Well, 500 square feet of floor later and all the old nasty carpet and terrible kitchen floors are gone and replaced with 5/8 inch solid bamboo.
The kitchen floor had, and I kid you not: Luan, Glue down linoleum tiles, Luan, roll out vinyl, peel and stick linoleum and finally a floating laminate floor for a grand total of 1.5 inches thick of flooring...
I'm quite happy with the way it all turned out. But most importantly, the wife and dog approve.