You need to do a little more archeological digging still. You need to know the whole construction of the floor before you can decide how best to install something new. I'd take up that plywood piece in the kitchen and see what's under it. It's higher than the surrounding floor, so needs to go. You should also be able to see from there what subfloor is under the original kitchen hardwood. It's too bad the space under your entryway is finished, but I'd still do some exploring from below to see what's under there, and to figure out the fix to stop it from squeaking. Is it drywall below or a drop ceiling? I know it probably seems like a pain to tear out drywall, but if you cut out a clean patch, like 2' x the width of the joists, it'll be relatively simple to repair. Just make sure to cut it down the center of the joists so that there's room to screw the patch piece to it later. Cut the hole under the area that squeaks the most, if you can. Have someone walk on and watch the floor from below to see what's moving. It might be as simple as pounding in a couple shims from below, or face-nailing a loose board from above. You want to find out what's underneath the hardwood. It might be laid directly on the floor joists, or there might be 10" wide boards that the hardwood is nailed to. Another thought is to take out a board in the hallway, since that's not original and you want to replace it. See what the subfloor is there. I am a bit puzzled at why, when you've stripped the kitchen down to the original hardwood, it's still higher than the hallway floor. Is your current surface perhaps not the original kitchen hardwood? Peeling back the plywood area will help determine that. BTW, I haven't heard of that stop squeaking product you linked to, so can't offer any personal opinion. And don't pour self-leveling compound over top of hardwood. It needs to go over plywood.

The manufacturer of our floor does not say to not use water. As I stated before, I get the mop very slightly damp. No water sits on the floor, etc. I am not getting the floors any *wetter* than I would with a spray product. And the amount of vinegar I use is very dilluted to the amount of water, so no problem there. These floors have been down 11 years - and still look great. I have heard the BONA products are good, have not tried them. I don't use alot of product on the floors, actually. Our floors are not meant to look shiney, I don't particularly care for that look. They have a nice aged patina and are very easy to care for. That's a good idea Johnmari about the swiffer and a microfiber cloth - but the dustmop I bought has such a larger *head* than the swiffer, that I prefer to use it. Since we are big into recycling and reducing trash, I do not use swiffer cloths at all. tina

Not yet, though it's only been 8 months that we've had the tile. Maybe it's mind over matter: we love our tile! :) We also aren't cruising around barefoot all the time, and I don't do a lot of standing in one spot for extended periods. I've often heard the issues that you mentioned, but I sometimes wonder if part of the problems aren't due to individuals' poor posture, sinks/faucets/cooktops not being properly positioned (i.e., too far forward), etc. My elderly mom complained of her hard floors starting to bother her legs, so I picked up a couple of those foam floor mats -- she finds them very cushy, and they've helped greatly.

I understand what you're saying, auntthelma, and I would not tear out beautiful hardwood floors, but I would try to install something complementary. The OP said she doesn't care for her cherry floors, and they aren't antique wood, so I don't think it makes sense to keep them and install a white oak floor (for example) that doesn't work at all with the cherry. I live in an old house too, from the 1920s. The original 2 1/2" strip oak floors are beautiful and in great condition, considering their age. When we renovated our kitchen, which originally had sheet vinyl, we installed 3" and 5" white oak, and stained it the same color. However, we built a very large family room years ago, and outfitted it entirely in antique heart pine. The room has a very different vibe from the rest of the house--it's much more casual but it is still a Colonial style, albeit more of a primitive look than the original part of the house. It has heart pine beams, flooring, fireplace mantel, door and window casings, and interior shutters. Recently we had to replace a very large window with smaller ones, and we needed to replace casings and moldings. Because we didn't want to spring for heart pine, we chose fir and are staining it to match. I don't think the design police are going to come in and charge us for this either! Here's the transition between the new and old oak in the original part of the house: And here's the room with the antique pine: