Tom, You are obviously an exception and do understand how wet cell batteries work. Since this is a DIY forum I tailor my advice of have the battery load tested if you suspect it and have the new one load tested before you buy it to the less knowledgeable so they won't get the rope-a-dope from the shop or the parts store. My statement was based on the fact that storage batteries are the single most misunderstood and not understood devices that auto, boat, motorcycle, OPE, and other mechanics/techs are responsible for understanding. Usually if it won't crank then throw a battery in it is the common course of treatment at most repair places. A counter jockey (jockette) at an Auto Zone with a load tester understands more about how wet cell batteries work and how to tell when they don't than a great majority of professional mechanics and techs I've come across as a tech, and a service manager from the 60's till now. I stand behind my statement that "if you sell batteries then you should have a pro-quality load tester". Then you know if a battery that you're selling over the counter is good before your customer drives 20 miles home. A load tester will also let you screen new batteries when they are delivered and you can refuse the ones that are defective saving you time and money. For those who are paid to repair and service and call themselves mechanics or tech... a decent load tester can be had for under $100. That's less than a Snap-On or Mac ratchet so there's no reason not to have one of your own if you're a real professional.

I've spent much of my career working with trees and helping homeowners, communities, golf courses, and other tree owners learn to live with their trees. OR without them. The most important measurement I would need to have in order to determine a positive outcome for a tree transplant is the diameter at chest height and at the thickest part of the trunk....usually at the flare. If you measure the CIRCUMFERENCE, that will be a big help. The age of the tree is, indeed, very important. Trees, just like any other living thing, begin to senesce once they reach a certain age. Trees really have finite, expected life span which is largely determined by genetics though environmental factors have a great influence. The older a tree is according to its genetic expectation, the more difficult the recovery process. Compare it with a healthy younger person undergoing double knee replacements......as opposed to grandpa having the same procedure. Few people understand how heavy an established tree can be, nor how huge and widespread the root system can be. A field grown nursery tree is removed typically with a tree spade...a large piece of equipment that quickly chops a tree from the field with the full expectation that most of the roots will remain in the field. Properly field dug and then properly planted trees should have a 100% success rate, and live long and healthy lives. That being said, I'd believe that this tree has very poor prospects if you try to do it yourself. Since I don't have a history of the tree or even pictures to help determine its fitness as a candidate for a professional dig....I'd be hesitant for you to spend that kind of money. You could certainly get some estimates for transplanting. An experienced crew can hand dig a smallish tree and get it moved with little mangling, breaking of branches, trunk damage. I also think that you should choose the best place for your patio door according to YOUR needs, not the proximity of an aging tree! Unless a tree is of historical significance, of great sentimental value, or environmentally valuable I wouldn't allow it to "hold you hostage ", so to speak. By the way, is this a new patio....has there been some construction in the area? I'd plant another tree or two far enough away from the patio or any other structure or hardscape to ensure that they will never be in the way. Fostering new trees is a wonderful pleasure. In this case, I really believe that it's your best scenario.....short term and long term. We can help you avoid the usual planting pitfalls to ensure that your new trees live a long and productive life.

I agree that jewelry, doll and china collection must be looked at by a professional. You never know, after watching those "Antique Road Shows", what treasures you might find - just because they dont make things anymore like they used to. IF they are worth good chunk, sell it and put the money into her funds. You never know what disaster will strike and what SHE will need. Money is like water, and She is still alive. You all have your own families and houses to take care of. Dont waste her money on storage. Sell it now and then sell the house. I also agree that if anyone has any sentimental feeling or wants to have something from her things, let them take and keep - years later you will regret just selling it to strangers. Just apply the same rules to all - either all take 1-2 items for free as memory, or all pay fare value. My husband's grandpa just gifted me his mother's (great grandma for my husband) chain watch, it was all broken, not working, I spent $80 to repair it, and it is worth maybe $80-100. BUT it has her name and date that it was gifted, etc. so it is a part of family history and I am the only female in the family who is interested in keeping it. Re the family issue - I do agree that you as parents need to set example to your kids - get them out of the picture and discussion until three siblings agree on what to do, and clarify what legal role your brother plays. What a shame that they dont go to see grandma but got their eyes set on the STUFF. And please, if all argument is about $10 desk, have the kid pay for it. Teach them to earn things just like grandma did. Teach them lessons now, even though it maybe too late if they are grown up as you describe them.

I feel the most important thing you should do is visualize, as well as reherse, how you like to move and function within a home, including electrical switch placement. Sometimes square footage is "wasted" in someone else's eyes, but the feel it gives the home makes it wonderful to live in. A little extra space here and there may also give you room to set up a card table for extra guests if you need extra dining space for special dinners, or to place a sofa bed. I like your version 1 plan the best, but again, you need to determine what would make you happy. (NOT what someone else thinks you should do). Your gut feelings will tell you what is right...for you. We recently built a log home ourselves, and opted for larger rooms, and less of them. Our children are grown, and we chose to have only a large master bedroom and no other bedrooms. It is the most wonderful bedroom to sleep in, and I open the blinds many mornings on the sliding glass door and go back to bed for a while just looking out at all our trees and our land. We have one full bathroom and one powder room. Having a large walk in pantry and a dedicated laundry room was important to me. Our home is about 1700 square feet and has a full wrap around porch. We joke and say we have a porch with a house on it. We use the porch as much as the interior of our home. We have never once felt the need, nor wanted an "away" room, despite raising 5 children. If I want time alone I take a walk. Our children were raised to respect others and tone it down. If they wanted to make noise they did it in their bedrooms or outdoors. We did not encourage TV and they learned how to play creatively.They built tree forts and played bseball (even the girls). We do not own a TV now at all. We live in a friendly climate, and there are trails to hike, rivers to canoe on, and wonderful books to read. If we lived in snow country still, there are places to cross country ski as well. I do have a good sized area that is open to and part of the great room for a sewing machine and some armoirs for storage, or bookcases, once I figure out how I want to do this. It is what would be a "foyer" in some homes. I feel foyers are a waste. Others like them and that is fine. Since my kitties like to build nests on every available piece of fabric, we are going to build a sewing studio onto our barn, but I will always have the inside area for when it is very rainy and I don't want to walk outside, or have something cooking that needs to be watched. In hindsight, we should have expanded the house just a tad to allow for the comfortable use of glass french doors to close it off from pets. Putting a wall in now would cramp the room too much, and besides, I love how it all flows right now, and I refuse to mess up our porch with an addition. If you have children, they can certainly share, but eventually a boy and a girl would need their own room. Same sex children do not ever need their own rooms. There is nothing wrong with girls sharing a room, or boys sharing a room. If you build your house so that you can add onto it in the future, you can start out with one bedroom less, and then add on later if you feel the need. We did not want a "guest" room this time, and yes, we do have guests from time to time. We have a lot of fun, cook a lot of good food, and no one has once complained about the air mattresses in the great room scenario. Someone not comfortable with this arrangement does not belong here. That's why there are hotels. Because of the way we did the layout, the house feels huge to us, and is homey and relaxing. I dislike homes that have a stuffed feeling because too many rooms were crammed into the floor plan. We did build this house so we can age in place. Putting in 36 inch doors instead of 32 does not add much, if any, cost. Because we didn't cram, we have a bathroom large enough to move a wheelchair in, and a huge shower. I haven't decided if I want a tub. It's rarely that I would use one, but the space is there. I just need to decide if I'd like a nice makeup station or a tub. I think I'd rather have the grooming area and buy a hot tub. My husband and I are people that think about what WE want, and have never once cared about some vague resale. There is always a market for a well thought out and constructed home. Don't cut costs here. We have built and sold 2 other homes that did not go along with the neutral mentality, and sold both in record time. Basically what we hear when someone comes into our home is "This is awesome!". No one has ever said "what, no bathtub?", or "ewww......no guest room or away room?!". They do comment on the nice laundry room or how they always wanted a large walk in pantry, which I could not have had if we had added extra bedrooms. I get to look outside instead of walls leading to extra rooms. We do hear, "do you mind if I spend the night...I don't mind the couch." Think carefully about what would make you happy and then do it without second guessing. If children may be in your future, by all means plan for them. If you are not sure about all the built ins, have pieces made that can be removed and put elsewhere, or have some beautiful free standing pieces made unti you live in the house a while and see what you want. What has surprised me the most was how I changed my mind about a few things, and am glad I didn't have them done initially. The hardest part for me was going through the process of getting rid of stuff and keeping only what I really loved or needed. I wouldn't trade having less wall space and more windows for anything....and I find I don't miss all the extra "stuff". Opinions on floor plans are fun to get and can give you some great ideas. In the end though it is up to you to decide on which side you want your range and how much counter space you feel there, etc. Incorrect switch and outlet placement can be very annoying, so think those out carefully as well. For some reason I found I like my range to the left of the sink, but I had to carefully think this out. I built huge cardboard boxes and labeled them refrigerator, stove, etc. and moved them around as soon as we were "dried in", and before we did anything final. I also propped plywood "counters" on saw horses in between the "appliances" to make sure I had the amount of counter space I wanted. I ended up making some changes, but it saved thousands doing it at this stage, and I am happy, which is most important. No kitchen designer can take the place of you rehersing some things. Also accept that no matter how carefully you plan and think this out, there will ALWAYS be some things you would have done a little differently after living in your house a while. The upside is that with this amount of planning and thinking things out, the changes you would have made if you had a crystal ball at the time, are so minor it doesn't matter. Build a little flexibility into some areas if you just can't decide for sure on something immediately. You have too much going on right now to pefectly decide every last thing. You may also find trhat with money saved by not adding something to your home just because that's what you "should do" for "resale" may most likely leave a litte extra cash for something else that you truly want and would love. For me that thing was a 48 inch ruby red BlueStar range and a beautiful matching french style exhaust hood that actually does what it's supposed to do, and would otherwise have been out of reach financially (at least for a while). Boy do I enjoy this range! You say you may sell in the future. Build the house as if you were never planning to move. No one can predict the future and you may want to, or have to, stay in this house "forever". In other words, live in the moment, and do not borrow a cent more than you absolutely need. The interest, and the possibility of circumstances changing and making that loan a burden, are not worth it. I cannot emphasize that enough.