Katrina: The fact that you are seeing some infection in this old pruning cut is not a good thing. Also, what you are seeing I would guess is a fungal fruiting body, and it is my understanding that these do not develop unless the fungus is well established. BUT, BUT, BUT, there are many kinds of fungus that can infect pruning cuts, and some of these grow smaller than others and put out fruiting bodies very quickly. So, this infection may not be deep. Also, fungal infections sometimes develop in old pruning cuts and do not progress into the wood of the trunk of the tree--after the callus closes the wound they die or do not progress any further. O'Hara briefly notes some research findings in his article about this. I can report one experience I had with a very large and tall tuliptree that was in my yard where I used to live. This was a tree well over 100 feet tall and about 2 1/2 feet in diameter. I noticed a place about 25 feet up where a large old branch had broken off many years before and it had an incomplete covering with callus. Because I was in a neighborhood with houses close together, I was afraid and the risk of huge damage if this tree was blown over or broken with the wind, I did not really trust any arborists opinion--what if he was wrong? People could be killed, a house destroyed. So I had the tree taken down. As it turned out, the tree was still surprisingly sound and did not at that time have a great risk of breaking at that point. That does not say that some problem could have progressed in the future, but the tree was, after all, basically OK. My recommendation. If you can get up on a ladder and do a close inspection of this yourself (assuming you can do this securely, poke into the area and see what kind of softening of the wood has occurred. If there is a fungal fruiting body that you can collect and put in a jar, do that--it can be identified. And it may not be too late to treat the area with copper fungicide as I have been recommending. If the wood still seems fairly sound--not turned to some kind of soft mass, I would say it may not be too late. And for a first treatment on an area like this I would paint it twice so you get a good "soak in." If the callus later closes the wound the copper fungicide that will at that point be under the callus may have some effect on stopping or reducing the infection. If you want to hire an arborist that may be a good idea. But I am not sure how much training they have in identifying specific species of fungal rot pathogens, and I am not sure that methods they have to determine the exact extent of a fungal infection. Maybe some arborist can give me some information here in this forum about this. In any case, I would examine the area carefully yourself so you will know exactly what the arborist is talking about and you can decide if it makes sense based on your own observations. And you will know what kinds of questions you can ask. Anyway, to sum up, I think there is a good chance your tree will be OK. --Spruce

My crazy deadline of trying to finish this remodel by the end of July was really stressing me out. Yesterday morning, I decided that I would choose some color of Ceasarstone. I simply had not seen a granite that went along with my vision or that I just loved. I learned that some marbles probably were in my price range, but for a couple of other reasons, didn't seem to be the right choice. I was on a mission to choose a Ceasarstone and had my mind made up. Since my DH was home for the day, I engaged him and said that WE were going to choose TODAY. I took some backsplash samples and we found one that we both liked, brought it home and the boys liked it too. I am happy because I think it will be an easy surface to maintain, it is light and that works for my smaller kitchen. (and I don't have undercab. lighting) My sister said it reminded her of our grandmother's old formica tabletop. (Which was red and we have happy memories of it), but I am going to own this decision (and try not to re-think it), but mostly, embrace any of its "fakeness!" We chose Ceasarstone Nougat. I came back today and see that it is the same as gracesantacruz! We also have a beachy feel to our home and my seaglass collection was my original backsplash inspiration. I just want to say thanks again for sharing your pictures and for the comments and encouragement (erikanh) As another comment on this thread, the fabricator said that 3 years ago they did a very small portion of quartz countertops, but these days it is about 50% of their work. Also, I ran across this article about a kitchen of the year to be displayed in New York this summer with Raven Ceasarstone countertop. http://www.marketwire.com/press-release/Caesarstone-1011570.html I think the Raven has an elegant look.

Thanks Joe. I'm not quite sure what you mean by "you don't have to get it both ways". Does that mean you can have both or that you can't have both? My kitchen is going to have an 84"x48" island and the plan is for this to be one piece with no seams. The counters are going around 3 walls (one of which is a bay window), and the fabricator thinks she can do this with 2 seams. According to my contractor, her concern is whether she can do this with just 2 slabs without disrupting the directional flow (i.e. she'll either need to put in more seams, or disrupt the flow at the seams). She's going to look at it this morning in more detail and let us know. I'll ask about the software, but my inclination would be to pay for the 3rd slab if that will make the seams less noticeable. The other thing is that my wife doesn't like the black or dark grey areas that naturally occur in most granites, so having a 3rd slab might allow us to cut around those. I don't know if it's just me, but if someone presents me with a large unplanned expenditure and no explanation, I start to suspect that someone, somewhere is trying to take advantage of me. Two days ago, I was ready to tell my contractor to just put in formica and refund the difference between that and the materials allowance in my contract. Now that I understand the issue better, I'm thinking that I'd rather spend a bit more to do the job right.

I guess I should clarify what we are thinking for the "fire-pit" area. We want to keep that part fluid in use and are more interested in having a portable metal unit that can moved around (when cool of course). I like the idea of being a little more flexible with the space (portable hammock, extra dining if there is a party, long lounge chaises, etc.). But I am also trying to keep costs in check a little as well. We are running about $5K over budget and either need to scrap something or get realistic and pony up the extra funds. If we can't justify the funds, this secondary area may need to be scrapped. Costs were another reason we suggested a crushed stone rather than more pavers. Although I don't know if the crushed product is actually saving us that much money after all. I really appreciate the feedback. Thanks and keep the suggestions/knowledge coming! The way I figure it, I make a better customer when I am better informed.