Robinhood, we can discuss our beauty issues here...glad to see you posting, sometimes I have problems here, but not all the time...Gloria

Thanks , we considered that but had two concerns . First , given that it's a cottage , there will be times when the whole system , heat, water, etc will be shut down , mostly in the winter and we were afraid that the expansion and contraction associated with that could affect a glued down floor also , again because as a cottage , people will be in and out a lot , there could be a fair degree of wear that would mean re-finishing which , as I understand , is a problem with engineered flooring . I was hoping tha there was a new application process for hardwood that I didn't know about such as a sheet underlay with a plywood overlay or something like that . If not , we may have to consider tile throughout .

The rebar and other reinforcements in the concrete expand and contract at different rates. That's not a problem with the usual minimal stable temperature ranges, but creates large enough cracks during a fire that it renders the foundation unsound for future bearing use. Not to mention the heat damaged plumbing contained within or under the slab also cannot be re-used. I'm sorry for your loss.

id probably come out 15 or 20 feet out from the picture window.. and plant a nice flowering tree .. like a redbud... it will block the view from the street thru your front room ... https://sites.google.com/site/tnarboretum/Home/planting-a-tree-or-shrub you can definitely shop ... but plan on fall planting .. unless professionally installed AND GUARANTEED ... zone is simply min temp on the coldest day of the year ... so it means little for the rest of the year ... and that is why big city name is better ... id probably come out 15 or 20 feet out frmo the picture window.. and plant a nice flowering tree .. like a redbud... it will block the view from the street thru your front room ... same with the window bank on the right ... maybe a crabapple or magnolia [something other than another redbud] ... etc .. again.. 15 feet or so out ... the only thing in the small walkway bed nest to the house on the right would be perennials ... there really isnt space there for shrubs or trees ... as you can see what nightmares you were left with there .... foundation plantings are planted to HIDE THE FOUNDATION.. not on the foundation ... so unless you are willing to expand the bed in front on the left.. again.. perennials ... if you want some shrubs in there.. you would put them 5 to 10 feet out ... to give them room to grow ... one trick.. is to take a latin name to a search engine.. and SEE pix of the future potential of things you are thinking of planting .. and if its big.. dont plant it where you will have to start pruning it in a year or 2 ... e.g. the eastern redbud ..note the latin name in the search: https://duckduckgo.com/?t=ffcm&q=Cercis+canadensis&iax=images&ia=images it flowers on bare wood.. usually the first tree in spring to bloom.. in my MI anyway ... it would probably be helpful to see the situation without oall the old carp.. to give better suggestions ... do read the rest of the link on proper planting... if this will be DIY ... if you are new to the house.. have miss dig mark all your utilities.. so when you dog.. you dont screw anything up ... ken ps: there is little instant gratification with trees and shrubs ... huge plants cost huge money.. but take a long time to get established.. and growing to expectation ... often.. a smaller specimen takes the transplant easier.. recovers faster.. and can outgrow a huge transplant.. in say 5 years ... aka tree time ... and would cost a quarter of the huge tree ...