I had my old tile removed and in the entry, the original tile had been laid in the cement when the house was built 35 years ago. It's a floor about 8' by 6'. The cement is just like crumbled grit and sand full of holes. It has a step down to my living room and the cement? step is just terrible.

I was told that stone is a better way to go because they can float stuff over it to seal all the holes. I really would like to put in wood in the entry, family room and kitchen. But, I'm nervous about the problems that seem to be coming up.

Also the family room and kitchen don't get a lot of light as we have a covered patio taking away a lot of light. Most of the wood I see today is in the darker shades. Without going super light, is there a wood that you would suggest that is not too dark and would go with white-wash kitchen cabinets? I have a large kitchen and the thought of changing my cabinets is not what I'd like to do. They're in great shape and I like them.

Thanks for this forum and thanks for any help. Newby too

Hard to comment on the problems with your concrete without seeing it. All I can say is, with proper prep and attention, there should be no problem with installing a wood floor in your entry. It sounds as if it will require demoing the existing concrete and building that area up again properly. I've done it before. As for lighter woods, there are many. There is natural red oak, white oak, ash, birch, maple, pine plus many imported woods like Amendoim.
http://www.hardwoodinstaller.com/hardwo ... -solid.htm
Browse around here on this website and then go to a show room. As far as matching whitewashed cabinets, those fell out of favor years ago so you may have a hard time finding a prefinished floor that will match. However, you could use unfinished flooring and have it sanded and finished on site to match the cabinets

Thanks, Gary, I"m glad to hear that I can still use wood.
I'm not trying to match my white-washed cabinets. I, actually like a contrast and I like dark wood. The reason I mentioned lighter or medium wood is because my kitchen & family room don't get a lot of light as we have a patio cover that shades the back of the house. I'm afraid the darker wood would make the rooms darker. Is my assumption right?

Yeah, probably. That's what decorators say as well. Browse in some home decorating magazines and see what they use. Keep in mind that wood floors will reflect light, even with a satin finish and a dark color. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.

It sounds like a sand, mud bed for the tiles.

I have had to deal with one of those before, but not up on a step landing.

It is doable with some thinking and form work.