We are doing master bath remodel and previous owners had vinyl plank flooring laid over the concrete foundation-- the people who did the work said that if the baseboard is high enough (ours is about 3" of wood--not tile.. they said the vinyl plank was run to the baseboards and cut to fit then silicone caulk was used along that joint... So far have noticed no issues anyplace in house this was done--not just in bathroom... we are taking out all LVT in master suite and replacing it with 1 type of flooring for unified look after master bath is redone--since we can't get the type of flooring in there now--not made anymore-- they won't need to add a quarter round on top of the LVT... so as long as you are happy with how the LVT would look butting up to the ceramic tile baseboard--maybe you can do the same... IS the ceramic baseboard in good shape? Still tight?

OK....so here is what I WOULD DO: Pull the carpet and lino BOTH and FIND OUT what's underneath. Carpet hides the WORST subfloors (both in prep and in materials) on the planet. Builders KNOW they can mess up the subfloor because carpet will hide everything. So....once carpet and line are GONE...I would then choose an installation material BASED ON the subfloor material that is in place. Example, if you have PERFECT PLYWOOD (which is EXPENSIVE....so I HIGHLY DOUBT IT) then you can think about peel and stick vinyl (which will be cheap, cheerful and require replacement rather quickly = 5 - 7 years). If you have PERFECT CONCRETE SLAB (again...HIGHLY DOUBT IT) then you can think peel and stick. See above. Now back to reality. The chances are you have bad subfloors. As in laun or fibre board or OSB (oriented strand board = looks like the plywood has been made from potato chips). If this is your substrate, peel and stick will NOT STICK. That means you NEED TO LOOK at floating (click together). The price will go UP because of the price of the locking system (royalties, manufacturing machines are expensive, etc) but the INSTALLATION will be faster/easier. Or you have horrible concrete (lumpy, pitted, sloped, etc.) and you need SERIOUS repairs on the concrete. That type of repair isn't going to come cheap. And it is a gut-wrenching DIY project. And vinyl is great for dogs....but PLEASE WORK with a product that is NOT MATTE. We have dozens of threads with people CRYING over their matte finished vinyl....and HATING IT. And NO, the finish is not defective. Which makes them even MORE upset....because there is no warranty covering "angry". And just for fun, a rental unit will have a different life expectancy for flooring. Rental units have a 7 year life cycle for flooring. Yep. That's sever (7) years and the floors need replacing. So....choose what YOU LIKE today. Get it as tough as your budget can allow (high-end laminate in the living spaces + decent vinyl in kitchen/bath/laundry) and then realize it will only survive a few more years (2-4 years) as a rental floor. That's it. And LAMINATE (especially the high end one's) are EXTREMELY tough. They are STUPID-EASY/cheap to install as DIY and require LESS PREPARATION to the subfloors than vinyl. Because rental property is in your future, don't think anything beyond "seven years".

You need a solid surface for your waterfall to sit on... and floating floors must be allowed to expand and contract- you can't place cabinets on top of it. So the safest bet is to cut the tile just in front of the waterfall and leave the tile underneath in place. You will need to leave a 1/4" gap (could be slightly smaller, check the manufactures instructions) between the new floating floor and the edge of the island, so you need to be able to live with the gap or install baseboard. I think a simple square baseboard that is about 3" high could look "ok" glued along the bottom of the waterfall, but certainly not ideal. Your best bet is to go with a wood look tile instead.

At $2/sf you are looking at 'middle of the road' laminate. A vinyl in the same 'middle of the road' category = $3-$4/sf. And remember: vinyl is more EXPENSIVE to install. Yep. More money for the labour because it is a PITA to install with its teeny-tiny-eensy-weensy click edge. If you only have $2/sf for materials, then you are better off looking at remove/replace the existing laminate. An entry level home (with entry level flooring) means it will not have the 'up scale' look of continuous flooring. It is the nature of the beast. Flooring that can do MULTIPLE jobs is more expensive than flooring that can only do one thing. Laminate, in your price range, can only do 'dry areas'. It will do it very well - as you have already experienced with your existing laminate - but it will not go into kitchens and it should never go into bathrooms. So....the question becomes: Which is it going to be - the budget or the 'look' you want? Because in your price range, you will be hard pressed to get both working in harmony. And vinyl is NOT allowed underpad. It will sit right on top of the substrate. Which means it can transmit noise MUCH BETTER than your existing laminate. Especially in your price range. It will be thin (4mm vinyl is about all you can expect) and it will be flexible (it will bow like a rainbow) and it will have more movement than you ever thought possible in a 'stable' product. Your price range offers $1.99/sf laminate from a big box store. That's about all you have right now. If your laminate and your kitchen tiles are in good shape, I suggest saving up for a vinyl floor that will cost $4/sf. Now you are in the right ball park for 'middle of the road' vinyl. And it will still be more expensive to install....but at least you will have purchased a mid-quality product.