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Hi, I’m wondering if you guys can help with suggestions on what to do with our rather crooked concrete (sub)floor. It’s on the garden level of a small frame house with no basement. We removed the tiles and the exposed concrete subfloor is sloped and uneven (a few inches difference over 50 ft front to back).

In addition, with all the snow past couple of weeks and the old tiles gone, we now see three moisture spots on the perimeters of the extension (contained within the last 5 ft of the kitchen that we’re also redoing). Plan is to dig and put gravel or pour concrete around the extension, but this has to wait till the weather’s warmer. And until we know how effective this remedy will be, we can’t decide which type of flooring can be installed.

Since this ground floor will be our main living space (living, dining, and kitchen), we eventually want a floor covering that’s softer and warmer underfoot than concrete or tiles (Although our contractor recommends tiles). Bamboo would be ideal, but we also like cork and linoleum. But for now, our budget is limited and we probably want a temporary solution that’s cheap(er) and easier to replace/cover up.

Another problem we have is that the ceiling is low (under 7′ in some areas), so we want to avoid raising the existing floor level.

What do people recommend as to:
1) Do we live with finished concrete for now, or should we put in tiles or some other moisture-proof flooring before the kitchen cabinets go in?
2) If we go with concrete, how should we prep the surface, so we can install a real floor later? Is griding down thinset/concrete a good option, as opposed to self-leveler?
3) If we put in flooring now, are there options other than tiles (taking into account the moisture issue)?
4) Can we install flooring later without removing the kitchen cabinets (IKEA Akurum) and appliances?
5) Is there some genius solution out there that we aren’t aware of?

This is a lot to think about for us and we have a week to make the decision. If anyone has had similar experience and/or willing to share your ideas, I’d much much appreciate it. TIA.