Yes, I meant either/or. As you can see Bill, pcp is still allowed for treatment of rr ties, although most are treated with creosote - most, not all. I don't know if Allen knows what they had been treated with. "Allen's ties have already been in the ground a long time,..." I'm not sure how to interpret this. Do you mean all of the creosote or pcp has leached into the surrounding soil? That is why I would remove the soil too. I've heard creosote can remain in wood for up to 80 years. Here in my state and I believe most if not all others, our county has a household hazardous waste collection site and to further encourage people to dispose of hazardous materials properly, sets up a neighborhood pick-up collection at least once per year. From there the materials are disposed of according to more stringent regulations than ordinary waste. Maybe BC doesn't have a similar program. My city includes plastic in the recycling progam, so I don't need to come up with creative ways of burying waste plastic in the garden. "I think we get a little too focused on one little 'evil' around us and lose the big picture-" Bill, what do you know about these contaminants? "Technical grade PCP has historically contained dioxins (e.g. tetra-, hexa- and octochlorodibenzo-p-dioxin) and hexachlorobenzene as manufacturing by-products." (http://ace.orst.edu/cgi-bin/mfs/01/pips/pentachl.htm) "concerned about plastic but drive a car ..." I think it is far wiser to not add hazardous products to an already contaminated environment when there is no need, than to find excuses to continue the practice. A good way to help limit our contribution to the problems is to not continue to add to the enviromental burden, especially when we know certain item/s are problematic. Removing these problematic items and disposing of them properly lessens the burden.

LOL Vanessa.........I was just standing outside today, looking at the chimney stone, thinking how perfect it would have been! And it would have been so meaningful to use it on the pond, instead of "imported" rocks. oh well. Maybe by the time it comes down, we'll have a bigger pond to put it around! One question for you........are you sure its okay to put all that weight on the rim of your stocktank? I'm going to support all the stone around mine on other rocks, so it barely rests on the lip. I can't remember for sure, but I'm thinking someone brought up the issue of not putting too much weight on the lips of the stocktanks. Maybe it would be good to put 2 more PVC pipes right behind the stocktank, under the plywood shelf?? Back to my questions: Should I build up the soil where I'm going to put the waterfall, and put the liner over that........and then start adding the rocks? Do I pull up the sides of the liner, and and lay them over rocks, to make that "U"? Or could I sculpt the soil in a horseshoe-type shape, and lay the liner over that? Would that raise the sides enough to prevent leaks? hahaha I guess I need to go out there and start figuring it out. I have major problems leaning over and I guess I'm not looking forward to it, and want to have a real viable plan before I even start it. The last thing I want is to have it all done, and really like it, then look out at the end of the day and have the pond empty. hahaha So I want to make it perfect to start with. So is your built-up waterfall done already? I want pics!!

Trailrunner, I live in Pewaukee, WI which is about 20 miles west of Milwaukee. This past winter was very long but I think I can safely say spring has sprung. I swim laps like crazy all summer. I thought I was doing good with 50 or 60 round trips but now you make me feel like a slug with your 80. We only use a pool service to open and close the pool. I do maintenance throughout the summer. We replaced the old sand filter with a cartridge system 2 years ago and the pool stays cleaner than ever. No more back washing and way less vacuuming. People are always surprised when I tell them how little work it is to keep the pool up. I would love to have pavers or stained, stamped concrete around the pool but can't justify the expense either. Found a photo of the damage that a September hailstorm did to the liner. We were actually lucky because we were planning on replacing the liner the next spring and this way our homeowners insurance covered the cost. So here is what it looked like. This photo ( with my son acting a little bit goofy) shows that the previous liner was a bit lighter than the current one. Our pool gets full sun until late in the day. Maybe I should have picked an even darker liner. I didn't think they would make the water that much warmer. Oh well, I hope this liner is good for the next ten years.

Sallysue: or lending dh! OK - here's something more to say; sort of. That Cushy Cupboards stuff is seriously weird. Or at least un-American or something; the company that is. Who's ever heard of such a good product, then, having zero shelf space? I mean, before I shell out at least 30% more for a product of questionable necessity to begin with, I do want to see it, and not at my own expense. That's why there are retail stores (the "not at my own expense" part is wrong of course; it is and comes in their markup). So I was curious as to why it isn't available hardly anywhere. No 'contact us' on the website but there is an LLC name; I googled that and called ... someone's condo's kitchen I think! I spoke with a very nice man who is the seller of it, wouldn't tell me how the stuff comes to exist (his prerogative not to, but I'm curious all the same), explained he has no distributor, but why he doesn't just drive north for an afternoon to Ground Zero of consumerism on the globe, which is about 50 miles north of him (cf Whole Foods Parking Lot of earlier), I just don't get. "Not in the plans". OK, I suppose that doesn't make you weird, but it sure makes you a curiosity in 21st century America. Geesh, you'd think at least VT Country Store? Why sell a product if you're not going to sell it? Probably, somehow, he just happens to have the stuff, maybe, and a friend runs DeNaults, maybe, or something? ... I dunno. Not my business, obviously. But it's awfully hard for me to shell out all that moola w/o seeing it, especially given qualms about using anything at all. Oh well, what a curiosity. I assumed it had to be some sort of space-program spinoff, the material that is. When I suggested that possibility the puzzlement on the other end of the phone line was palpable; guess not! Destined to remain an enigma.