I too have severe asthma and allergies. One source for good information about anything to do with a house and potential problems is the American Lung Association. (For example, after we remodeled some years ago, I had horrible reactions. After six months of increasingly desperate searching for answers, an ALA booklet for health care professionals finally alerted us to the pilot light of our gas stove, of all things.) I too have to stay away from all carpeting. We are currently building a house with all floors in tile or wood for that reason. We recently started looking at vinyl for some of the storage areas, and we have found some fantastic products. I would definitely consider them for a remodel. They are far easier to install than wood, not as costly as wood, they are as easy or even easier to maintain and keep dust-free, and they are easier to redo if down the road and with more time to act, you may want to try for wood. I would check with the ALA about off-gassing of different materials, glues, etc. to make sure your son can tolerate the installation process or how long after installation he may be vulnerable. You have my empathy.

lynnbellealan: You should be grateful you ran into a tile man with a conscience and an unwillingness to get yelled at after the fact. Tell your contractor you want him to make the tile man happy enough to make you happy. How much money he's losing is irrelevant. Every contractor gets a spanking now and then; it's a cost of doing business just like insurance or gas in the truck. Every time I start to think I've been at this too long to make mistakes, my butt starts to sting. Again.

For the toe kick area, you custom cut a tall panel to the right height and angle. For the side, you apply the decorative end panel, then you wrap the room’s base molding underneath it, and custom cut a return where it meets the toe.

I think Cook's Kitchen has made the case for a structural engineer to 'give their blessing'. The next question is HOW OLD is the home, what is the foundation and how much are the floors 'out of level'? Settling is 'acceptable' until it becomes unacceptable. That's where the structural engineer's report comes in. Once you pay for the assessment, you can decide to move forward (or not). First things first: structural engineer's report. Use the report to show to prospective builders (ahem...you go to them for this chat). Once they see what the report says, they can then decide to offer a quote or to offer a pass. Be prepared to LOSE the kitchen and the floors. If you are not prepared for that type of eventuality (and the report comes back as benign settling) then you will probably have to live with it. Dealing with settling comes from UNDERNEATH. What ever is underneath (ceilings, carpets, drywall, etc) could be severely disrupted (ie...partially destroyed to the point of needing refinishing...ie. new ceiling/drywall/paint/carpet, etc). Support is added from underneath and sometimes on the sides (exterior walls...imagine if they are bowed to the point where they need restructuring....holy sheep ship Batman!). Now imagine the WORST CASE scenario: everything is sooooo out of wack that the supports underneath the second floor cause the wood floors to crack, the cabinets to break and the counter tops to crack! Door jambs no longer sit properly and doors need to be trimmed and rehung! And then you see cracks in the paint/drywall/ceiling of the second floor. Whoa Nelly! Now we are in DEEP SERIOUS. Ok...so I've pointed out some of the WORST CASE SCENARIOS. This is playing the "What If..." game. You need to be PREPARED to go all the way down that rabbit hole. If you are not prepared to go 'all in', and the engineer's report is benign, then leave it be.