I recently enclosed what was a screened porch. It's raised two plus feet off of dirt floor that's indirectly exposed to the weather in Southeastern PA (cold winters/humid summers). I heard horror stories of other floors buckling due to temp differences below and above (the porch will be heated this winter) so we opted for a Mahogany "deck" floor due to its history in being used outdoors for wraparound porches etc. We put a moisture barrier down, "insulayment" , luan and the Mahogany. The plan was to stain and poly the floor but the stains seem difficult to apply evenly. The only thing that works where you can still see the grain is just poly over the top. Should I condition first? Should I just abort the mission and paint the floor??? We're looking for a darker (almost Walnut color). Did I blow the call all together with the flooring vs wall to wall carpet? Thanks

Ann T, I thought of Canada when she chose maple leaves and thought maybe they should be maple or something more "northern" than sweet cherries. She could have chosen hearts or acorns or apples, but she liked the maple leaves. So there was a "circus camp" in Sault St. Marie? I'd never heard of such a thing until they advertised it as a day-long kid's camp. I loved the show at the end too, the kids had such fun. Mary, Madi is just a little young to work on fair entries, although she loves the baby turkeys at the farm. She is not too little, though, to eat Elephant Ears with Makayla and Bud, so she'll have fun too. Thanks, everyone, I'll let Makayla see this thread. Or maybe not, she'll get a big head. (grin) She's always lobbying me to take a picture of something we've made for "the forum", then I have to get on the internet and show her the pictures, she loves it. I am one lucky Grandmother, for a lot of reasons. Annie

The sellers position is interesting to say the leastÂbecause if they truly believed that weather and the gas leak were the cause for the high reading, why would it matter to them if you had the second test performed by a radon tech of your choice? Unless of course they have a "plan" to make certain the level test at below 4.0Â That said, purchase contracts usually state that the buyer has the right to test using professionals whom they chooseÂÂnot the sellerÂs choiceÂso IÂm not quite sure what standing they have for their demand. GrantedÂit does depend on how badly you want the houseÂand then again, also how badly they wish to sell. If you walked from the deal, they would have to disclose the 4.2Âor risk being charged with consumer fraud otherwiseÂ...as there is now a paper trail, and the info is on file and has been reported to NJDEP.... ....so IÂm not sure what their point is in this matterÂas the whole process would have to start all over again in a very soft buyers market. Depending upon the age, type and structure of the home, $500 may not buy you all that much in the way of mitigation. IMO, I would have a licensed radon mitigation specialist (a different license than that of radon technician) give you an estimate on costÂbefore you agree. Usually attorneyÂs shy away from the credit for mitigationÂas some homes are a challenge to mitigate. When this does happenÂÂwhich is not oftenÂit is usually an older homeÂ.and sometimesÂstandard methods donÂt workÂbut meanwhile the buyer is now the ownerÂso it becomes their problem. The decision on what to do is yoursÂbut IMO, all this is well worth considering. Last but not leastÂif you DO take the creditÂplease seriously consider using it to have the home mitigated ASAPÂas opposed to hoping the level remains below 4.0 between self-testing. If not for the benefit of your own health and that of your familyÂfor the fact that chances are when it is your turn to sell, you will probably have to pay do so anyway. ThereforeÂwhy not reap the health benefits now?

I would like to point out that since the thread was started in 2002 I would hope the situation has come to some resolution. Either that or the OP's son is the only 25 year old still in middle school. What you should do is lie to your kid and tell him that grades are monumentally important. That's right I said lie. Grades are somewhat important, and they certainly make paying for college easier. Having said that, knowledge is way more important, I would far prefer my son get a C with complete understanding of the material than get an A with no real understanding of the material. There is a myth about college in general that most parents simply don't understand. Your incredible Ivy league schools have the small advantage of degree portability, but a degree earned from a large state school in the state where you want to work can be nearly as strong. There is a significant amount of research that shows HR directors are biased towards their alma mater, so for example if you want to work in central Ohio then Ohio State is a great choice, mostly because the HR director is statistically more likely to have graduated from Ohio State than anywhere else. The Ivy league only negate some of that. Furthermore, if your son intends to continue to graduate school then even High School performance will not be looked at. Grad schools care about entrance test scores disproportionately, all other factors pale in comparison. When we look at applicants for graduate programs the things we consider are: (1) test scores, (2) work experience, and (3) interview, undergraduate grades only sit in the background to help answer "can the student handle the rigor?". Finally, there is a LOT of research that shows good grades are not an indicator of a successful career and or a happier life. The most significant indicator for success in the work place is participation in an extracurricular sport. The fact of the matter is a B/C student with a strong social life is more likely to be successful than an A student without one. In the end, please make sure that your son/daughter understands the material (please, for the love of god, teach them some math). If they don't understand the material, especially math and english, fix that! Keep their grades as high as you can but don't sacrifice socialization for grades.