AS you say, the Wallmate would really be a lot faster. Check directly with Dow or at lumber yards, as opposed to the Big Boxes. Use as many or as few fasteners as needed to keep the XPS tight to the wall, including the bottom. I've not tried concrete nails. If you can get them to hold the washers tight, why not? Please use goggles! (I once warned a neighbour about that. He brushed me off. The next day he was sporting a massive patch on his eye after a visit to the ER.) Adhere the XPS directly to the blocked window. The idea is to keep the XPS directly on the wall; this prevents condensation and keeps the R Value as high as possible. Use XPS on the columns (actually, they're pilasters) too. If you use T&G, it's not really necessary to tape the joints as long as they're tight. The rim area is actually the most important area to insulate tightly as it's above grade. Pull out all that fg; it was just filtering the drafts anyway. And if you put plastic over it, you'll get mould and mildew. Caulk any spaces between the blocks and wood. Then fill the spaces between the joists tightly with either XPS or EPS (extruded polystyrene. Fill any gaps with handheld spray. Tape too, if necessary. It won't look pretty! But it should be tight. AS an alternative, at the rim, you could have professionals spray in cc foam. This is what I do on new homes when I'm not spraying the entire basement wall. (Some at this board say they've used the DIY sprays successfully. I have no experience with them.) Glad you persisted and got through to a Code Official who understood what you were doing!

serious mistake in judgement someone really screwed up where was the job foreman--is it the builder himself or someone else does your builder carry insurance on this job everything has to come out that was wet because it is not like water damage in house that is already built where a window was left open and rain came in but about those pix it is difficult to tell how some of that water damage got where it is did some leak from second floor into top of first? why do you have plywood floors on ground floor--is there a basement? I am used to cement slab foundations on first floors is it possible this house is not graded correctly and is getting rain water from ground overflowing into the first floor--that is another problem if that occurred

Hello. You didn't say whether this is a new home for you. I spent the first year checking out the sunshine in our backyard. My backyard was a south facing yard. The back fence shaded the back yard almost 4 feet into the yard. Which meant I started my first cinder block line just over 4 feet away from the block fence. OR the winter garden would never get any sun. During the summer time, the block fence might radiate too much heat back off the fence. My cinder block garden was 3 cinder blocks tall. 24 inches interior width. I started with 1 brick high. I found the roots didn't have enough room. So I went up to 2 bricks. Again, not tall enough for tomato plants if you bury your seedlings deep like many recommend. So, I went up to 3 bricks high. Perfect for me. I agree with previous posters. If you make the garden too wide, you won't be able to reach all sides of the garden. Important when you are trying to find the peas within the vines, tomatoes under their leaves, or to pull radishes that are ready for your salad. I put the blocks right on the hard AZ soil. I then added mulch, mulch, soil, manure, mulch, manure.... It took almost 3 years to get the perfectly blended soil for all sorts of vege's. Shoveling, raking, and spreading more manure did the trick. I mulched all my kitchen scraps I could. That certainly helped with the health of the soil. Oh by the way, the soil won't bulge out or push the bricks away. At least in my case. Any extra water leaked between some of the cracks and down to the bottom of the bricks. Making sure you have enough water to absorb into the soil so your plants have a chance to drink before it runs out at the bottom. Good luck!!

Laurel- I was hoping that was the case. That means that any standard drywall hanger can be used for pictures and mirrors and such because you should have enough depth for the typical screw or nail that holds the fastener to go in without hitting the block. You should drill a tiny hole through the sheetrock and insert a nail to determine just what that depth is. As far as bookshelves, it depends on what kind and how much weight. If you are doing adjustable shelving with brackets and standards, like these: then the screws need to go into the wooden furring strips behind the sheetrock to be secure. If you are using wire shelving in closets, like this: the sheetrock should be able to support it as long as you don't load the shelves heavily (although it would be best if these could be secured to the furring strips, too). If you are planning to mount floating shelves or load the shelving with a lot of heavy stuff, like books, then this would be trickier. What kind of shelving do you have in mind? And, by the way, there is no need to hire a professional for this unless you have zero DIY skills.