Hi Trebruchet - Trust me - as crazy and often over confident in myself as I am, I know we can't raise the house ourselves. I feel really nervous about finding the right company to do it, and if there aren't many companies doing it then it may cost more than I was thinking it would. I guess researching and finding a reputable company is the first step to take after getting the elevation certificate so we know what height we'll need to be at. We don't need pilings because we're not in a velocity zone so we cant stay with cinder block piers. I think we get the house raised (with jacks and I-beams) then have temporary cribbing placed under the house in various locations to support it, then probably have the existing piers dismantled (I think they're probably not up to snuff), then have new piers built to support the house and then the temporary cribbing removed. The things that I don't know are: are the mover/raisers also take on the work of putting in the temporary cribbing and/or the permanent piers or do I find masons myself to do that work. Or even if the raisers are willing to find/sub the pier work, should I find my own masons. And I even right that it is masons who do that work Since we want to add on, I think the piers for the new additions should be done at the same time. So that means having plans complete, building permits issued, etc. We'll come up with the design ourselves - it's very straight forward) but we'll need an architect or draftsman to do the drawings. The drawings will have to show that wind-sheer building codes are met and I'm not confident we could get that right. But the main reason I don't think we can do that ourselves is that we know nothing about pier supported houses. Do architects design the pier support? Or is that done by a structural engineer? And once the piers are in place and presumably inspected (I'm not sure what all has to be permitted/inspected where the house is, but I assume most things do) we'll need framers to begin so we'll need them lined up. And all the framing materials will have to be on hand. I assume we order all the materials, and I also assume that the architect's plans document all the building materials needed, or does the lumber yard take the plans and calculate that, or do we do that and then make the order? We've done virtually every part of the work that is required to do additions, but never on a large scale where we need to hire people to help (though we've had family members help). And we're not as young, nor as fit, as we were when we did a lot of the different projects.

I don't know, I think people can be into math and numbers and also into words and reading and also into design and art. One can be an athlete as well as any of the above. I guess the questions try to put people in one camp or the other, but most people don't fit fully on either side, unless they have extreme personalities. I'd hate to be so predictable as to stick with one label. I pay attention to a lot of different areas, but also know I have a lot of blind spots. I can't fix a car, never got the complexities of chess and and not good at any games with ball throwing or worse, being thrown at. Ask me about world events and I do pretty well. Ask me about pro basketball/hockey/soccer/tennis and I am lost. Challenge me to a game of cards (canasta, pinochle or spades) and I will kick booty. No once can be great at everything, but one can be interested in a bunch of things. As much as I like numbers and have a talent for doing math in my head, I don't think of myself as a numbers person, per se. I can be analytical and I can also be emotional. Some decisions are driven by one and some the other. Hopefully, most include both areas. In any case, I like quirky and unexpected with design, so you won't see my kitchen in anyone else's house. I may have copied bits and pieces, but the total will be our own design (for better or worse, lol). Most of the design is from my imagination, but dh has had some input too and so it is a collaboration overall. I think our kitchen reflects our sensibilities a bit, so it can be a clue to our personalities in a way. I bet a profiler could deduce a lot from how people design their kitchens. Math has nothing to do with it....

DO you like "character" in your wood (scratches)? I like my wood to be sleek and satiny. The wood in my foyer shows every mark in certain lights. Kids dragging backpacks with zippers across it, gravel and sand from winter storms that gets stuck in shoes. I hate it. My upstairs wood seems to be holding up much better but then again it gets mainly socks on it, and the dragging of backpack days are over. Have dropped a few knives on to my tile kitchen floor and been so glad it's tile! The drainpipe has come off the garbage disposer and it makes a mess before you realize it. If you have pets it's nice to have a relatively indestructible surface in case they get an "illness" or whatever. (and for training in puppies.) I love my tile because it is about 8 years old and looks like the day we put it in. Mine is greyish but is sort of slate like with several colors. I can go FOREVER before it looks dirty! I do like the look of the tile that looks like wood. I would strongly consider that. I even considered it for my family room, figuring I could get a big area rug that could be replaced easily if I got tired of it or it got dirty. If only I could afford the underfloor radiant heat. The underfloor heat is a BIG plus for tile! Can you square off the kitchen floor at the morning room across to the base of the stairs? With that floorplan I think the "Kitchen" can end wherever you want it to. You won't have family room seating up against the island, so wherever the island is would be "kitchen" so floor it like kitchen. If you do get wood (and even if you get tile) be sure to get an extra box( or a few tiles at least) of each to store in case of a problem down the road. I replaced a section of wood with wood stored my attic (15 years old!) because the sun had faded it so badly from the sidelights and storm door.

We have Farm Bureau for home and auto. Also have a life insurance policy with them (hubby) and have had both boats and rvs insured through them. We have had FB for probably 25-30 years. In this house we have had 3 roofs in 18 years. This one has been on a while (knock on wood!). For several years we had some bad spring storms with some serious hail. Both times FB was wonderful to work with. We didn't have to submit multiple estimates and the claim was paid quickly. Last year on a day I was working, I was coming back from lunch and a student and I collided. Police could not assign blame (I honestly think we were changing lanes at the same time) so each of us handled our own vehicle. They are great to work with on an auto claim. We had to use them once before for an auto claim and the one body shop in the area we would choose to use is set up with FB. All you do is take your car in. They handle everything, even a rental car if needed. My only complaint is we had a wonderful agent for years, and are not so fond of the younger agent who took on his clients (original agent retired). But it's a personality thing, I can't say he doesn't do his job. In both the roof claims and the recent car claim, our rates didn't go up. The home owners did eventually, with an explanation of so many claims, etc. due to storms in the area. It was not a major increase though. We do get discounts for having multiple policies, for having an alarm system, for having fire coverage, etc. I manage my grandmother's affairs and she has had Travelers for years. She also had a claim a few years back due to hail and they were good to deal with. However, they did the depreciating method, which I do understand. Her rates seem high compared to ours.