I build my own greenhouses. They take a bunch of time, and you'll need assistance for some of the steps, but conservatively speaking, they wind up being twice as strong and half the cost of something you buy as a kit. My smallest greenhouse is 450 square feet, and some folks think that's a large structure. If you are thinking about something smaller, kind of a hobby size greenhouse, then building it yourself isn't difficult. How handy are you? Also, there are other types of structures that you might be able to use as greenhouses. My sister in the Detroit area found someone that sells car ports, and they are going out of business and practically giving them away. The steel tubing of the car port is perfect for a greenhouse, although the spacing of the ribs/bows might not be close enough. I suggested she buy two and make one greenhouse out of them with closer spacing for the ribs/bows. Even if you buy a kit, you still have to assemble the thing yourself, so my approach was to do the whole thing myself, and then I'm able to get what I want. Clair

We put in a low loop design with some stainmaster type treatment, from HD. There is a pattern of squares created by the weaving which seems to "hide" the wear pattern and also dirt. MY best advice is to buy a roomba for the basement and run it regularly to keep dirt from being ground in, and to refresh the carpet. I usually run it while I work out, and feel doubly virtuous :).

Thank you for the suggestions. I was thinking about eventually anyway finishing the basement -except for the hvac/storage area. We would make an office for my husband (he will work from home full time) a craft room for me, and maybe another spare bedroom. The rest would probably be open for a family/ play room. We would probably put a full bath down there too. I have been looking at egress windows and put in as many as I could. I have also been looking at lighting. I grew up with a walkout basement and j really love them. Thanks for the tip about log cabins. I have thought about the loft. I really like that idea and wonder how much that would cost. I know everyone would like it not just my little babe.

Terry Flynn-did you have to move the electrical and water lines when switching over from the Viking to the Samsung? I have replaced the fan in my Viking (circa 2006, but not plugged in until 2010) and the freezer still too warm but now the alarm goes off every 15 to 24 hours. I can’t get a good estimate or diagnosis of the problem other than “maybe a slow leak” and “it will cost thousands to replace.” Living where I do, I am at the mercy of one repair company. Getting up at 3 am to turn an alarm off is getting old. Had planned to let it just operate to it’s death, but it would be nice to know if it could be repaired and last awhile longer. Otherwise looking at a counter depth Bosch with some rework of the cabinetry and as I said, electrical and plumbing. That alone will be close to $5000 and if I could repair this one with some guarantees…..oy