I hate to hear that you've run into problems. It sounds like the GC is willing to remedy the issues with the stonework. Hopefully, he'll get it taken care of soon. Are you close to your build? Our subs have all been REALLY good about keeping things cleaned up. Some of them were naturally that way, like our framers & drywall crew who had a cleanup person on site all day. Others needed a little nudge. On the day that a trade started I showed up early with a broom in hand and told everyone how sorry I was for them having to work in such a messy house. It was already spotless. :o) I put 5 gallon buckets in the smaller rooms (bedrooms & baths) and large boxes in the main rooms of the house for them to toss stuff into. They have to pass by the boxes constantly, so there's no excuse to leave things laying around. I empty everything promptly when it starts filling up and sweep when I can't find anything else to do. They learn quickly and we've never had to say anything to anyone. :o)

$6500.00 (or $14.45 a foot) is a fair price for that service for a 450 sq.ft. area. It is pretty much standard as there is a high demand for that service and not many crews specialize in that type of work, plus the materials they use are costly. you are talking about not only 450 square feet, but also a depth of 1.25" deep that is a volume of 81000 cubic inches or 47 cubic feet of filler required. That said, there are more cost effective solutions. we have used a local concrete man to do the same thing more cost effectively for our custoemrs in the past with issues similar to yours. Tear out whats needed, prep and scarify the existing concrete, concrete man comes in lays a new layer at, or just below the needed height to get a flush transition with the existing floor surface (you will have to work with them to gigure setting materials and tile thicknesses with onsite heights to determin exact level needed), honor an expansion hoin tat the transition and thats all she wrote ... at a fraction of the cost. Think he also may have anchored some concrete wire to the existing slab also to aid adhesion and prevent warpage ... not too sure about that though. Remember, this is very important ... its better to be a little low and fill in than to be a little high and have to grind concrete for a fluxh transition.

I think this poor dog needs some stability, consistency and to be a part of a pack-- if even a pack of one. Clearly he has had a rough life and some bad encounters in the past. He was kept outside on a lead and perhaps/potentially abused. I think a big clue to the need to be a part of a pack is this statement in your first post "When he is at home with me and my three big dogs, he is such a snuggler and he loves to chase my dog who is chasing his ball, barking and herding my dog who is bigger than 5 of Chicos" The pack offers a lot to a dog-- guidelines, rules, protection, warmth, love. A pack is a family. Will you be keeping Chico? If so, the first thing I would do it read about and initiate a NILF program-- nothing in life is free. It begins setting the rules-- and establishes you as the alpha/rule maker/rewarder. This has been very effective in use with rescue dogs. I used a modified version of the program when I adopted my rottweiler as she had NO self control and had never been a house dog. I didnt have too many issues with aggression towards people but I did have issues with an insane food drive, possessive behavior (she thought she "owned" anything she found), pushy behavior especially around being the first to and out the door.. and well you get the picture. She was unruly. I was able to very quickly position myself as the alpha and quickly regain some order to the house. One of the "rules" I implemented remains a loving part of our pattern. I required that she sit still before being given her food dish-- initially, it was a "butt down" and once she was successful with that, I increased the time that she was required to sit before she got a food bowl. Eventually, as I established my role as alpha, she had to sit and wait for a kiss on the nose and the words "bon appetit" before eating. Even today, three years later, she will not eat if I do not kiss her nose and say bon appetit. One day I was soooooooo frustrated with her and I just brushed her nose and walked away (I know, very immature of me) and she sat there just looking at me until I said bon appetit LOL. This is just one example-- she had to learn the rules for going outside, for getting on the chair or sofa, for getting pets ands attention. The program starts requiring the dog to earn freedom to be loose in the house (I did not start here). It is so effective in not only establishing the rules, and you as rule maker-- but it builds TRUST. I think it is clear that Chico has no trust. When he trusts you-- to guide him, love him and protect him, he will then follow your lead in how to deal with strangers or unusual situations. Right now is an overly cautious, reluctant self protector-- take that load of responsibility off of him. There are lots of sites on the internet dealing with NILF. The best ones will focus on the bonding as well as establishing the rules. You may think it sounds extreme to start-- requiring the dog to be leashed to you in the home, for instance-- but it is really just so effective in establishing the trust and bond. People think giving the dog love and attention is what is important-- but that often brings about confusing and inconsistent messages (like unintentionally rewarding barks). Structure is every bit as important as love. You are a kind soul-- I wish you and chico many successes and a much happier home.

I'm going to point out a couple of considerations about that layout. They are just in case you haven't thought about it. I'm sure you have as its just about the layout you have now. a. Using the cooktop will sometimes involve asking the person at the sink to move. (Anytime those drawers under the cooktop are opened). b. Using cabinet one will sometimes involve asking the person at the cooktop to move. c. Its going to be harder to get into the corner uppers with a modern hood that sticks out further - perhaps even more than today because the corner upper cabinets look like they might be smaller. d. Be careful about leaving allowance for fillers in the corners and up against a wall - particularly when using frameless cabinets. In a corner, the filler on both sides needs to be the depth of the door AND the depth of the handle plus a tiny bit - so that the cabinets on both sides can open properly. Up against a wall, you should allow for a 3/4" piece of starter molding - except that you may need more to clear your door casing. e. Be careful about wall cabinets with wide doors that open over counters and the amount that the hinge allows the door to open. Looking at the wall cabinet door arrangement over the dishwasher - it looks like you've skipped the first cabinet and put dishes into the second cabinet. You may want to rethink that. You could get brained by the cabinet door or left in the slightly odd situation where the door doesn't open wide enough to be able to pick something out of the dishwasher and put it away without first putting it on the counter to avoid crashing it into the counter. Or you have to walk around the open dw door to put stuff away. This is just my personal opinion, but I would move the dw back over to the left and put the main dish storage on the first cabinet to the right. f. Same wall cabinets - opening the center cabinet prevents both other cabinet doors from opening - certainly not the end of the world or anything.