I also agree about elevating the older dog to a dominant position in the house. When our dog died, and we brought in a new companion for Ricky, we intentionally always went to Ricky first, and said so. Ricky, let's go outside. Our pup learned to "wait for Ricky" as he would walk proudly out the door first. When we fed them, we would say Ricky eats first. Actually we only set down his bowl first, then fed the pup. Even now a year later, we always let Ricky go first and make a big deal of it. Blaze knows nothing else. Ricky leaves and enters the house first. He eats first and gets in and out of the van first. We brush him first and pet him first. Even if Blaze runs up to us to the gate first, we often will stop petting him and pet Ricky when he arrives. All of our dogs are lap dogs. We just sit on the floor. In time when the older one feels more comfortable, the little dog may be a more exclusive lap dog, but for now, I would sit on the floor, and pet the older one first. We keep our dogs in the most popular area of our house, so we go to them. They are rarely alone, but we do not allow them into our living room or bedrooms. Those are off limits, so we don't have dogs with us 24 hours, and we sleep without dog dander since we are very allergic. Therefore we can easily declare that Ricky is first in whatever we do. I don't think you will have a problem after a couple of weeks. If you do, you might consider discussing this with the Vet to see if there is a mild medication you can give your older dog for anxiety. One more thing - when we were walking our dogs, Ricky used to always poop. We would scoop it up, and walk with it. Once my husband hurt his back and had to stop walking with us for a couple of weeks, I quickly got tired of this process. Before our walks I would take the dogs out as usual, and I began telling Ricky to do his business. He would walk inside, and I would call him out. I kept telling him to do his business, and he began doing it. Now he understand that he must do it before we walk. We haven't needed the bags for about 6 weeks. It may be that your dog is performing for you in a more dramatic fashion than the pup can do. You might keep the dog outside with you (and not the young dog), and insist that he poops before he comes in. Even give him a treat if he performs for you. We all know that a dog's brain is wired completely different from ours. Sammy

Gad I knew there was something about you I liked les lol. To be clear on the drapes....I certainly wouldn't keep drapes I didn't love or drapes in bad condition. Even the gorgeous chenille porteriers that came with this house were under debate for sime time. I told the PO that I planned on having them professionally cleaned by a conservator and then storing them as we have cats, a dog and had planned on having our five year old and a pack of toddlers around so I didn't want to see them damaged. We still have the herd but didn't add the toddlers and yet when I restored this rooms I removed them thinking I was going to reproduce them in modern fabric to protect the antiques. Turns out that's danged hard modern fabric to find (it's very very thick...like a carpet almost) and so they sat in their bid...I finished restoring the rooms and something was "off". I hung them again...that was what was missing...the buffers to the hall (which flank six foot entries to each room) so there they hang. They are a faded version of what they once were and are missing a tassel or two at the base but their heavy faded gold presence just seems to go with the house. So I guess they get to stay. I'd approach any textile left in a home the same way. Shredding silk or heavy florals would be difficult for me to keep but historically accurate, quality pieces? I'd keep those if I could. By the way...church windows can have significant value pal (as I'm sure you know) so if you do get the place be sure to research them for insurance purposes. Leah, a seller is under no obligation to sell until they sign a contract with a buyer. The agency contract does not require it. I do agree with Mr Ph up there quite often, and in a modern home still agree...let go of the thing! But when it comes to historical properties I feel quite differently. I would not require that the drapes be maintained because that's something easy to fix, but if I had an inkling they would go and they were antique textiles I'd be sure to get them to a museum verses seeing them in the trash. If I had any knowledge they were going to tear out an original fireplace or the ceiling medallions, etc...the historical value in our home...I'd send any offer packing. We have a responsability to this house that we assumed when we purchased it and as with the sellers before us, we take that seriously. So seriously that we agreed with the city when the put stringent regulations on what can ibe done to the place (which one day may haunt me lol) but at least the original owner won't because he sees how much we love the history in his home. Pal...cut and paste that fir a letter lol. That's exactly the kind of sentimental goober old home lovers like to see. Heh heh

"My plan is to place the 16Â beam perpendicular to the joists in order to stiffen the floor. Should my game plan be to place a floor jack under the portion of the beam that is under the aquarium joist and raise it until the beam is level and then go from there?" You say the joist span between supports is 18 ft. Does 16 ft. represent the full width of the room? I suggest at least 3, better with 4, supporting columns for the 16 ft. One within ~1ft on each end and one or two equally spaced between them. It would be most desirable to have a post below the aquarium but it isn't a necessity. You're only adding support to the existing condition not trying to re-level the floor. Snug the new posts up tight and give a tad extra to secure it. I wouldn't "jack" anything unless you need to in order to correct some other problem. I don't know what orientation you are planning for your new beam, but the 2 x 8's are most effective with the 8 in. dimension vertical. Hope this helps.

A good flooring company will be able to match the new floors (species of wood) that they install to what is currently in your home. They may need to refinish the entire floor of your home if the rooms inter connect to ensure the finish matches. This is to be expected. You need to have this discussion with your flooring people. So sorry that this has happened to your home. I hope no one was hurt.