Hello, I just finished prepping my backyard to place concrete mold and create a patio ( using Quikrete walk maker) http://www.quikrete.com/AtHome/WalkMaker.asp I have a lot of limestone screening left, I was thinking of making my own concrete mixture using Portland cement, limestone screening and Sand, and throw in some concrete fibers. I looked online and I haven't seen anyone doing this, people usually use gravel. the limestone screening is less than 1/4" in size, its most likely 1/8" in size. Is this still ok? can I still use a ratio of 1 part cement, 2 part sand, 3 part limestone screening? your help and advice is very appreciated.

I grow jades, jungle/forest cacti, Adeniums and one very evil 'true' cactus here in the not so tropical UK, so they are mainly grown indoors. Miracle grow is often spoken about on here and over on the Adenium forum but I personally don't use it. Lots of mixes such as MG are sold as specific c&s soils, however, the consensus on here is that it (and many other brands sold as such) contain far too much peat (organic) and not enough inorganic components. I can suggest searching at the top of the page for gritty mix, it will give lots of useful info for a far healthier mix for your plants. I use equal parts bark, sold as reptile bark or similar, horticultural grit...aquarium grit could do just as well, perlite and a multi purpose compost ...which yes, I realise does contain peat, but with the ratio above of other added things, it works well and my plants don't rot.....yet! The jungle cacti don't actually grow on the above mix though, they are in a more humus rich mixture. Some growers that I know of use MG cut with 50% perlite, but I find with such a high %age of perlite, it can rise up like magic to the top Layers of the mix very easily, also the pots are less stable due to their light weight filling if this particular recipe is used. It's a case of trial and error as you can amend the ratios to suit your own plants and the conditions you are growing in. The above is what works for me and mine. Hint......can you add your country/zone after your name via your profile page so we can advise better if necessary? Thanks! Gill UK

I'll add this then: Durock? It's an approved substrate for any of the surface applied membranes. Sure it generates dust when cut with a power saw or angle grinder. But if you score and snap with a blade? It's pretty clean. It is heavy when compared to foam...but you'll be installing a half-dozen sheets max. Foam board? Sure, it's even lighter in weight. Here's all I recommend. Find the foam you want to use. Choose a membrane, example, Hydroban sheet membrane. Then call Laticrete's tech department and ask what thinset/adhesive they recommend for adhering their membrane to the EPS/XPS/foam of your choice. If you get a solid answer, by all means move onward with the project! If not, repeat for each foam/membrane/adhesive combo you can think of. Honestly, and again...I'm a guy who thoroughly appreciates the DIYer mentality...I built my own houses, boats, kayaks, canoes, airplane, swimming pool, I've drilled my own wells for water, I've done a couple of frame off car resto's...all solo. Trust me, I embrace the DIYer mentality. But showers? Here, on this forum, I do worry about compromised showers. Because houses are the most valuable investment most people on these forums will ever make, and water damage from a shower can just muck things up in tremendous fashion. Plus, it's near impossible to properly repair a shower short of tearing it out and rebuilding it. If your primary concern is weight and dust? Then I'll wave the bugger flag. And I'm waving it in an attempt to help you out. Just buy USG foam board and be done with it. Hydroban sheet is maybe $1.25 a foot? Kerdi about $2. Foam board? Maybe .40 cents. Adhesive? Who knows. Best case, you're saving yourself $1 a sqft by trying to make your own versus buying USG's product. For a shower of your size, that's maybe $75 you're saving. On an expenditure of how much for the entire shower? It's a fairly small percentage. Again...I THOROUGHLY embrace the DIY spirit. But with you being motivated by weight and dust? I'd spend the extra $75 to get the USG foam board. Lightweight. No dust. And you KNOW it's going to work. Plus you'll avoid the pain of having to lug a heavy and dusty bag of thinset home and the pain of trying to thinset or adhere the membrane of your choice to the foam of your choice with the adhesive of your choice on your own. Just my opinion. Worth the price paid. Good luck!! Seriously. Whichever way to proceed, I'd love to hear how things turn out.

Nice house. Good luck. I don't know of any apps to get rid of furniture and add some, but I imagine there are. I would change the door to a more contemporary one, without a fan light. Paint the trim around the door and the window the same as the fascia or the siding. Why is the curb painted red?