Thanks, omelet, I didn't know DW's offered "leak protection" -- something to look into! This may be welcome!

Anyhow, point taken about white kitchens. Though I know maybe about 1/5 of my friends, optimistically, who have them, they indeed have been around long enough not to be considered a "fad" any more. (Just wishful thinking on my part, and apologies...)

Gosh, no apologies needed. I do agree with you that white shaker will be out of style soon enough. (Too bad because I've been a lover of shaker style my whole adult life and that's a long time. LOL) So while I'll probably put in an off white shaker, it will probably date itself in 10 years.

In the 50's and into the 60's they looked somewhat like this except the stove wouldn't have a glass cooktop:

In the 70's they looked like this and came in either beige or white. Everyone had them (except me).

In the 80's it became white slab melamine doors. I had those in my first house from Ikea because it was all we could afford.

In the 90's, they had raised panel with arched tops.

Why are metal roofs so expensive? I paid $4500 for materials, and my contractor installed it for $1500 (he lost his shirt on it though). Our last asphalt roof in FL was $7K; our metal roof here in SC was $6K. Slightly smaller house, but still. I also put a metal roof on our big barn, for about the same cost.

Oh I could totally derail this thread talking about the necessary evil that automobiles are. We always do the cash thing (Dave Ramsey) and buy gently used and typically do well but this last one was a piece. WHILE we were building we sunk $5k in repairs in it. We just bought a different car last week hallelujah - the Pontiac TorMent (no I know it's really a TorRent) is going on Craig's list soon. Good riddance to that torture chamber, every month it's something new that needs repair. Buh-bye.

What I really wanted to say Mrspete was about built ins. Someone mentioned doing semi-custom and that is what we did. So it can be a scrimp on a splurge sorta?

Our lessons learned (and you may be saying duh of course as you are much more prepared than I was to start) but just in case - try to have your areas standard in size. Thankfully we thought of that for the fireplace while designing the kitchen. That made it more than doable and pretty economical. I think it was $900 bucks - $450 a cabinet but we don't have any stacked or anything. We kept it quite simple - but my minds eye was like Michelle's fireplace wall - I love it. That was so far over our budget I couldn't even consider it a splurge, it was out of the splurge stratosphere.

Mudroom area benches. DH and I built those on site and used beadboard for the back. No problemo it actually went smoothly (if you don't count my shooting his thumb with a nail gun by accident) - however - I want a bench cushion for each side and the size is not standard or even close by any means which means for my DIY mudroom bench I am looking at crazy high dollars for a simple cushion and I cannot justify it. Grrr. Kicking myself! While we have DIY'd a ton, a seamstress I am not. Cadet badges are about all I can handle. :O Until then I continue to search for an easy way to make one that doesn't look like I made it.

cpartist-I think that is the perfect way to say it - not really a fad but like all things they do date themselves eventually and then come back 're-invented' like oak vs. quarter sawn oak. My apartment back in the 90's had those melamine with wood perimeter cabinets. :)

mushcreek-metal roofs up here in MI are crazy expensive. We'd have loved to do it but couldn't justify it even though realistically they last twice as long.

Autumn...I'm a Dave Ramsey girl too. Love his mantra....The paid off home mortgage has replaced the bmw as the new status symbol! I listen to him every day waiting in line at school.

Glad
to hear you are thinking more about the higher ceilings. I remember
you saying you have no intention of moving again, but maybe ask a local
realtor whether in your area there is a meaningful resale difference
between 8' and 9' ceilings. When we were house hunting a few years ago
my husband (6'3") refused to look at any houses with 8' ceilings.

Yeah, I'll look again, though I'm not particularly enthusiastic about it. Yes, we're pushing 50, retiring in just a couple years, very "settled", and our likelihood of moving again is slim. I'm not quite 5', and my husband is 5'10, so nothing's 'specially going to make us feel overly enclosed.

I'm doing what I want with only a moderate nod towards the possibility of resale.

Consider the Bessler stairs or the Rainbow stairs if you want a pull down.

I just checked them out online. They definitely look better: one piece and a less steep angle. But I think I'm "set" on a "set" of real stairs -- they're going to be in the garage, so they don't have to be anything fancy, just functional.

Kids can jump on the bed without running into the
hugger ceiling fan at 9 foot but not at 8foot.

Regardless of ceiling height, I don't want the kids jumping on the beds. My niece had two surgeries and still has a scar from jumping on the bed when she was a toddler.
mojomom,
thanks for "plan your landscaping for snow storage"

Though this has no impact on my life here in the Carolinas, I like reading about things like this! I would never have considered such a thing a necessity.

It’s hard for me to talk about
kitchens, since my build is being built around my kitchen. I’m hoping friends and I can spend time doing
pot lucks in my kitchen, together. So it’s all about space – perhaps an
over-reaction to my current kitchen? I
will have the pantry, as well – and I’d recommend one for keeping things out of
the way.

Remember, the answer to "I don't have enough space" is not MORE SPACE -- it's better planned space. In my old house I had a small kitchen that didn't work particularly well. In my current house I have a large kitchen and walk-in pantry, and -- guess what -- they don't work particularly well.

I'm smarter now (in no small part because of this board), and I have a much better sense of layout, and I have no doubts about what will be my new, small kitchen. It's about the same size as that first small kitchen, but whereas that house was just tossed together in whatever way suited the builder, every inch of this kitchen is laid out for MY wants.

Well, induction sounds wonderful,

My mom has induction, and I like it ... but I honestly don't like it better than what I have now. Induction also has some negatives that people never talk about.

Yep!
Ceiling fan for circulation?

Oh, yes! Ceiling fans are a given in the South. I'd just as soon skip the front door or the kitchen sink as skip ceiling fans.

Consider a roll-in ADA shower
somewhere?

Handicapped accessible, yes. Roll-in, no. Consider a rod to hang up clothing
somewhere in this closet?

I wear lots of thin, breezy tops -- type of thing you put on a hanger rather than drying -- and I have a spot planned above the washer/dryer to hang them.

And I looked
around at some spare bookshelves and a spare small dresser I have --
voila, I can save myself a lot of money by re-purposing them in my
closets instead of doing build-ins!

Yeah, when I was in college I took two small dressers out of a dumpster. I used them in my first two apartments "as was". When I got married, I knocked off the odd, spindly legs, painted them white and stenciled the top drawer front, replaced the hardware -- and they became large bedside tables. Today they're still in my closet as drawers ... they're just the right height for shirts to hang above. My daughters'll probably have to toss those things after I'm dead.

I also have a narrow 7' tall bookcase that I'm thinking of painting white and moving into my future closet as a shoe-and-sweater shelf. I bought it for $100 at an unfinished wood place -- Its been in at least five different places with me, a tribute to buying real wood furniture.

There is absolutely no bigger impact in a house for less money than
9' ceilings.

Disagree.

We
wanted to do all metal..... till we did the pricing and found it would
be close to 6x as much as the best quality asphalt shingle.

That's outrageous! Having priced it, I know it's about 2Xs the cost of a standard roof here.

Well if it's a fad, then it's been a fad since the early 1900's. Every decade has had white cabinets. The only thing that has changed on
them is the style of the actual cabinet.

We're talking just about cabinets, right? White cabinets in their current incantation are not really the same as past cabinets. They're now an upcharge product and are paired with "just the right other stuff". They're a super-fad with some staying power, but, yeah, they'll go out one day.

You do see metal roofs up here (northern New England), especially in
ski country, but asphalt shingles are still the most common thing.

I don't know a thing about your climate or what works well in it, but I was surprised to learn that metal roofs don't always look like this:

Metal roofs can also look like this:

or this:

Yeah, I'm interested in this. When my dishwasher died, the guy who replaced it showed me that it had started a slow leak not long before its demise ... and if it had continued, it could've done real damage BEHIND MY CABINETS, and I wouldn't have known.

Oh
I could totally derail this thread talking about the necessary evil
that automobiles are.

We believe in buy new - pay cash - drive it 'til the wheels fall off. My car is 8 years old and just turned 100,000 miles. Aside from tires and oil changes, I've literally never spent any maintenance money on it, and I expect it to keep going a long time more.
The paid off home mortgage
has replaced the bmw as the new status symbol! I listen to him every day
waiting in line at school.

"Paid off" and money in the bank has been our goal our entire adult lives, and as we approach the end of our working years, I'm not a bit sorry. If you'd told teenaged me that I'd have what I have today, I wouldn't have believed you.

I did NOT know metal roofs could look like that! The only one I see is the new copper roof on a four-square that I drive by every day. It's gorgeous. I can only imagine the cost (and how much might have gone "missing" during installation; copper gutters have been removed from public buildings and private homes while the owners were out!)

How does a metal roof sound during a hailstorm, standing-seam or otherwise? I'm imagining clatter?

Since you disagree with my statement, "There is absolutely no bigger impact in a house for less money than 9' ceilings," what else can you think of that will have anywhere near the effect for so little money? Whether you think they are worth the money or not, I think there is a consensus that they feel significantly more spacious for only a few thousand dollars. Our cost was less than $1 per square, a big impact for less than we were spending on our refrigerator.

Even 2x more expensive for a metal roof seems high to me, just to avoid an expense that you are going to have in 20 years.

I don't want to get on the Dave Ramsey, money thing too much on this thread. If you want to create a post in personal finance I will talk about money management and buying cars. I respect the effect of Dave Ramsey's advice, even if I don't agree with it.

I'm in the group that Oaktown mentioned. I wouldn't look at a house with 8' ceilings.
Ever see the movie Elf?

If you have family you might do them a solid by going with 9' ceilings.

I must have cheap energy up here. I've had two houses with cathedral ceilings and my gas/electric bill rarely exceeded $150 in a given month in the upper midwest. Granted I ran the ceiling fan and fireplace on really cold nights. R50 in the attic.

I loved them but want a change so I'll have 10' ceilings in the great room.
9' in the rest.

After months of researching engineered flooring and talking to many pros I found that that engineered wood should only be considered if you have to have hand scrapped or will have issues controlling humidity. Once you factor in a veneer that can be re-finished, engineered ends up more than solid hardwood. Someone else mentioned this but the value of site finished is huge especially if you need to compliment other wood tones. If you go with hardwood ask about a commercial finish as it doesn't add much cost given its value.

Good luck with your decisions! The beauty is that you're in control....I'm loving that part right now.

Seems a waste to pay cash for a house in todays market when interest rates are rock bottom.

Well unless you have it. The feeling of not having a mortgage is next to none - but that was before the build - lol! But yes the IR is fantastically unreal!

I was referring directly to cars as they are a horrible investment unlike a home. Not wanting to go off course. The car thing just hit a nerve as the last one was such a money pit. We buy used and drive it till the wheels fall off as that is within our means. New is ouch - just not at this point. But we strive to your goal of paid off mortgage and money in the bank.

I agree with you about cars. I paid cash for my car in 2011 and will probably hold onto it for another 4-5 years.

Bry911...I don't follow everything he says. i.e.: I have credit cards that we use. Dave hates credit cards. But for those young, inexperienced kids that don't know how to handle money...a little advice from Dave is a good thing ;-)

my brother is a retired financial advisor and he calls Dave an "entertainer". Maybe so but I like to listen to those debt free screams. How freeing.

Red I think the most valuable thing he teaches is living within your means. Our means have changed drastically through the years, double income no kids, single income w/kids. His advise has served us well even if we followed some steps ot of order. That main principle has been key and is really a good thing for all to think about and practice I'd think. I too love to listen to those debt free screams.

ahhh, but living in your paid for house is soooo nice we asked our "money guy whether we'd be financially better off investing the money from the sale of our last home or paying for the new home and he ran the numbers several times and told us it "wouldn't make a tremendous difference" and that we might be happier with the home paid for....

i've lived in 7 homes in almost 45 years of marriage 5 of these homes, the oldest being built between 1900 and 1910 the newest finished last year anyway 5 had white cabinets i disliked the stained cabinets in the other two immensely and i find they darken the room quite a lot, which isn't necessarily a good thing as you age..... dh's grandmother had white painted cabinets in her home built in 1920 i can't imagine why people think they are a fad unless we're talking about a style of cabinet design....

zippity, I think it's more a question of cabinet style than cabinet color. I agree with you that as we age, we're better off with lightening up our surroundings.

Some 1920's kitchens:

What's that little R2D2 under the sink in the first picture?

Good question bp

Since you disagree with my statement, "There is absolutely no bigger impact in a house for less money than 9' ceilings," what else can you think of that will have anywhere near the effect for so little money?

1. I'm not convinced it's a small cost. Oh, yes, the materials and labor involved initially may be modest, but that choice then leads to larger windows, more tile, longer drapes -- I think I already gave this answer on this thread.

2. Other things with a modest price tag that can have a similar effect: A good layout, better windows, natural stone fireplace instead of fake stone, wider crown molding, quality cabinetry, extra electrical outlets. If you disagree with these items, that's because it's an opinion question.

Seems a waste to pay cash for a house in todays market when interest rates are rock bottom.

From a mathematical point of view, this may be true (today -- could be different tomorrow) ... but I don't care. I was a poor kid -- in fact, a welfare kid -- and living debt-free (which includes being mortgage-free) makes a monumental difference to me. As a kid, I had no security. Just as I will never again be forced to go to the grocery store with my Mom's Food Stamps or say "free lunch" in the school cafeteria, I will never live in a house that isn't mine, mine, mine, mine, mine -- and I wouldn't change that for more interest in my bank account.

Bry911...I don't follow everything he says. i.e.: I have credit cards
that we use. Dave hates credit cards. But for those young, inexperienced
kids that don't know how to handle money...a little advice from Dave is
a good thing ;-)

I'm not a Dave R follower, but in college I started reading everything I could find on the subject of personal finance. My husband and I don't follow any one person's "plan"; rather, we use a bit of many people's plans.

I'm not convinced it's a small cost. Oh, yes, the materials and labor involved initially may be modest, but that choice then leads to larger windows, more tile, longer drapes.

My car is supposed to be pretty fast, with a top speed of like 140 mph or something, I wouldn't know because I never felt the need to get the speed that high. Just because you get 9' ceilings doesn't mean everything has to take advantage of all 9'.

The beauty of 9' ceilings is that you don't have to upgrade your windows or doors. Once you go over 9' I think it makes sense to upgrade doors and windows, but I have seen houses with 9'6 ceilings that just had a nice molding above the windows and doors and it looked great. Not to mention, your windows are only 8" off the ground now, I think you could split the difference and move them up a few inches and it would still be OK.

You asked for the critique... "So, am I lying to myself anywhere? Go ahead and tell me -- I can take it." I am saying on the three areas I pointed out - Yes I think you are lying to yourself, I think you are creating an imaginary value for the roof and an imagined expense for the ceilings. However, it is your house and you get to do those things. In fact, like flipping a coin to learn how you really feel, if you really don't like what I am saying it may just be a clear sign that you are happier the way you have it.

I agree about the height of the ceiling and the windows. My first floor ceilings are 10' and I'm using 6' high windows, same as you. My windows will be 2' off the floor which is a more comfortable height off the floor than 1'

On
this we disagree. Having loans has never particularly bothered me, and
it really doesn't bother a lot of people who are responsible with
money. Having debt is not the same thing as being in debt.

This will sound condescending, and I don't mean it that way: If you've never been poor, never walked around literally with holes in your shoes or stuffed your shoes with cardboard, never been sick and unable to go to the doctor, not knowing how you'll eat in the week 'til payday, having a college textbook stolen and being unable to replace it, the list could go on ... if you've not experienced these things yourself, you may not really understand how much it means to have a house that is YOURS.

It's been 25 years since I lived that way, yet underneath I still remember with crystal clear clarity the fears that accompanied living that way. Realistically, I know that I am in no danger of going back to that situation. I know I'm on my way to retiring at 53, which is pretty soon for me. I know I have money in the bank and a pension. But still, I won't carry debt of any type. It's not worth it.

However, it is your house and you get to do those things.
In fact, like flipping a coin to learn how you really feel, if you
really don't like what I am saying it may just be a clear sign that you
are happier the way you have it.

I think so too. My opinions aren't unexamined.

MrsPete, the cathedral in the great room will help compensate for the 8' ceilings elsewhere. Were it not for that, I would join the bandwagon urging you to consider 9'. We are going 9' with a cathedral in living and dining, but some of our most frequent visitors are 6'6"+ and DH is 6'1" so 9' makes more sense for us. Still I suggested 8" in certain rooms (closets, pantry, office, and maybe bath), but was shot down by the architect because going from 9' to 8' from room to room costs more than it saves.

Our current 80 year old house is mostly 9' except the den, which was probably once a back porch is 8' and honestly it is cosy, rather than stifling. That said, I grew up in a large rancher with 8' ceilings throughout. It is a very nice house with nice details, but it would be so much better, if the ceilings at least in the public areas were higher. However, your Greatroom cathedral will provide the break you need and, yes, you are correct on the window treatments adding up.

Little thread drift here, but I'd love to know how to make savings earn money! No matter how low the mortgage rates, our long-term savings never earns that much. Last year, we LOST money! If I had stuffed it in the mattress, we would be money ahead. We have it invested in a major investment plan, and we keep meeting and discussing strategy, but it never goes anywhere. By comparison, land and houses are doing very well in our area with prices ever rising. I guess I need to study this and learn where to invest, rather than listening to the 'experts'.

Mush - If you want to send me a message or post in the household finance section I will walk through the things I do, not that I do anything really special. I didn't make a ton last year but I didn't lose money (my class did better than me). However, investing is not a year to year thing.

The DJIA had a negative 5 year return only three times - bad news if you invested your money in 1936, 1969, or 2003 - other than those three times it has never had negative 5 year returns. Since 1936 the biggest loss was 5.8% so you didn't lose everything even then. It has never had a negative 10 year return, not even once. The average 5 year return of the DJIA is 74% and the average 10 year return is 201%.

To put this into perspective - in the Spring of 2013 I took $100,000 out of my house and refinanced it on a 15 year loan at a great rate. I paid substantial transaction costs to get the money out, and entrusted it to my students to invest for me, I talked about my risk appetite and then let them pick the funds. Thus far I have paid $23,600 in payments, I owe $89,600 on my mortgage and their investment account has over $170,000 in it. Not bad for a bit less than three years.

How does a metal roof sound during a hailstorm, standing-seam or otherwise? I'm imagining clatter?

@bpathome I think it does, although you can isolate the noise to some extent. That was one of the reasons I decided against it-- we're doing a Cape Cod, and one of the bedrooms upstairs is DH's music studio, so I didn't want to take the chance that it would be a problem. We're both sort of hyper-sensitive to noise, so it might not bother others.

What's that little R2D2 under the sink in the first picture?

An early step-on trash can?

I think the r2d2 thing is for collecting scraps, for feeding chickens or composting.

Is the r2d2 thing a portable dishwasher?

MrsPete...do you remember the source of the third metal roof pic you posted? TY.

I just did research myself and going from 8' to 9' pretty inexpensive.

Framing cost = same

materials:

$.65/per stud x 250 studs [.60 for 2x4, .90 2x6]

SIDING $3/SQ FT X 260

drywall $1.40 sq ft x 500

minor bump in paint.

Windows: W3050 and W3060 - $5x10 windows[first floor]

Baseboards [I never intended to have 3 1/4 in the first place]

No way I will live in the house again with 8' ceilings.

I think I'd rather have C3PO than R2, he's much better at helping with parties. Though R2 takes up less space, he can share quarters with the Roomba.

Can we be done with the ceilings? (Sorry, but honestly...MrsPete has put more thought and consideration into her house than a lot of people, asks reasonable questions, thoughtfully considers responses and alternative ideas, and she knows her own mind.)

Our church has a metal roof and be mindful of snow slide off. It does an excellent job of keeping itself clean but watch out if it's a lot you'd get buried!

Can I make just one more remark about ceilings?!

I do remember that there is some rule re: tempered glass in your windows if they are placed below so many inches from the floor and have so many sq ft. as well as some other requirements.

so you may want to check out the building code on those rules. Tempered glass is $$$$.

MrsPete, the cathedral in the great room will help compensate for the 8'
ceilings elsewhere. Were it not for that, I would join the bandwagon
urging you to consider 9'.

Yes, this is one of my reasons for resisting an increase in ceiling height. This is a modest-sized house:

- The bedrooms are going to stay at 8'.

- The plans show the great room with a cathedral ceiling -- no point in raising the ceiling and then making it a cathedral.

- I don't want the kitchen to have high ceilings; regardless of height, I am going to bring the cabinets up to the ceiling ... so higher ceilings would cost more and gain me inconvenient storage ... I might value that, if I weren't going to have an oversized pantry.

- So that really ONLY leaves the dining room as a possibility for a raised ceiling.

I think the r2d2 thing is for collecting scraps, for feeding chickens or composting.

I thought it was a small washing machine with a hand crank to "turn" the clothes.

MrsPete...do you remember the source of the third metal roof pic you posted? TY.

No, I just googled to find typical pictures. I think my search was brick houses with metal roofs. (I put in "brick" because that takes you to metal "shingle" style -- my own descriptor, not an industry term -- instead of the typical Standing Seam farmhouse look.)

Can we be done with the ceilings? (Sorry, but honestly...MrsPete has put
more thought and consideration into her house than a lot of people,
asks reasonable questions, thoughtfully considers responses and
alternative ideas, and she knows her own mind.)

An excellent plan! Nothing new is coming to light on that topic anyway.

Our church has a metal roof and be mindful of snow slide off. It does
an excellent job of keeping itself clean but watch out if it's a lot
you'd get buried!

This isn't a problem where I live, but my daughter is about to graduate from college in a snowy area, and ALLLLL the roofs up there are metal. They all have little "thingies" to keep the snow from sliding off:

I do remember that there is some rule re: tempered glass in your
windows if they are placed below so many inches from the floor and have
so many sq ft. as well as some other requirements.

I'm already on it.

Splurge.....land size.

Scrimp....house size.

You can always add on to your house, but you can't always add on to your land : )

Okay, that's me! LOL I would suggest a higher ceiling. I've had both and a slightly higher ceiling is very nice.

Splurge: overall construction (concrete sandwich panels)

Splurge: PassivHaus certified windows from Austria

Splurge: appliances

Scrimp: IKEA cabinets (including doors)

Scrimp: IKEA freestanding wall units (although not sire wood framing / drywall wouldn't have been cheaper)

Splurge: Roof - commercial metal / insulated

Scrimp: planned plain sealed concrete floors

Splurge: large format sheet porcelain tiles for shower

Scrimp: overall disturbed area / "yard" is only a little over 3/4 acre out of 15

Splurge: site work to level this area and bound it by retaining walls. result - first floor master has feel of being "up in the air" because it's 11' above adjacent ground.

I kinda feel that EVERYTHING is a splurge based on my ever dwindling bank account. Nothing ever gets cheaper.

Just want to say I love this thread. We all make trade-offs somewhere along the line that suit our individual situations, but reading others' choices help us to look at our choices with a fresh perspective.

Regarding metal roof -- most insurance companies will no longer replace a hail-damaged metal roof. One of the down-sides to it technically "working" for a long time is you must live with cosmetic damage for a long time. (We hemmed and hawed on a metal roof, ended up deciding against it because we are in an extremely hail-prone area.)

^^^ for the most part - our roof will be invisible from the front of the house and the sides (designed to look like a flat roof behind a parapet) and you'd have to get a ways back to even see if from the rear (single 1:12 slope) so I can live with some dings / dents if that is what occurs. and yes - it will still function just fine.

I hope they then give me a discount since they won't have to pay for hail damage. (or to my concrete house either for that matter!)

For OP: what's a 'one butt kitchen'?

Celia-- "one butt" means only one person working in the kitchen at a time -- one chef, no sous chef.

Do have pets or anticipate ever having a pet? Because engineered floors will scratch and can't really be successfully refinished. Real wood floors and 9' ceilings. Scrimp elsewhere.

Sorry I have to disagree with you dulcie.

I have a pet and engineered flooring. The only thing that scratches my floors are when the pads come off the legs of my dining chairs. But I had the same problem on my 100 year old real wood floors in my last house.

Also understand that real wood flooring in an area like FL is asking for problems because of the humidity. Secondly, the scratching is more related to the finish used and the wear layer.

And a thicker wear layer can be refinished 2 to 3x depending on the wear layer. Considering the fact that mrspete is building her retirement home, how many times do you think she'll need to refinish her floors?

My husband and I are both in favor of a one-butt kitchen. We both cook, but we don't like to do it together. We like a sitting spot across the bar from the cook, but we're solidly united in our desire for something small, just for one person.

People say such different things about floors. Let's analyze this: What type of pets do y'all have that have /have not damaged this floor or that?

Or, coming at it from a different point of view: I have a small dog now (Beagle). 25 lbs. I anticipate always having a dog his size or smaller. I'm kind of in love with a friend's miniature Daschund. I also want to get another cat in the future -- specifically, I want a RagDoll. Or a Maine Coon. Or both. And possibly another small dog.

And which is easier? Storing away an extra box of engineered wood planks so a damaged board can be pulled out /replaced ... or sanding /refinishing a whole room? Neither is a job I could DIY.

And, yes, you're right -- I'm not quite 50 yet. My kids are in college, and my husband and I aren't tough on things. How many times am I realistically going to need to refinish those floors?

cpartist, there are variations in quality in engineered flooring. When I worked in new home construction (high end custom), we ultimately said no to engineered flooring even if the client requested it. Way too many call backs. I actually used vinyl plank flooring in one project and was super impressed with the look and durability. It's a hard sell though to people who have their heart set on wood.

And how long ago did you work in new home construction?