Your slab needs to ne scarified to remove all traces of adhesives and setting compounds (there are machines that will do that) and then tested for the amount of moisture passing through it. You will then be able to know what condition the slab is in and what you may have to do to make it acceptable for new flooring. You can also test for moisture content before doing anything major to the thing.

anglophilia- I'm sorry your husband died of cancer. However, that does not mean that since he he didn't die of an asbestos-related disease what you did with your floors was necessarily safe. Maybe it was, maybe it wasn't. Many people have exposures to toxic materials, even multiple ones, and it doesn't cause them health problems or kill them...but some are affected. In my posts above urging caution, I'm not suggesting that if you have an asbestos exposure it will kill you...it's just that you want to minimize avoidable exposures. I have a 93 year old relative who is still alive after decades of smoking and working around asbestos, and I also know of a 30-year old who died from asbestos exposure as a result of a several week summer job he had in college. Risk is a complex issue that depends on many factors, including genetics. One can't predict which individuals specifically will come down with a disease from a certain type of toxic exposure; we can only see what the overall incidences are and try to help people avoid taking risks that might make them one of the unlucky ones. We are all exposed to nasty stuff, often without realizing it. Typically, larger exposures --- such as occupation-related ones -- are more concerning. But there are some substances, such as asbestos and lead, where the medical and scientific communities have yet to find any level of exposure/intake that is guaranteed safe. People want risk to be black and white: it will kill me or it won't. But most environmental concerns aren't like that, so we have to live with a wide spectrum of gray, and make personal decisions on how cautious to be or not. I know for certain something will kill me some day, but I try to avoid making choices that will possibly speed that up....

First off, thank you for the advice. I decided that you are 100% correct and I shouldn't pre-judge what has happened. With that in mind, it has now been about 3 weeks since they came out the first time and inspected the floors. About two weeks ago, they had a more "senior" flooring person come out to do another inspections. I gave them about one week to review the matter and called them for a status update. They never returned my called. Since then, they have been largely uncommunicative with me. I've been calling every couple of days asking for a status and get no return calls. While I am upset, I've decided that keeping things calm and non-aggressive. The lack of calling me back is not giving me a warm fuzzy. I'm going to continue to call them for then next two weeks. Hopefully they contact me back and we can work through this. If not, I'll have to decide what my next steps are. Last week, our neighbors who have a similar house as ours (built in 1956) had floors put in. I asked if I could see how it was coming along and they let me in. I noticed they were having a barrier put in between the floors and the slab. When I inquired the person installing the floor about the barrier, he stated "it's to reduce noise and also serves as a moisture barrier". I'm going to call the nwfa.org and have a inspection done. Thank your advice. If you have any more advice, I am all ears.

To be frank, it kind of works like this around here. People come and go, and a warranty means nothing when the warrantor is nowhere to be found. Therefore you try to get the job done well because once that person leaves your premises for the last time, you are likely to never see them again, warranty or not. So that being said, this is where I'm at now. The first tiler (recommended by the tile shop) that spent 10 minutes with me and said everything will be fine tiling on an uneven wall never got back to me with a quote. I guess he changed his mind. @User, I then turned to your certified list. Slim pickings in Brooklyn, but I contacted the one listed tiler. No website, nothing to be found on the internet by way of reviews, but he did get back to me promptly and courteously, which is a good a start as any around here. We live in the age of reviews, so I don't know if that should be a red flag? Anyway, he came over and the difference between this guy and the first was night and day. He got out a level and checked the whole area out. We talked about the tiles I picked, designs and layouts. It felt like a legit conversation. He was there for 1.5h (though there was a language barrier and admittedly, that slowed the process down - nothing a pencil and paper can't fix). The outcome was that the walls are f#@^ed, though it extends further than what I had imagined. His solution to the protruding niche was to cut the drywall out behind it. He also said the floors were off by 1/2" from one side of the bathroom to the other (a span of only 4 feet). Just great, right, considering new beams, new sub-floor, new walls went into this place and NOTHING is straight. It really left me feeling pretty crappy. Now cue the part of the discussion where he said everything I had learned from reading this forum 1) the thinset should be uniform behind all the tiles 2) to achieve this, the walls need to be flat. The floors also need to be leveled. So here is his quote (tiles are not included and are to be provided by me). Some quick details: bathroom is 5x8 with an 8.5' ceiling. I've asked for the full tub enclosure (tub is 3x5), tub to ceiling, and a half wall (4x5') be tiled. Then there is the floor area 5x5' and of course the niche. Does this pricing feel right @Mike Blasko, @joseph_corlett, @Erik? Project scope : Installation of tile in the bathtub area including one part of wall and floor bathroom. Surface adjustment to bring the substrates to the wall and floor in acceptable condition of the standard tile installation. If the depth irregularity exceed 1/4 inch cement backer board with screw will be installed,for thicknesses less than 1/4 inch skim coat will be used,the company carries out regularization like level surface , but square irregularities may occur. Estimated surface 125 sq = $ 800 Waterproof installation type liquid supplied by customer, the company supplies waterproofing tape to reinforce corners/junctions and primer which is applied before the waterproofing coat 125 sq = $ 400 Tile installation, Pattern tile; installation of tile in the bathtub area will be brick type with joint between tile 1/16 . Adhesive (thin set) and grout is supplied by the company including silicone to seal corners. pattern floor will be decided together with the customer, For installation niche the price will be the same both with metal profile or without. Adhesive (thin set) type Laticrete 254 Platinium, Grout type Laticrete Permacolor Silicone Laticrete 125 sq = $ 2875 For a total price of $ 4,075.00 The request for payment and; 33% at the start of work 33% at mid-work and the rest at the end of the work. Company have insurance General Liability with 2 000,00 coverage, Company have tools and skilled labor to meet customer expectations from all points of view Thanks everyone.