So the service company came. They did many things to address the rattling door which had no effect: - changed the filter - changed the strainer in the pump - adjusted the air flow next to the pump - blew air through the fuel line back to the oil tank (the burner whined loudly after this then quieted down) - bled oil from the burner - started to remove the flow control from the system then decided it was working fine and put it back Finally they changed the nozzle. They stepped the nozzle down to .75 by 70 degrees and wouldn't you know the furnace is back to its quiet happy self. What a relief! I can sleep again at night. (They did not clean/vacuum the furnace.) The showers have been consistently hot, set at 170, 190, and 15 differential. The tech did not have a tool to test the water temperature. Still need to retest the circulator but much progress!

Depending on the extent of the damage, the concrete may be able to be repaired. If you stick with concrete, a really quick/cheap update is a concrete stain. New steps are a little tricky and need to be tied to the house properly - especially when they are 10 tall! If your contractor is confused, I would strongly recommend bringing in someone who specializes in masonry work.

I had a similar situation, except my concrete was under a porch. Every big rainy spell brought water in my basement. Finally got sick of it and took the porch out (it was small and could be moved), got a jackhammer and busted all the slab up and removed it. Then regraded, placed plastic down, and covered with gravel, making sure any water had an escape route. Pavers would also work great. I replaced my sidewalk with pavers as it was all cracked and heaved as well, and tilted toward the house too. I would not use concrete for any sidewalk or patio area by us - the frost heaving does a number on it and then you have one heck of a job replacing it. It takes approximately 5 min to replace or re-align a paver! Mud jacking would work too. But it is pricey. Probably more than going with pavers, but less pricey than removing and repouring with a ready-mix truck and finishing crew. But it would involve virtually no labor or messing around on your part. You should price out all the options. What happened in my case was that frost heaving pushed my concrete up away from the house but heat from my foundation caused much less heaving near the house.

Pull the plumbing please. I'd make a thin cardboard template in one piece, fold/curl it to get it out of the cabinet, then figure where to cut the cardboard so it can be reinstalled through the cabinet front without folding. Cut the new plywood floor according to your cut template. For the advanced class, tap the cabinet front off as well as the adjacent cabinet fronts. Rotozip or multi-tool the cabinet sides off just above the bottom dadoes. Template the cabinet bottom and install it in one piece into the dadoes. Hot melt glue the cabinet sides back on; maybe some blocking too. Reinstall the cabinet fronts.