Thanks for the wonderful link! I'll have to check out that book. Yes, I'm concerned about the erosion. We have really strong summer downpours here. We've been having record droughts since I started sweeping, so I don't know what's going to happen. For the most part water seems to run straight through this sand. However when it's really dry water sometimes beads and runs off of it. I'm just going to keep an eye on it. And Wind does affect the swept area. We've been having really strong winds. Although there's never been a "sand storm" or anything, the wind does smooth out the surface of the sand, the same way it does a sand dune. I'm definitely going to keep my eye on it. I'm hoping that the spreading roots of the citrus and especially the cabbage palms will stabilize the sand. Bill

He should find out what the owner occupancy rate is. (Obviously you want more owners than tenants living there) End units are always more desireable than middle units.(for resale) Find out if it is truly a townhouse or a townhouse styled condo. (A true townhouse and you could be cutting your own grass and shoveling your own driveway, if you're in a snow area). Find out what the HOA fees are and how decent the company is that services the complex. (ask some of the people that own there how the maintenance company is, (do they fix things in a timely manner etc). Also, I would call the HOA company and find out if there are any special assessments going on right now or any plans for any in the near future.. (Ex. Complex is re roofing the entire community and they have raised everyones HOA fees another $150 per month for five years). I would also find out what is the owners responsibility, what is the maintenance companies. (Each place is different. Some places the roof and windows are the owners responsibility, some places its from the sheetrock in) I would also find out what is included in the HOA fees. (Some places include heat/hot water, some its just road and grass maintenance.) He needs to know all the fees upfront so he knows what is within his budget. As far as resale. It might be an area thing but in my area, there is no negative for resales on townhouses or condos. Its personal preference.

The following was stated: “Suspect. Treat plants with RRD with hydrogen peroxide. According to members of the RRD Task Force there is no credible data to show that hydrogen peroxide will help a plant infected with RRD. In fact, hydrogen peroxide has the ability to damage plants.” ———————————— H.Kuska Comment: Concerning the "credible data" part the above is strictly correct, but there is credible data that externally applied hydrogen peroxide can contribute to the plant's ability to fight viruses in other plants. But before we look at that part, lets get rid of the "has the ability to damage plants". No reference(s) was/were given. Of course hydrogen peroxide in too high a concentration can damage plants. A recent field of study concerns the chemistry of "RNA silencing pathway in the plant defense against viruses" as a means that plants utilize to defend themselves against viruses. Two chemicals that are easily available to the home gardener that have been shown by controlled published research to instigate the RNA silencing pathway in the plant defense against viruses are aspirin and hydrogen peroxide. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- I will give two examples for hydrogen peroxide. 1) http://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0076090 Title: "The Role of Hydrogen Peroxide and Nitric Oxide in the Induction of Plant-Encoded RNA-Dependent RNA Polymerase 1 in the Basal Defense against Tobacco Mosaic Virus" Published in 2013. This is a very complete (and complex) scientific study so I will just extract the following: " Pretreatment with H2O2 or SNP significantly decreased TMV susceptibility, and these leaves did not show any visible systemic symptoms." In the Discussion section the following appears: "This signaling pathway may be a general pathway common to plants." ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- Example 2. http://www.akademiai.com/doi/abs/10.1556/APhyt.46.2011.1.1 Title: " Inhibition of virus replication and symptom expression by reactive oxygen species in tobacco infected with Tobacco mosaic virus " “In spite of the enormous information from research on genetics of plant disease resistance, the question still remains unresolved: what is directly inhibiting or killing pathogens and suppressing symptoms in resistant plants? This is particularly true for resistance to viral infections. Here we show that externally applied reactive oxygen species (ROS) such as hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) or ROS-producing (O 2·− [superoxide] and H2O2) chemical systems infiltrated into tobacco leaves 2 hours after inoculation suppress replication of Tobacco mosaicvirus (TMV) in the susceptible Samsun (nn) cultivar. This was determined by a biological and a real-time PCR method. Infiltration of leaves of the resistant Xanthi (NN) cultivar with the ROS-producing chemicals and H2O2 significantly suppressed local necrotic lesions (i.e. the hypersensitive response) after inoculation of tobacco leaves with TMV. Accordingly, an early accumulation or external application of ROS, such as O 2·− and H2O2, in tobacco may contribute to the development of resistance to TMV infection.”

Yes, electric fireplaces have come a long way. They might be perfect for OP's use as stated. I said "mostly" for ambiance. The heat output is also of value in our application. Especially in the great room. I procured and installed those two gas fireplace inserts five years ago when electric fireplace units looked like toys. They were just an incandescent bulb behind a rotating drum with holes shining light on fake looking, plastic logs. Not aesthetically pleasing at all. Plus, there is that $4,000 or so I spent to purchase and install those gas fireplace inserts. ;-( However, I have an upstairs loft/office with knee walls on both sides. I plan on lining the knee walls with 18" deep bookshelves from rake end wall to rake end wall. And, I have been looking for a bare unit, realistic electric fireplace to build into the cabinetry. I have had a hard time finding the bare units except online and I need to actually see them in operation before I will purpose. When it comes to realistic looking electric fireplaces, seeing is believing. Amazon just won't do. ;-) There are a lot of nice looking, electric fireplace units that come preinstalled in cabinets. Many would qualify as fine furniture. But, those won't work in my case because they are almost always too tall for the short knee walls I have. Somewhere out there is the unit I seek. And, I shall find it. I've always found that in home improvement and remodeling projects, patience pays off in spades.