Greg, That picture of the forest of B.yatay palms was taken in Argentina(El Palmar)National Park.Cool picture,Butia palms as for as the eye can see.What I meant by the experts saying that T.fortunei is best suited for our region is our soil and climate and rainfall is just about exactly the same as where they grow naturally.I don't need to add sand to my soil,at least in the front and side yards.My soil drains to good,that was the problem for the Trachycarpus palms.16 feet down under my soil is solid granite rock,I live on top of a big granite hill.I cant plant anything in my back yard anyhow.I have 4 pitbulls in a 6ft fence.I've tried to plant stuff back there and they will tare it up,even pull it slap out of the ground.The only thing back there is a Red Oak tree that's probably 150yrs old,it's huge.The back of my house faces north,no good for palms anyhow.I do add Palm Tone and Superthrive in with the soil when I plant a palm.I use both about every 2 months from May to September also.Plus I foliar feed them with Neptune's Harvest,fish and seaweed fertilizer every weekend.I have 3 T.fortuneis,1 T.wagnerianus.I ordered a 3 gallon T.princeps yesterday.I haven't had a problem with any of the Trachycarpus palms this year since I started using the Superthrive.It makes palms grow like crazy :)

Welcome JMLz16! Thats a nice list of palms. That fishtail palm must be a beauty and San Franciso defintiely has a pretty good climate for many different palms. Heres an updated list of my palms... (some of this list was copy, pasted, and updated from the list above) ...... Windmill palm (5) (3 in the ground 2 have been through 2 winters, one has been through its 1st winter now, and 2 are 4 year olds that are still pretty small and are in pots) Pindo palm (3) (one that has been through 2 winters in the ground and one that will be going through its first winter in the ground this year.) European Fan Palm (inground and going into 2nd winter) Blue European Fan Palm Parlor Palm (Triple, 7 years old) Cat palm (2) Magesty Palm (3, one is huge one is medium sized, and the last is small) Queen palm (8 years old from small seedling) Livistonia Chinensis (4 of them, one in ground going into 2nd winter, others in pots) Coconut palms(2) Bottle palm Chamaedorea Microspadix Chamaedorea tepejilote Chamaedorea seifrizii Spindle palm (large potted plant with ringed trunk forming) Sabal Minor (3rd winter in the ground coming up) Foxtail palm Solitare Palm (about 2 feet of clear trunk) I have 19 species of palm trees that are currently living at least 10-15 others that havent made it over the years -Alex

spataro51 I used what's called Baseboard Thermostat. You can find them at Homedepot and Walmart. Very common. The difference between one of these types and a low voltage type, is that the baseboard thermostat is designed for the high current that a baseboard heater requires. It will handle 15 amps without a problem. Here's a picture of how I connect it up to a wall plug. All mounted on a stick. DISCLAIMER: THIS IS FOR DEMO PURPOSES ONLY. IF YOU ATTEMPT THIS ON YOUR OWN, DO SO AT YOUR OWN RISK. ALSO, PLEASE HAVE A BIT OF ELECTRICAL BACKGROUND BEFORE ATTEMPTING AS YOU COULD CAUSE A FIRE IF NOT CONNECTED CORRECTLY. PLEASE NOTE. Do NOT use any kind of Extention cord to make this. Use only actual House wire and heavy duty, 3-prongled plug. Plug only into an outlet with nothing else in the line. Also, for such a small structure, I had the blow dryer set to its lowest heat setting. On this dryer, this consumed only 400Watts of power (approx.) In this picture, you can see the blow dryer and the thermostat on a stick. Below (out of view) the thermostat, on the same stick, is another box with a wall plug in it.

Binsd--The Ranch Style lives! Love this thread because I too am the proud(?) owner as of last Feb of a 1960s ranch home. I got all the cool stuff from the 60s and 70s: avocado appliances, gold flocked wallpaper, pink tile, gold colored accents. Oh yeah! Immediately took the house down to the studs to turn it into a Modern Farmhouse. I took inspiration from these: Walker-Warner Sonoma Farmhouse (http://www.walker-warner.com/indexf.html#POR-GRC-001) Christine Lane, Boston, MA (http://christinelaneinteriors.com/) I think ranchers are particularly suited to blend styles. They were a bit funky then and they can still be. Yet, if you want to lean slightly more traditional, they can sustain the transitional. I think they are way more flexible than many styles. Your home in particular has some good bones! The raised ceilings and open one-story floorplan are great for toddlers since you can see them from most rooms. If you can mix some of your Spanish furniture with some more contemporary pieces, I think it will have that California Spanish casual style--with a cleaner look. Love it! In the green bathroom, take out the brass and replace with frameless glass. It will immediately look more contemporary. A glass company should be able to make the shower enclosure (this one's traditional, but you get the picture): From Misc photos If you want to embrace the modern look, peruse: Atomic Ranch (http://www.atomic-ranch.com/). I think they have more Eichlers than Ranch, but it gives you an idea of that style. Here's my old house and the old stuff that was in it, then here are two exterior shots of what it looks like now: From Menlo Farmhouse From Menlo Farmhouse From Menlo Farmhouse From Menlo Farmhouse From Menlo Farmhouse I wish I could cite all of the great pics I have seen in magazines where they have remodeled a ranch. Each had their own flavor: slightly more modern, slightly less modern, more funky, somewhat traditional, etc. Search: mid-century, modern, ranch home. Have fun! I think your house is a great choice!!