Although pre emergents are primarily used to prevent seeds from germinating, I was recently reminded that at least some of them allow the seed to germinate, then interfere with the ability of the roots to get water. Once grass is established, this doesn't affect it, but when grass is very young, a pre emergent can harm it if not kill it. That's why the directions say to wait until you've mowed new grass 4 times before using a pre emergent. Since it has been in since fall, the roots may be established enough that they won't be hurt. If it were my lawn, I don't think I'd use Halts on it. There's one product that is supposed to be safe for KBG but stop crab grass. It's called either Tupersan or Siduron. I think Tupersan is the brand name and Siduron is the generic, but I could have that backward. I think one way to get it is in a starter fertilizer with crab grass control.

oooooh...how embarrassing...The transmission is OK, it was the park brake caliper seized on so hard that it took a gentle whack from a persuader to get it to come free...now sprayed with lube and fine. The grab on the rear right wheel was so solid and mechanical feeling I was sure it was the transmission but I was wrong. Mind you...what the heck is the park brake doing locked up at 10 hrs...huh..? Having said all that the mower is great, the twin tranny drive is exceptional on my very sloping and frequently wet grass and driven with some care will go lots of places my old single drive Huskie wouldnt even have a hope. The zero turn is also great. Maybe the owner needs a bit of work to get more familiar with the mower...hahah..!

we had volga blue extra spectralite installed in our home in October and used DLD Granite in Lakeland. David came HIGHLY recommended as being the best in Polk County. There was not a whole lot of stock to choose from in the Tampa Bay area so I'm not surprise with what you are running into. This is actually a stone and could have some browning from being out in the sun so its better indoors and fissures are common in this type of stone so you need a reputable fabricator/installer that has worked with the stone and can help you choose your slabs. It DOES take lots of abuse and we love it. Our fabricator recommended supports that came out quite a bit further than what I saw in some of these pictures and the fabricator custom made them for the install. They were an extra charge but well worth it. You might talk with your installer but I know when they brought out our countertops backing had been added underneath them too. We have one very small seam in the center of the sink and one small seam at the edge of the stovetop. An 11-1/2 foot bump-up bar has no seam whatsoever - it was cut on an angle. depending on how many square feet you need, you may consider an extra slab to work with rather than trying to get everything out of one or two. We have approx 110 square feet and the fabricator used three slabs - I read that you need approx 1/3 more stone than the actual square footage to do a job properly. In all of the tampa area there were only five slabs in October at all of the places we visited or called, Orlando had some but we did not travel up there. There were two slabs of volga blue classic up towards the Villages. We had our fabricator select the best slabs for the job since he knew more than we did what to look for and how to work around any fissures in the stone. We couldn't be happier with the install or the gorgeous stone. good luck with your countertops.

I do not know all the proper terms and do DIY, so I am not a flooring expert, but have done a fair amount of research and four successful tile installations myself. From what I see in your picture, it looks like you have three layers of wood right now: an original plywood subfloor, original plywood or particle board underlayment, and the new plywood on top. In my home I have a plywood subfloor and particle board underlayment. In both a bathroom and a laundry room the particle board underlayment had a mess on top (in my case glue, but similar to your thinset). I simply set a circular saw to the depth of the underlayment and cut sections. And then used a prybar, hammer, and chisel to completely remove the layer. Then in one case (porcelain tile) I simply put Ditra down on top of the single bottom layer of plywood subfloor. In another case (slate/quartzite stone tile), I put a new layer of underlayment (OSB) on top of the plywood subfloor and then Ditra on top of it. It was a LOT easier than trying to scrape up glue or thinset. And the Ditra provides a great layer for setting tile and a great isolation layer to protect against movement. I'm sorry but it seems to me that either your contractors are terrible about communicating or they're idiots or they're lazy. I'm not entirely clear on all the rules of working with contractors, but it seems to me that they should easily be able to use a circular saw and prybar and remove those top two layers, leaving the plywood subfloor underneath. Then re-build the layers appropriately for a correct tile installation. I personally would strongly push for Ditra, but I know there are other valid installations too. I think (from reading - not personal experience) that often cement board is done on top of the plywood subfloor and tile on top of that. I'm personally not confident with a particle board then thinset then tile installation, though I've heard some people have success with it. Bottom line is that you need a good floor that will last. It is possible that the floor is uneven and perhaps they have they experience enough to know that. Leveling can be done with a self-leveling compound that is poured onto the floor or I think there are other techniques like floating a mud bed and probably more that I am not aware of. It is definitely difficult (if not impossible) to lay a perfect floor on an imperfect subfloor. Certain tiles and grout widths allow for some flexibility in hiding unevenness, where others do not. I think you are fully within your rights to ask exactly how they are going to resolve the problem and exactly what the timeline will be. Take notes and come back here with questions or use the power of the internet to do more research. There is nothing more frustrating than feeling helpless. I'm so sorry that you are going through this mess, and I hope that with some help things can be worked out so that you will soon have a working beautiful kitchen.