I think we have all come to the same conclusion that we must consider increasing the volume of the pit. How we accomplish the task is irrelavant. On the one hand you could break out more concrete and widen the pit, but on the other hand you could deepen the pit and get the same end result. With this in mind I would consider deepening the pit too. You could easily use a post hole digger to deepen the existing pit then pour a bit of concrete in the bottom to form a base. While that concrete is still wet you could drop a Soni-tube concrete form in the hole (the same soni-tubes that are used to form foundation pilings for a deck). Cut a hole near the top of the soni-tube and pour concete through that hole to fill the cavity between the outer wall of the soni-tube and the dirt to form the sidewalls of your pit. (This could be done fairly easily as a DIY project.) Once you have the pit deepened you could set your submersible pump in the bottom of the pit and extend the length of the float control to adjust for the increased volume. At this point you are only out the cost of a short section of soni-tube, a few bags of sackrete and your labor. Mow before I would expend a lot of money on a battery backup system I would do a bit of "Risk Assesment". You have been in this house for 5 years and only once in that time have you encountered a major storm that really put your sump pump to the test. Statisticaly, what is the risk of that occuring any time soon when you are not at home? In my estimation you have about the same risk of being hit by lightning. In my opinion the smart money here would be to get some federal flood insurance and not be overly worried about the sump pump. On the other hand, let us consider a battery backup. 1. Battery powered sump pumps are relatively expensive. 2. You must have a dedicated battery and a charging system to maintain the battery during periods of non-use. 3.Deep cycle batteries are expensive and have a limited shelf life of about 5 years. Based upon your previous history statistically the battery will probably be on its last legs the first time you need to rely on it. Now let us consider a generator. If we lived in a region where we commonly got storms that knocks the power out for days at a time we would certainly want to consider a permanent mount whole house generator with an auto start feature. In my region here in the midwest we commonly get storms which cause a power outage however I cannot say enough for those people who maintain our power system. Regardless of whether it is severe wind and rain in summer or ice and snow in winter it is very seldom that a power outage lasts more than two or three hours. In fact, i can't rmember the last time our power was actually out for a full day, and we have had numerous storms and even a couple tornados in that time. IN fact, we have had far more power outages that were a result of drunk drivers hitting a pole than weather related problems. Over the years I have had a number of different portable generators that we primarily use for power on a jobsite, but which function very well as backup power for the house in a pinch. Of all the generators that I have owned or used my personal favorite is a Honda 4KVA. This generator has been in almost daily service for nearly ten years and it is still going strong. One of the features that i really like about it is the easy of starting. You turn the ignition switch on, press the primer bulb twice then gently pull the starter cord and off it goes. Notice, i said, gently pull the cord. No need to give that super macho yank that is common to most small motors. This Honda seems to start every time with even a light pull on the cord. In fact, I have seen guys on the job joking about it and actually testing it by seeing how lightly they can pull the cord and still start the motor. It is a rare day when it takes a second pull to get it going. One word of caution especially about your generator but which is true of all small gas motors such as those on our mowers, snowblowers etc. Never leave them set for an extended period of time with gas in the tank. The gas will evaporate and leave a gummy film which stops up the fuel system. Whenever you are preparing a small motor for long term storage let it burn all the fuel out until the engine stops from lack of fuel.

I am only familiar with Ademco. While their stuff isn't simple, I was able to figure it out by reading the manuals which I downloaded online. The panel that I used for my system is a Vista 20p. There is a newer (and slightly more expensive) version called a vista 21IP. The Vista 21IP also allows alarm reporting via the Internet, not just via phone line. Vista 21 also allows an on-board add-on GSM cellular module. Vista 20 can be expanded for these capabilities via an external box (7845i-GSM). The Vista 20 and 21 allow up to 16 zones out of the box. You can also add zone expanders (4219 or 4229) where each one adds an additional 8 zones. You can group some sensors such as doors and windows by room, i.e. a single zone for all windows in a room. Doors you can also group, if you want. You probably want to keep your CO, and motions each on separate zones. You probably want to add one or more smoke detectors for living spaces and heat detectors for attic and garage. I would suggest that you consider alpha keypads. Alpha keypads allow you to see the fault zone in plain English (bedroom window fault) rather than just "zone 5 fault" where you have to look up or remember what zone 5 is. A single alpha keypad is also required for programming of the Vista 20 series. Since you want to do some wireless zones, don't forget to add the wireless receiver module and wireless contacts. A great resource for questions is the diy forum of the home security store. Most of the on-line equipment sales places will answer questions as well. Here is a link that might be useful: DIY Security Forum

I've had Brinks twic & DCS once in Virginia, and ADT in Illinois. I need to hook up a system here we had hard wired when we built last year. I will probably go with Brinks, depending on what kind of a deal I get with them. I believe once you go with Brinks, they'll hook you up free in your next home. ADT told us that too, but mysteriously can't find evidence of our contract that we carried when we lived in Illinois. I've had my phone lines cut before years ago and no one called me with Brinks. Technology has changed so I'm sure it would be different today. I've not seen Brinks advertising in our neck of the woods, so I'm still going to have to do research soon. I was pleased with all companies. I will say this, I really liked the gizmo that DCS has that causes the doors and windows to chime to let you know someone entered or exited. Certainly took away a lot of the jumping around from being spooked and startled. As for security camera. I'm going to install a monitor in my office and BR so I can see who comes up my drive and at the front door. Our architect worked out of her basement and installed one from Radio Shack. It worked great! She had installed small cameras in two upstairs windows and one near the front door. She got sick and tired of running up and down stairs for the UPS guy. I, too, am sick of being half way across the house or working in my office and don't know who's up front. Our property is about 1.5 acres and our house is on the large side, too.

Doug - the trends you talk about in terms of decreasing buying power, shrinking middle class, etc are real and truly disconcerting. The slightly paranoid side of me made sure I purchased a home that could, if needed, be a mini homestead (enough space and the right light exposure to grow veggies and raise chickens). It's simplistic, because if the economy really does fall completely apart I can't farm my way to prosperity on a mortgaged piece of land. In my local market inventory is tight for homes at or slightly below the median because the available homes have some perceived flaw (too close to the highway, schoolyard, train tracks, busy road, other houses). Or they need significant work. Homes in good condition and good locations are quickly purchased if the price is fair. People are justifiably SO afraid of a house losing value that they are unwilling to purchase something with a flaw because they fear being unable to sell in the future. It actually makes sense, but it makes it almost impossible to sell property that is flawed - even for fire sale prices. There is excess inventory at the high end, homes in the top quartile are very slow to move and people aren't listing unless they absolutely have to. This is one reason that we decided to remodel earlier this year instead of move (it was a big remodel, moving could have been less if what we wanted was available).. Now, back to this issue of potential buyers being leery of homes with flaws ... I think that is what is holding back the sale of this house. There are probably buyers who look at it and, when they see the HOA issues, think to themselves, "Gee, even if the HOA issues are fixed, how long will this taint the value of the home? How many years until the stigma falls away? What if I had to sell in that time?" Buyers can't commit to this house on a long term basis because everything about this economy feels SO unstable right now. Is there a shortage of rental property (SFH) in your area? Because that was the other thing we looked at when we bought. I would have preferred to rent but we have a dog and SFH rentals are almost impossible to find in our area for under $3k/mo. With taxes and insurance, our 15 yr mortgage is under $2500/mo ... So, worst case we could rent this place if we had to move out and we would likely cover the mortgage with the rent (or come close to it). I wonder if renting is an option for the OP? I know it's an expensive home, but still ... It may be an option, unless the HOA forbids it.