Hey Julie, I was through Lewiston just yesterday on my way home from New York. We are in a similar growing zone, although yours may be a little warmer, depending on the wind. Ruth Ann, in Burlington Ontario, is a wonderful expert in our area in the growing and wintering of brugmansia. Hopefully, she will add her comments as well. You mention that you have 8 brugs (ecuador white) and that it is now getting into the 40's here at night. When it gets cold here and near the freezing/frost point, I always take mine indoors or at least cover them for the night. Tonight, it is supposed to be close to freezing here, and clear, so I have taken most of mine inside, and covered those that I want to keep that I have not yet brought inside. These I put into my garage, and have started to trim off the leaves to force dormancy. I will be washing them several times to get rid of bugs, and spraying them as well. I keep most of mine in a cold cellar with no light, but it does not freeze there. I usually also take a few cuttings, ....just in case. These I keep in my basement under florescent lamps. I do have to watch these for spider mites, and spray often to keep the mites in check. You mention that your garage can get quite cold. If it freezes, and your brugs are in there, they will not survive, so you must be aware of what you need to do. They should be brought indoors. Try to get some 4 foot florescent lamps from a recycle shop or some other economical source ( friends?) It is not too difficult to wire them up to a timer for the winter. I usually cut the foliage off, even if I take the plant indoors. They will drop the foliage at any rate because the intensity of the light is different from outside. Your question about the coolers is an interesting one. Personally, I think that the closed coolers may set up a humidity problem and mold would set in. In my mind, that would surely be detrimental to the health of the plant. You mentinon that your basement is heated. How hot? Is there a cool spot? I found a space in the corner of mine that is good for my brugs. You asked if you should try bring a few of those 5 down to the basement anyway. I would. If you make a few cuttings, and get them going, and all survive, you will have extra to make plant trades in the spring. That is what I do anyway with my brugs and also my dahlias. Before I bring my plants indoors, I always give them a good blast with the hose, then spray with an insecticide of some sort, and then blast again with the hose. All this AFTER I have removed most of the leaves. Remember to wash your hands after trimming the plant. Better safe than sorry. An interesting question about the roots in the pots. If you have some pots that are just a little bigger, feel free to repot. However, if the plant goes dormant, then repotting should not be necessary until the spring. If they are only 1 gallon pots though, I am concerned that they might not be large enough. So many factors are dependent here. The temperature of the place where you are going to store them, the amount of light you are going to give them. IF you are going to take them indoors and try to keep them alive and growing in the north-west light, then I would definitely repot them. Of course space is a factor as well. If you have any variegated brugs, I have found that they do not take well to going dormant. I always keep mine going throughout the winter. They are in larger pots though. When I put them outside in the spring for their summer residencey, I usually just sink the pot into the ground. In the fall, I clip off the roots that have gone outside the pot, and then trim the leaves back, take to the cold cellar (non freezing), water once every 3-4 weeks sparingly, and then start them up again in early May. Best of luck.

If he's worried about lining the tiles up after cutting, competent is not the adjective I'd use to describe him. It's not a big deal to cut 18" tile, if not with a score and snap cutter, then with either a wet saw or a 4" grinder. If he doesn't have the proper tools for the job, again, I'd question his competence. This shouldn't even be an issue.

You MUST upload to a web server. That usually means a photo hosing site for most people, but some computer people host their own servers. A linked photo does not always provide a link to the host site or open in a new window. That has to do with the HTML coding used to show that photo in a post. Sometimes, just the image tag is used and you get just the photo without the link to the hosting site. (img src="photohostinglocation.com/jpg") Replace the parenthesis with carets and your hosted photo will appear in the post. Photobucket is very easy to use for even a person lacking computer skills. I suggest you create an account there and follow their instructions for linking images if you wish to imbed images into a post.

key words "third party". The builders contract with you is irrelevant. Saying someone is going to hold out money is just a way to move forward and shut you up. You should get an estimate for repairs, contact the third party and file a claim against their insurance. Any business should have insurance for their vehicle while on the property of their customers. The builder did not cause the issue and you will never win in court if it goes that far.