Christie, It has been interesting following this thread as the real layout of your situation only became apparent when you added the additional late fall taken pictures. I think most of us were imagining a situation where the garage was set as an "L" to the rest of the house, rather than your situation. I'd also agree with several others here that pulling the walk away from the house, perhaps as a gentle curve, and adding a pull-out parking bay off the driveway would make the entry more gracious, but can understand that this is more than you want to take on at the moment. I would see no harm in wrapping new plantings to the outside of the existing walk, and maybe even adding a few small accent trees to the outside to make the approach more inviting. I would suggest keeping any new plantings right at the walk/driveway connection low and sweeping to not block sight of the actual entry. I can also see how the Burning bush Euonymus is probably a maintenance chore being squeezed between the house and walk, and should probably be moved to where it can have some room to grow, rather than being hedged. The main floor level set higher than the garage seems perfectly normal from this end of the country, where such a design is the norm, most often seen when houses are split level with another storey above the garage, so I had to stop and look at the photo again to see why this was a quandary for Laag. If I were to guess, I would say that you probably have forced air heating ducts located in this crawl space, connecting to the heater in the garage? In the long view, you might also consider remodeling the house to convert the garage space to more living area, and locating the garage in an orientation that is more pleasing visually. Here in California garages are often converted to living space, and sometimes not even replaced, but instead a carport might be added with a new orientation to the house. A larger porch or reconfigured enty could also be designed in future to make the entry more inviting, but I suppose this wouldn't be as popular in Missouri, as it is in California, where lots are so much smaller, and privacy and usable garden space are limited, making entries a logical place to enclose to create usable and more private garden space for entertaining outdoors. Low fencing to create a semi-private courtyard could be another approach to signal that this is the entry, and also make it more visually interesting.

Steve, Thank you, the first time I'll get a chance will likely be a couple days from now, but I'll happily post them then! Patty, You're unreal. Don't know what more to say. Well, that and thank you. :) Just when I think I'm ready to plant, I feel like I'm singing the old folk song again, "There's a hole in the bucket," (dear Liza, dear Liza...) Home Depot didn't have the Osmocote Plus as Scott's advertised; did have the Miracle Gro Shake 'n Feed® Continuous Release Citrus, Avocado, & Mango Plant Food, but thankfully you had forewarned me! I found it at another local place though. Woo-hoo!!! Grabbed a couple. Does this have a shelf life? Wondering if I should invest in more. Also, for anyone interested in bulk, saw this after I bought the smaller 4.5 lb jugs of Osmocote Plus: www.greenhousemegastore.com/product/osmocote-plus-15-9-12-fertilizer

Interesting! 1st this " macv (My Page) on Sat, Mar 6, 10 at 22:17 All parts of a single-family dwelling, including a private attached garage, are considered the same occupancy so there are no occupancy separations. I don't know why you mention decks and causeways," It was general information based upon 35+ yrs. of working on single, multiple occupancies including high rise commercial as and for contractors archetects, endineers and as an inspecter. "I know of no code that requires a double layer of drywall at a garage. What code are you using? The IRC requires drywall on the garage side to be 1/2" non-rated gypsum wall board." Would you like a list of the communities that i presently accomplish repairs for, which have this as an application? "As for doors in a shared garage wall, the IRC requires a solid wood door, a steel clad door, or a 20 minute fire-rated door but there is no requirement for the frame or an automatic closer so the assembly cannot meet the requirements for a fire-rated door." And now this; "However, the requirements for private garage separation is the same in the IRC, IBC and the CBC except that the IBC and CBC also require a door closer. 2007 California Building Code: "406.1.4 Separation. Separations shall comply with the following: 1. The private garage shall be separated from the dwelling unit and its attic area by means of a minimum 1/2-inch gypsum board applied to the garage side. Garages beneath habitable rooms shall be separated from all habitable rooms above by not less than a 5/8-inch Type X gypsum board or equivalent. Door openings between a private garage and the dwelling unit shall be equipped with either solid wood doors or solid or honeycomb core steel doors not less than 1 3/8-inches thick, or doors in compliance with Section 715.4.3. Openings from a private garage directly into a room used for sleeping purposes shall not be permitted. Doors shall be self-closing and self-latching." All of these are based upon the UBC and can be ammended to more closley reflect local applications. "IRC, IBC and the CBC except that the IBC and CBC " Certainly glad to have expanded your horizons.

I don't see any coils of excess line in my Mitsubishi systems. The installer, who has been teaching at a local trade school for at least 30 years, must have figured out how to cut them. He must have figured out how to charge a system too since a reversing valve failed under warranty and had to be replaced. I have no doubt that older systems may be longer-lived than newer ones, and less complex. That does not mean that the stone-hatchet stuff is better in every way. If we followed that logic, we'd all be driving the cars that they still have in Cuba. Learning new techniques can be challenging and training is expensive when you consider the time needed, but it is necessary. The down side may be that it puts small shops at a disadvantage. I don't see how one or two people can afford to stay current on everything that is out there today. It is not limited to cooling either. Right now, I've been dealing with a boiler replacement at my dad's house and trying to do it on a reasonable budget. Putting a low-mass boiler in his old hydronic system (without a lot of expensive modifications) is a challenge. Finding a local installer that is up to date in his rural area has been frustrating. (Small here is really small. Katy is huge compared to his town of 2000.)