I have miles of decking at two houses. All timber when put in the Australian sun will suffer. When building our beach house we decided to go for Spotted Gum and let it grey. Why fight it? We applied Cutek, and will on a regular basis. At our main house we have lots of Merabu or Quilla. Will not grey the same, and leaches lots of red stain. Cheap, but would not use again. What ever you use, use a good quality oil that seeps deep into the wood not a traditional stain/or top finishing product.

Eric, is it the red colour you don't particularly like? Which timbers do you like most? Have you seen spotted gum? I mention it because the colour tones in spotted gum vary and it might possibly be worth consideration. I realise many consider having the same timber flooring throughout the house as ideal; however, as your bedrooms have doors, I believe it would be perfectly acceptable to have a different timber flooring in them (be consistent here though). If this were my Dilemna, I would match the timber width to the width of your red gum flooring, and use a top-notch installer, someone with whom you can discuss the best way to lay the planks given your other flooring.

I am installing MSI Everlife LVT waterproof vinyl flooring. I understand I can't use rubber-backed rugs. Is there a pad I could put under the rugs?

I just hope your opening is wide enough for what you want. If you need to make it wider then you will also need to consult a structural engineer for a lintel design to span the wider opening before the builder starts. You may want to do your research on stacker and sliding doors first to find a manufacturer that you like and tell your builder the colour and the manufacturer before he quotes. Don't leave it to your builder to decide as he will just get the cheapest. Get a builder to quote if you are using aluminium doors. They have to be measured precisely and ordered by the builder (who takes a risk if he makes a mistake when measuring). Do your research so you know what you want, and how it works, rather than get your builder decide based on what is easiest and cheapest to install. Dr Retro of Dr Retro House Calls/Dr Retro Virtual Visits