Thank you all for the advice and tips. I hear you about getting the insurance company to flip the bill on the kitchen. My goal would be to keep it as it took 2 months to build it. The entire kitchen is built out of rift cut white oak. The issue is that we didn't use a polyurethane on the cabinets due to the off gassing of high VOCs, instead we use a product called Osomo Wax / Oil which gets absorbed into the wood and doesn't seal anything in it allows the wood to breathe. It's an all natural product and safe... Well so much for trying to build a formaldehyde freeI home. The other thing that makes me sick is that we spent extra money to ensure our home didn't contain formaldehyde building products. All that just went out the door! Contacted Osmo and they said to try an Ozone generator. Our builder is working with the insurance company and they are definitely going after the electrician. The other issue in the kitchen is that water ran through the channels of the unsealed and ungrouted stone floors in the kitchen and water started seeping up on the sheetrock about 2 inches behind the cabinets. That's not a good sign! As much as in hate to go through this pulling out the kitchen maybe the safest thing to do. But would hate to take a chance and then it smells like smoke or have mold after we dicided to keep the kitchen. Hopefully we will know more after they do their cleaning I hope. not much has been done yet since it the holiday... So they shuold be full force on Monday with the cleaning. The hardwoods are now starting to cup all on the first floor and up on the second floor they are all covered with a light brown greasy soot. So we have about 4,400 SF of floors rift cut white oak floors and stone that has to be ripped out!!! Crazy... its just so hard to believe how much damage smoke can do. It sure does make you think about putting in a sprinkler system in the house! I'll keep you posted on how the builders risk insurance plays out..good to know that if there is extra funds that we might be able to use it for further upgrades. Thanks again for the tips...trying to keep our mind off it and work on the landscaping! Lot to do there.

FYI, for painting a tricky surface like vinyl wallcovering (or laminate cabinets & furniture) USE THE PROPER PRIMER!! Most paints/primers aren't formulated for sticking to vinyl, which is why some run into peeling problems. Your best bet is to use a primer that's designed to be a bonding primer, like Zinsser BIN or Zinsser Cover Stain. Both say they'll stick to all surfaces without sanding (though light sanding to scuff up hard-to-bond surfaces is always a good idea). Check the labels - most primers can't make that claim. Glidden Gripper primer or Sherwin Williams Adhesion primer are other good options. Kilz is a fine everyday primer, but it's not designed to be a super-adhesive bonding primer for tricky surfaces. Glad some of you have had luck using other primers, but for anyone just beginning this project, be careful and do a little research before you choose your supplies. Since you have a double-whammy of vinyl-hard-to-paint walls and smoke damage, I'd recommend Zinsser Cover Stain or another primer that can claim to stick to any surface while also sealing odors/stains.

The old finish is damaged. It has to be removed to repair. The finish may be shellac or lacquer. Both of those finishes can be repaired without a lot of mess, but you will need to learn how. Or have someone refinish them.

Years ago we had a house fire. No hard wood floors to worry about, but I would think it could be a problem. Our insurance adjuster who came out to the house and went thru things with me, she said, "You don't need a lawyer, we can do this". So I didn't get a lawyer. Well, thinking back, I should have gotten a lawyer. It may or may not have made a difference, but I think it would have been the smart thing to do. So please, seriously think about getting a lawyer. I'll bet you would get those floors replaced or done!