For around 20$ or so (would know for sure w/model and type), you can quit scratching your head and put a new carb on. Much easier than the alternatives. Maybe the little check valve has checked out... Here is a link that might be useful: Briggs anti itch cream

I live in East Central Mississippi. I would think that anything that does well for me would do even better for you in your area. I agree with all the above suggestions except: May Night Salvia (it peters out in a year or two and doesn't bloom that long even in the first year); Echinaceas (only bloom once here and the foliage doesn't pay its rent); Russian Sage (unless you can give it very dry conditions, forget it. It just hates our humidity.); Sedum (okay but not great. They tend to get long, leggy, and mildewey, believe it or not); Phlox paniculatas (only the species is worth shooting here). I grow more plants than the following, but this is my list of bulletproof, long blooming, easy care, good looking in and out of bloom, plants for this blast furnace we live in: Salvias: Farinacea, Victoria; (low enough for the front of the border. Blooms contintually all summer. My favorite.) Guarantica, Black and Blue; (blooms from mid summer on. Really really blue.) Mystic Spires; Leucantha (Just like farinacea, but bigger, and even bluer.) Cuphea Micropetala (Cigar Plant) Rudbeckia, Herbstonne (only blooms twice, but the foliage is gorgeous) Rozanne Geranium (blooms ALL summer) Asclepias, cursivaca (Bloodroot. Attracts butterflies. Never out of bloom.) Chrysanthemum, Mary Stokes (yellow), Clara Curtis (pink), and Sheffield (lavender pink) They are all invasive. I divide them each spring, put a small division in a 5 gallon pot, and plunge the pot into the bed. They are well worth the trouble. Coreopsis, Creme Brulee (needs division every fall, but blooms all summer) Other Coreopsis are ho-hum at best. (but I grow them anyway :) Artemisia, Powis Castle: wonderful foliage plant and not invasive) Lantanas (there are lots and lots of new colors available. Give them plenty of space.) Catmint Phlox subulata (Thrift) I also like grasses: Feather Grass and Muhly are my favorites. Bulbs: Crinums and Cannas are spectacular and easy. (The old Milk and Wine Crinums bloom off and on for months.) Kostelevskya, "Immaculate": spectacular fall bloomer Roses: None are over three feet tall or wide. I grow them all with an annual top dressing of compost and no chemicals. Nearly Wild (as good as, if not better than, knockouts) Belinda's Dream (must be deadheaded, but perfect otherwise) Nagadoches (golden yellow and outstanding) Cassie (low growing and pure white) Knockouts are excellent By the way, I underplant all my roses with daffodils. They don't start coming up until after I prune the roses, and the emerging rose foliage hides the daffodil's ripening foliage. Try it. You'll like it! Other colorful shrubs: Berberis: Any Purple, or the yellow one called Aurea. Spirea thunbergii: Ogon (gorgeous soft clouds of yellow-green foliage. White spring blooms.) Hydrangea Paniculata, Tardiva (whiter than Limelight, otherwise nearly identical. Both are lovely.) Evergreens give you something to look at in the winter: Chaemysyparis filifera, Aurea (Golden false Cypress) Arborvitae, Emerald Mugo Pines This may be more than you wanted, but I hope you can get some ideas! Happy Gardening!

Hi, If you are working with an architect and the architect has built homes in the area, then he would know the building costs. If he has not done many houses in your area, then he could be way off on the building costs. I built in New York, and hired one of the worlds best architects, my brother. If you go to Hong Kong, and look at the Shopping Area there, he designed it all and surpervised its constrution. At the time he worked for Foster Associates, headed by Sir Norman Foster. He has also worked for James Stirling in the U.K. He designed for me a house, but in the end I could not afford to build it. It was 2 x over budget. Why because the techniques used were "non-standard" it was a modern home and most builders were frankly scared of the project. So a few came in cost-plus, or at very high numbers. I still think by brother did a great job, and we are none the worse for it. It was fun also and if you are in need of a good engineer, I worked with one in Connecticut and recommend him too. We had a good team, just had no idea of local costs. So after three years, and $US 50,000 I was back to square one. We hired a local architect with experience in home building in the area. We build a "standard" home with standard techniques. The house came in over budget, it always does. However the bids were much closer. To give you some idea one builder was 20% below, and another 100% above. The other six were about the middle. Our architect knew all the builders and their histories. e.g. one GC had been through a divorce, needed work, and he bid real low. Our architect said avoid him. Others build for Martha Stewart, they were expensive, but were at the highest quality. In the end we stuck to the middle of the pack. Note if a GC or builder really wants to rip you off, there are always ways he can hide it. You need to trust your builder, and he needs to trust you. We moved in about three years ago now and our GC and builder was very good. Sure we had problems, but in the end it worked out. My recomendation is to do the following: 1) Figure out which bits cost what. Rough is O.K. Doing this will probablly get you a better idea of where possible cost savings are. If one part is a major cost component, that is where you can get the most gains. 2) Simplify the design. A square house of two levels upstairs and downstairs gives you the most bang for the buck. Yech that looks bad. Not to worry this is just the ideal goal. Maybe you can change some of your design a bit to bring it more in line. Get rid of all the doormers, the indents here gables there. 3) Do you have site specific costs which are blowing your budget. E.g. rock. I needed to blast and move rock. That was expensive. Are you siteing your house in the correct place. Maybe moving where you place your house will save on your foundation. 4) If you have an architect ask what he thinks. You have to be brutal sometimes. See this wing here, cut it out removing 1,000 sq feet. Dump the basement have a crawl space. I think if you budget for about $US 250 per square foot, then you will be O.K. Obviously this will vary across the US. But if you are way off this quick check then I think you will have issues later. Way off means at a minimum $US 170 per sq foot. Much below that for a custom one off house, I think is not a good start. 5) In your plans make them detailed as possible. However ask your architect for a pricing schedule for tile, and finishes. E.G. Hard Wood floors, schedule for $US 10 installed per sq foot. Lighting fixtures schedule for $US 6,000. These are no more than guesses at what you will spend, but at least they are accounted for in your budget and will lower the surprises later. There are always budget surprises, that is the nature of the beast. Just fewer surprises. Again be brutally realistic on these numbers. The advantage of schedules is that it removes these unknowns from the builders estimates, hence the estimate is easier for the GC and more accurate, and hence more competative. 5b) Get prices for house options. E.G. unfinished bonus room, you can finish later. West wing section [$US 80,000]. Porch [$US 20,000]. That way if the bids come in high, you can lop off chunks of house, brutal I know. Or have unfinished sections that you can finish later when funds allow. But at least your patient is still alive. 6) Bid out your design to a few builders. In the end I had eight builders bidding. If you are still off on your budget then it is redesign and regroup time. Good luck. All the best, Mike.

Its good news that the grill is centered between the four burners, but I'm not clear how far it extends toward you. Another issue you don't mention is the power of the hood, in CFM. A more powerful hood works more effectively at moderate speeds -- so, its quieter and less annoying. You can make a cardboard mock-up of the hood's perimeter, then tape it up (at various heights) and pretend to cook and grill under it. This will tell you how high the hood's lip needs to be for you to work comfortably. These three variables interact; hopefully, you can settle on the right size, power, and height of hood that will work best for you.