You will get the best results by thoroughly loosening what you have to a depth of at least 6"-8". The reason for this is: with a loose base, the grass roots can grow down deeply into the soil and form a strong grass plant that is far more tolerant of heat and that can get really thick and keep weeds out. Just a shallow inch of fresh stuff on top, and the roots stay in that shallow inch. When the roots are just in that shallow inch, the grass needs a lot more water, is weaker and more easily stressed by our hot weather. Deep loosening of the soil is really more important than amending the soil. Grass will grow in anything in Southern California, given sufficient water and fertilizer.

STOP! Have you posted your layout here to check to see if it's optimal? The whole point of doing a kitchen redo is to have a better kitchen than you started with, not the same old layout with new cabinets. Have you measured your space yourself and then measured the layout to see if it uses the correct measurements and will actually fit the space? There's a post on here today that someone discovered their cabinet person was using the wrong measurement by four feet! Has the contractor you will be using also done the same? Contractors can sometime spot potential headaches that homeowners would not. Are there any walls or soffits coming down? They are usually there for a reason. Be sure you know what that reason is. Plumbing or electrical or HVAC changes that may happen? Those can impact the final design if you hear those awful magic words, " Look what they did here. That will have to be fixed." Have those happened yet to be able to have the room's final measurements? Sometimes plans need to be changed in midstream. If you've already ordered cabinets, you will be less open to solutions that may need to happen to fix the problem you've discovered. Ordering now for a project that will not take place for a couple of months can be a very BAD idea unless you've been almost obsessive during the planning stage. There's nothing worse than having to pay a restocking fee and order a different sized cabinet because you changed your mind or didn't realize that that soffit was in place to hide an awkward pipe. NEVER order cabinets until you have vetted your layout with multiple people and have measured it out in the space with multiple people and have performed "exploratory surgery" on anything that will have changes to it. You can be caught out with thousands of dollars of unusable cabinets that will cost you 30% just for the company to take them back.

Your lay-out looks fine. A consideration however is pipe lay-out to the house fixtures. Keep in mind that the cross sectional area of 1/2, 3/4 & 1" pipe is .19, .44 & .77 sq in. Those numbers equate to vol of water to be moved before delivery of hot. In some situations I've run a dedicated 1/2" pipe to the kitchen so I basically by-passed the main 3/4" trunk. My point is to look at your water heater placement as a component in your "system". Where is the best location for the water heater for your on-going comfort and conservation of both energy and water. Don't be afraid to move the water heater upstairs if you can vent it and it improves the system. I would strongly suggest as you develop your finished basement spaces that you not Sheetrock the ceiling. That basement ceiling is your mechanical area. Put in a drop ceiling. You will still be able to access everything. I am having this issue at my daughters house. The PO rocked the basement and garage and I now have to trash all of it. Oh, one other thing. Install a 3/4" pex recirc line. You may not need/use it, but if you decide to it is there. Easy money when it is open. Not so when done. Your plumber will likely suggest 1/2", but depending upon the recirc system you install you will have much better operation with the 3/4".

Most items were pretty good...but... Second sink Place it outside of the main cooking and cleanup zone so that a second chef can prep food, wash hands for dinner, or bartend during parties. Somewhat disagree: If you intend for the sink to be a prep sink, it should be in the Prep Zone and fairly close to the Cooking Zone. If you want it to be a sink for "outsiders" to use, then I agree. Bar-tending, etc. should be outside all three of the primary work zones (Prep, Cooking, Cleanup). The second chef can use the cleanup sink (ditto for someone wanting to wash hands). Allocating Project Costs Where's the 10% (at least) for "surprises"?! Keep your current layout. I agree with Rosie! It seems that most kitchens designed by builders or architects are not very functional, so when remodeling you want to fix the functional issues - first. (They even say this on a later slide!) Just replacing cabinets is a waste of money unless the layout is very good OR you don't cook! Blind Corners: Half-Moon Lazy Susan Blind Corners: Double Sliding Shelves Blind Corners: Pull-Out Shelves IMHO, avoid blind corners if at all possible. They are generally less useful than corner susans or drawers, waste more space, and generally the blind corner hardware is far less reliable/durable than susans or drawers. Drawers Versus Rollout Trays It's rare that ROTS are better than drawers - even for small items - use a shallow drawer. Drawer bases usually come in 3 and 4 drawer configurations - some manufacturers even have 2 and 5 drawers. I agree ROTS are easier for retrofitting, though. The Pros (and Cons) of a Pro-Grade Range [Con] Needs a 10-inch duct (versus the usual 7-inch) for a high-power vent hood to whisk away that extra heat. Most decent vent hoods these days require an 8" to 10" duct, gone are the days of 4" to 7" ducts. You've also got to match the hood to the range, both in terms of dimensions (a 30-inch range needs a 30-inch hood) Actually, 6" wider than the cooking surface and at least 24" deep is much better. If in an island or peninsula, then at least 6" wider and 27" deep is needed. Note that in most cases the power needed for venting is dependent more on how/what you cook than the cooking appliance you are using! Smoke/excessive steam/grease/fumes/etc. all require stronger cfms - regardless of gas (pro or not), induction, or regular electric.