Depending on what you are using to kill the grass it could be a long time. The information on the package should tell you everything you need to know about wait times and how it affects other plant material. A couple years ago I had a very weedy area and hired a guy to clean it out for me so I could plant bluegrass there. He killed everything with Roundup and said I only had to wait two weeks. So I waited three weeks, planted the grass and it did fine. He said that the roundup breaks down in the soil in about 14 days. Having said that, I'm sure there are alot of people who would disagree and say that it can last much longer. I've also had some experiences with weed and grass killers that seem to last for about a year or two. So you need to be very cautious with poisons. Corn gluten meal is an organic pre-emergent that will prevent weed seeds from germinating in the soil for about a year. It won't prevent the grasses that spread by rhyzomes though so you would want to just use it to prevent weeds popping up from seeds that are spread by birds or the wind. Corn gluten is available at feed stores and at some garden stores. One thing about your heavy clay, it is normally very high in nutirents and although it's hard to garden in, it is good for the plants. Besides adding the compost, try also adding zeolite. It's a natural, organic material that will enrich the soils and make it less hospitable to weeds. Weeds seem to prefer to grow in areas where nothing else can. They prefer poor soil. So by enriching your beds weeds are less likely to take hold. When you do get some nice new things planted be sure to mulch well. This will deter weeds, but it also makes any weeds that do manage to pop up much easier to pull. Compost loosens the soil, mulch helps keep it moist. One other thing I would suggest is to introduce earthworms into that bed. Earthworms have their own kind of magic they do on your soil, by tilling it with their burrows and fertilizing with their castings. They will also eat dead plant material and dry leaves that fall into the bed. Composted cow manure is a good amendment to add when you have earthworms too. Cow is good because the rumination process kills most weed seeds. Domesticated rabbit manure is good because they only eat processed rabbit feed and it has no seeds. I use a 4" cedar mulch in my rose garden and the weeds and grass actually grow between the soil and the mulch layer. Their roots are in the mulch so when I pull them out they come right up. I can shake off the mulch and toss the weed. I know you're frustrated with your azalea bed, but you have such an opportunity right in front of your nose. You don't have to throw out those azaleas you know. If you pot them up, soak them for a few days in water with fish emulsion and hang onto them until you are ready to replant you could certainly put them back into the amended bed where I'm sure they would flourish. Keep in mind that most the other things you're talking about putting in there won't look like much in the winter. The good thing about the azaleas is that they fill out and stay green year round. Cheryl

What zone you are in? Are the plants dormant now? I'm not a sage expert but in general... When you move a plant, digging it up causes loss of root mass. This means the plant has a more difficult time taking up water. Frequently plants wilt under this condition. Relatively speaking, a small number of roots cannot take up enough water to support a large number of leaves. When this happens, it helps the plant by pruning it back after the move, equalizing root mass and leaf mass. I've done this before and the plant stopped wilting and recovered. The next year it was full and looked great. So based on that, it may actually be easier on the plants to move them now before there is a large number of leaves. You shouldn't have a problem with wilting. Just my opinion.

The basic rule of thumb is if it's a normal install we pull the unit and repair it. If it's unusual, not standard, extremely tight, possibility of damaging a "special" floor, sitting at a different level than the floor (some people tile up to the refrigerator but not under) the customer may be responsible for having the unit removed. Sometimes this is paying for an extra helper tech that your warranty doesn't cover.

YOU HAD A BRAIN??? dang...I thought to be a member of the KT we all had to admit that we're over the hill and at least half brainless...so please don't tell me now you've fooled us all along and you HAVE A BRAIN!! Awww Kat...it's ok...claustrophobia is real and there's nothing to be ashamed of...yes you may think it's silly considering all you've gone thru in the last year...but you're still my hero cause I could never have done what you have and just so you'll know who's making all the racket I'm sneaking into your house after while to see how you look in a mohawk!! You know you should never have told us this...now I'm gonna be callin you "MO" from now on out!! I hope you get it rescheduled soon...but we all know that you're gonna get that clean bill of health!!