Cracking? Really? what builders are you using? Forgive me also but what relevance does that have to the question? It says pro by your profile, professional at what exactly? Drying times obviously vary based on thickness of plaster, product used and humidity/temperature/airflow in the house. If multi finish us being used (most commonly used pink plaster ) the coat should be thin and not take more than a week to dry. It will take slightly longer if plaster is applied over repairs where bonding is used. It wouldn't be unreasonable to have the house finished in time for Christmas if you're lucky enough to catch a good decorator between jobs :) You shouldn't expect any cracking within the plaster, you may encounter the need for 'snagging' a month or two after decorating where cracks may appear between the walls and any skirting / wood but ideally the gaps should be caulked during the first few coats of paint. You'll observe several stages of the drying process, after a few hours the plaster will be chemically hardened and will start to get darker. it will then become a bit patchy as different thicknesses dry at different rates. The plaster will then get lighter and lighter over the next few days until it reaches a 'dusty' pink colour meaning it is dry :)

Not fully aware of all your points.. I think there are super slim systems available that you can get that mean you don't need to excavate down as much in the existing floor but not sure how the price would compare. but otherwise generally yes, I think you would need to dig down.. and then it depends on the type of subfloor that is currently there, how far down and what kind of prep you'd need... (it's why we ended up not doing it) and flooring wise we've just discovered... if you're going for Karndean/amtico/LVT they have to have 1day/mm depth of screed that you've just poured before they can pour the latex layer before the LVT! we only found this out really late... and discovered we had a 75mm deep screed... so need to wait 75 days in total.. which overall has delayed it by 2-3 weeks. They can add an accelerant to the screed that reduces the time by I think half. (but apparently is quite expensive) Not sure about other floor types

The fitter can trim down the plinth. Normally they’re 150mm high, so if you need a lesser height they’d just have to trim them down. At the end of the day you have to have this work done so the floor person will just have to be careful not to damage the newly fitted kitchen. You do however need to bear in mind the floor standing appliances may need to be repaired at some point and moved so have to find a way forward with this. My flooring is underneath the washer and dishwasher for this purpose.

hi Kate, I think your friends floor was probably constructed using a white portland cement and white sharp sand rather than the normal sand and cement which ends up grey. you can acheive this lighter finish with the described use of materials.. there are a number of general cement sealers that can then be applied to reduce the amount of dusting on the floor. if you leave the floor to dry and then use a diamond floor polisher you can get it very flat and smooth prior to applying the seal of which there are many. stonetech have a few such as bulletproof that will seal the floor and help prevent staining. good luck with the project- the secret is the selection of the aggregate to get the desired finish. best Rowland