@dchall_san_antonio - thanks so much for the reply. The sod shouldn't have been on the pallet for longer than 24-30 hours. We had to wait between rains that were ~9 days apart. The first storm was heavy so the sod farm in Houston couldn't cut. I was told it was cut in the afternoon and delivered the next morning to ATX. It was installed immediately all in one day. The brown spots actually run from one piece to another, around edges as well as across the center of pieces which is why I am concerned about a fungus or disease. We had more rain this evening so will back off watering some more as the soil is super wet. It definitely looks dormant (brown) in spots, not dead (gray). I haven't researched pre-emergents yet. There are really no weeds in the lawn other than the nutsedge, so was hoping to get ahead of the winter ones. I will definitely be able to spray once its all dormant. If there is a pre-emergent that is recommended, I am open to any suggestions. The good news is that it rooted in really well and fast. I can't find a spot that can be picked up anywhere. I was rolled twice the day it was installed and again the next day. It's only been mowed once by my yard crew, prob at 1.5". I am planning to take that over in the spring and will go as low as I can. I am certain I am going to have a leveling project as well. There are plenty of small indentations I would like to address. It wasn't dragged, only raked before the sod was installed. It was a toss up between tif and celebration. I liked the color of celebration a bit more and there is a bit of shade on either side, although one edge/side gets morning to mid afternoon sun, and the other gets mid morning to late afternoon sun. Would love to be able to make one fertilizer application organic. What's the best in your view? I've been using liquid seaweed on my garden beds and have no idea if that would advisable for the lawn. Compost tea is also an option in Austin, especially in the spring. All of the local nurseries have it available for those of us who haven't made our own. Thanks again!

don't 'look' for activity, have faith and give them food regularly, they'll get it on as soon as conditions dictate, do you like an audience? :) - if you can see the clitellum [the band around the body that's the sex organ] they're mature enough to breed, if not they'll mature soon at that size, but they don't breed unless they "feel at home" and have food a few days isn't time for them to settle in, they don't run laps around the bin, they just casually slurp up the soft decomposing material, and primarily the bacteria causing the decomposition, which takes awhile to get rolling, more than a few days .... they'll feed on the paper as it gets microbially active [keep it wet], but the bacteria might get a jump start with some soft fruit like melon .... chop things up small for starters and it'll work faster, and yes, a bigger bin would be better Bill

Hi, Thanks very much for your responses. - Everyone I've spoken with, and you've confirmed, that one zone per floor makes sense. If I'm missing anything else about "zones", please let me know! - How much should it cost to go from 2 zones to 4? - We are definitely going to put in all new ductwork. Is there anything here that I should be aware about or ask for? Any sites (besides GW) to get more knowledge on this area so I can ensure we get the ducts sized properly? - Good comments on getting more info on the geo wells, piping, etc. Will do. - Can I get a Manual J done even if the house is under construction? Framing is almost done, but the exterior work is not complete, and so it's open to the elements right now. - Yes, we have a natural gas furnace and electric AC in the house. It appears that a NG furnace was installed in 2007. The unit is a Lennox Signature Collection, model CX34-62D-6F. We also have an electric hot water heater, AO Smith ProMax Plus, model FCG 75 300. Does it make sense to re-use these or upgrade? Obviously, the furnace will be out if we go with geo. - Here's a summary of our NG and electricity rates. I hope I'm doing this correctly -- taking the bill amount and dividing by the energy used. Some months may need to be taken out because the numbers are too high/low. Please note that we have not lived in the house, so this is what we were paying for several months before construction commenced. So I would expect actual usage, and thus our bills, to be higher, but I guess that the cost per unit would be somewhat proportional. Natural Gas Monthly Charge / Therms Used / All-In Cost Per Therm $18.06 / 5.1 / $3.54 $16.76 / 5.1 / $3.29 $51.90 / 32.5 / $1.60 $78.53 / 57.7 / $1.36 $339.62 / 314.7 / $1.08 $362.71 / 321.1 / $1.13 $184.41 / 154.8 / $1.19 $81.98 / 60.4 / $1.36 $66.62 / 47.4 / $1.41 $18.45 / 7.1 / $2.60 $16.18 / 5.1 / $3.17 $1.97 average Electricity Monthly Charge / KWH Used / All-In Cost Per KWH $285.18 / 1757 / $0.16 $137.36 / 786 / $0.17 $77.44 / 416 / $0.19 $57.91 / 316 / $0.18 $66.29 / 382 / $0.17 $86.87 / 524 / $0.17 $61.02 / 341 / $0.18 $24.50 / 76 / $0.32 $25.22 / 80 / $0.32 $38.34 / 73 / $0.53 $21.23 / 53 / $0.40 $32.62 / 140 / $0.23 $0.25 average - It must not be code on my state (MD) to have each floor zoned. Our bids have been for two zones (on per system, one system covering basement and first floor, second system covering second and third floors), or for four zones (running off two systems). - Thanks for the heads up on the tax credits. My husband is tracking these, so I'll make sure he knows this. - The addition is on a loggia, not crawl space. So the basement is a walk-out basement, and the loggia will in effect extend the basement, and then the kitchen/family room addition will be above this, and our master bedroom addition above that. It's at the back of the house. Here's an early photo so you get the idea. The house is brick, and the addition will be part brick, part clapboard. - I am trying to learn what an HRV is, so am looking into this. - If it's not a good idea to go with spray foam insulation, let me know! Thanks for the info on what type would be good. - More thoughts on what system to go with, pricing, etc.?? THANKS AGAIN!!

Our pool was pebbletec'd yesterday and the guys just showed up to do the acid wash. I've got 3 hoses all layed out, ready to start the fill. I'm so excited I can hardly contain myself. My wife had to stop me from jumping in the empty pool on several occasions. Our PB told us we could start swimming as soon as the water reached the tile, even before the official start up of the equipment and chemicals, though we should expect the water to be quite cold. I'm in SoCal and we've had temperatures reaching triple digits, so "quite cold" sounds pretty good.