Hi, I just read this and wanted to give you a little reassurance. I live in Denver too and I can tell you that your issue is the norm here, not the exception. If your house was built in Denver during that time, it is going to have asbestos in the texture and joint compound. The last owner probably didn't know because they didn't have the same rules for testing before doing remodeling work back then. Or they did know and didn't disclose it to you. But it would cost you a lot of time and expense to prove it. The important thing is to not freak out. There are lots of homes in Denver that are in the same boat. We are in a super tight housing market here and your home is probably still very desirable. If you sold right now, you would probably take no hit what so ever. I friend of mine just listed their home with asbestos and led paint in Denver for 1.5 million. Just be sure when you disclose it, that you keep your disclosure brief and include that the areas that tested positive for asbestos were professionally removed and remediated. Something like: "Asbestos was found in the kitchen area during a remodel and was professionally removed and remediated." Our disclosure forms in Colorado include a box that says "I don't know" if you really don't know for sure if there is asbestos in other areas of the house because they have not been tested, check the "I don't know box" for asbestos on the disclosure. Then write in "Asbestos was found and professionally removed from the kitchen during a remodel." Then you are providing all the facts and leaving it up to the potential buyer if they want to do additional testing after they purchase the home or do any remodeling. But seriously, don't feel bad. Your home is still great.

I'm sorry you're going through all this. I've had a lot of health issues since I was in my mid 20s so I know how tough it is. I'm almost 60 so I've dealt with this for over half my life. One thing I have and I think it's more common than people think is low magnesium levels. Doctors don't recognize this as they only check blood serum magnesium levels that will always be high as the body pulls magnesium from the bones to keep the blood levels up so you don't have a heart attack. Instead, they need to check the cellular magnesium level to diagnose low magnesium. There are over 300 functions magnesium is needed for in the body including relaxing muscles and removing lactic acid from them. Here are a couple of articles on the role of magnesium in health: http://web.mit.edu/london/www/magnesium.html http://drsircus.com/medicine/magnesium/magnesium-deficiency-symptoms-diagnosis I don't know if this applies to you, but a lot of pain that doctors fail to diagnose is myofascial pain where the muscles/fascia get knots in them that refer pain elsewhere. I've had severe myofascial pain since I was 15 years old, and had every sort of pain in almost every part of my body that couldn't be diagnosed. Fortunately I stumbled on a book on the subject years ago, and have been able to control my pain doing trigger point massage. Everyone has myofascial pain from time to time. Check out triggerpointbook.com. This book and my two-headed percussion massager has made my life manageable. http://www.amazon.com/HoMedics-Homedics-Thera-P-Percussion-Massager/dp/B00DCR8M1M/ref=sr_1_2?s=hpc&ie=UTF8&qid=1423676319&sr=1-2&keywords=percussion+massager

Previously the area had a small concrete pad that had a deck built over the pad. The Deck was sagging when we bought the home and we found that the deck supports sitting on the very end of the original pad had cracked it. The base from the original concrete pad was used and expanded upon which was made up of mainly sand it appeared. It was compacted and poured at 4" allowing proper time to cure and dry. Soil in our area is a lot of clay but the the top soil that is used with grading is a large amount of sand. The general contractor we used is a friend and does not seemed concerned with anything his concrete team did or didn't due and said it is most likely happening now because after the very wet May/June we had, it is now getting really dry and will most likely move back once it is wet again.

Tile for shower floors.....for centuries, and not large format. Solid surface for threshold, bench tops, and niche base. Mitering (clarify the type of miter being suggested, for example we use a quirk miter which doesn't come to a frail point but creates a bit of a joint and is backfilled properly with mortar for strength). It's a very classic detail, unless you want a contemporary look, than a profile edge like Schluter is fine (but our clients generally prefer a detailed miter as it doesn't introduce another material). Mitering the edge is considered a more upscale appointment. The fact that your installer suggests it MAY indicate a higher level of skill. If he/she wasn't capable I doubt they would bring it up. Go for it.