabinet boxes. This will be covered up later by some well chosen trim. You will be dropping the floor in the kitchen but you will be ADDING 3/4" hardwood at the end...it should all work out in the wash. Once the kitchen floor has been removed and the original floor height exposed, you can go ahead with your installation of your wood flooring. But remember: you - as the homeowner - MUST have products tested for asbestos and lead BEFORE the full demolition goes forward. You will probably have one of the two (most likely both) substances in your home and it is up to you to protect the workers. You can do that by taking some of the demolition cuts and having the layers tested for asbestos (lead was rare in flooring materials...but you never know when some cheap homeowner wanted to throw down some paint in 1969). Once you have done all of your due diligence to ensure the project can be done safely and successfully, you can go ahead with your remodel. Cabinets can be left in place. No worries about that. It is done all the time.

OK...first of all lets deal with the stairs. This can be a rather simple. In an ideal world, the stair TREADS would match the hardwoods on the MAIN floor. Carpet makes for ugly stair treads because it is often some sort of cheap material underneath the carpet. Fine. This is do able. I would look at staining or painting the treads the colour of the main floor wood and then match the RISERS to the flooring down stairs. With LVP you can use the planks glued to the risers to make a pretty detail. You can then use a runner down the stairs to ensure you remove the slip hazard a slick surface has created (I know...sounds like a lot of work...which is why stairs can be the most expensive part of a renovation...per square foot that is). The railings and trim match the REST of the trim/doors in the house. Sigh. Now we have some questions as to what to do with these. Unless you want to change it ALL OUT, then it is probably best to leave them as-is for now. It is the cheapest way to keep the continuity. Another thought would be to get a decent match between the LVP and the banister. Us the LVP on the stairs and then lay the runner over top. That way you don't have to touch the banister or trim at all. But beware...when changing out the material on a stair, you might get into code violations for the first/last step. Code requires each tread-height to be within 3mm of each other. By changing out to vinyl on the stairs you might be messing up the top stair into the main living space.