I've never had gas logs, so can't recommend a brand, sorry, but here's link to a general overview of gas log types. It notes that unvented types are prohibited in some cases. Note: If you enter "gas logs" in the Search box at the bottom of this page, you should get some hits on past postings on this site. I have had direct-vent natural gas inserts installed in two masonry fireplaces, but the inserts worked for me because I wanted supplemental/backup heat in case of a power outage. You might check your local codes re installing gas logs. Some codes require you to remove/block open the damper, install glass doors, etc. In that case, you might be better off with a low-BTU insert so you can have an airtight installation & aren't just sending your furnace-generated heat up the chimney... Here is a link that might be useful: Gas Logs

> The logs would be laid in place, and then broad axes > and/or adzes would be uses to level them. > Our house has logs, some of them with bark still on > them. It is the most solid, square house I have ever > lived in. That's what this looks like: Some of the logs did in fact have bark still on them. And the ends looked hand-cut. > the fact that upper floor is OK, probably means it is > more the under framing of the first floor rather than > the sills and collar beams. Spacing that far part may > require not so much sistering as inleting additional > supporting members under the floor. This is what it's seeming to be, to me: That the structure overall is fine, but there wasn't enough to hold up the first floor once they turned it into a kitchen that had a refridgerator, an oven, a hot water heater (and not just to the side either - kinda just THERE), and at one point some kind of furnace unit. I think it was just all too much for that kind of span without any type of joist underneath it. I'm setting up a time for someone who has experience doing this kind of work to come look at it. It sounds as if my idea of going through the top is potentially appropriate, and could save us on labor cost, and allow us to do some of the sweat work - namely, tearing out the old floor, then installing insulation and vapor barrier, possible run some new circuits across to the other side while we have the opening to do so, and put in a new t&g plywood subfloor - though the budget is looking as if the subfloor might get a coat of sealer plus get covered with something like an indoor/outdoor carpet remant until we're caught back up financially from the contractor expense, before we take on the rest of the kitchen remodel. And Molly, I very much appreciate your candor - I'm making everyone I know promise to be really direct in telling us their concerns about our considering doing this, and there's nothing you've said that isn't realistically a problem. But here's how we're looking at it so far, and answers to some of your questions: > under the circumstances can you get a mortgage with only having essentially a life estate but not title? Nope. No mortgage. However, we are prepared to sell our current house in which we have probably 70k or more in equity which would cover most of the big contractor projects (roof, this project, and my parents have said that they will consider setting up a 20k line of credit for us to use for this as well. We also have no debt except for two car loans that will be paid in 1 and 2 years (though the cars will last much longer), and a relatively student loan that will be paid in three years - no credit card debt. We live a simple life with experience in keeping our basic living expenses low and with living amid the ongiong chaos of renovation. > And if not, then you would be sinking your resources > into this house, and perhaps not able to extract them > should you ever decide living there isn't what meets > your needs. Yes, that's clearly a risk that we take very seriously and have talked about for hours. Our final decision came down to a few different things: First, the house we're in now is already a risk, because it is on leased land without a long term (99-year type) contract, and we could lose absolutely everything if the family that owns the land in this community decided to sell this extremely valuable bay-front area to high-end developers, so we'd only be transferring a risk instead of eliminating it, but we'd be transferring it at least to something where at least we'd be guaranteed the option of staying there for life. Second, we are both in jobs (me in particular) which are both almost guaranteed will be there for as long as we want to work there (we're state employees, what can I say) plus at least my job is my absolute dream job - teaching at a community college, summers off to do some very focused work on this - so I have over 15 years before I'd consider retirement, so we know we're not going to move. And last, with all the work it needs, we just can't discount that it's been our dream to do this - get an old house in the country and fix it up. Except this way we don't have the fix up expenses on top of a hefty mortgage, we just have the fix-up expenses. And ultimatly we'd be living in a beautiful old house on 10.5 acres of land in the country. > Could you transfer your interest and recoup some of the > costs? Nope. If we walk away, we walk away. > These are the kinds of projects that lead to hefty > second mortgages ....! (And sometimes second marriages > when the first one flames out under the stress of > unending, and expensive, renovations.) Oh, yes, we know. Which is why we're doing a contract about what would happen with the house if we were to end our relationship! We're no fools. But we also have good support systems which from our experience can make all the difference inthe world, from people to call on to come over and help when a project gets too overwhelming and we need it to be DONE a lot faster than its going, to good friends who will take one of us in and help both of us work things out if we need a day or week or month or two of breathing room. Plus, as I said, we've done this. Both of us have things that make us nuts when things are in chaos, but still we've lived with that chaos, and know that some things that would make other people nuts - such as our friends who said that they couldn't even move in until every bit of plaster was repaired and every room was painted and the kitchen was fully remodeled. Those things don't get to us, as long as we have a way to escape it, which we do.

Thanks for the replies. Much appreciated. Yeah, maybe the manufacturer knows best, or maybe the case just displays them nicely to prompt me to buy them. Can't be sure. I have come to the conclusion that it might be best to keep them on their side, as a cork in a wine bottle. And I agree that it is best to get the pen "running" by gently dragging the tip until the ink flows freely. I used to do a lot of calligraphy with nibs I dipped into ink. It is necessary to check the flow on a scrap of paper before starting to write, and after each refill of the nib. So it kinda made sense to do that for the gel pens, too. I find that many people press way too hard, and when I have had parties and let others use my pens, they were completely destroyed by the amount of pressure that was applied by most partygoers. So a light touch is all that is needed, and more than that might actually jam the tiny ball bearing. Thanks again for your comments.

Csquared, I got an email I think was from you, but it said I couldn't answer because your email is private. Ditto when I tried to email through your name here. With apologies for the length of this, I'm just gonna paste the whole bit here for you. You are welcome to this writeup I did a while back. A couple people tried it and reported all went well. You just need time, maybe $50 in supplies, and patience. No skill. Here's more than you need to know: My cabinets are frameless, good condition and good layout. But the finish had gone orange and ugly, with the oak graining too busy for me. Cabinets are 18 years old, very poorly finished oak veneered slab doors. Plain with no crevices. They didn't even take the doors off to finish them!!! No stain or finish on the hinge side edges. Cheezey, huh? I looked into changing out cabinets, but that was way too much money, since my layout was OK. Painting didn't seem right because the doors were plain slabs. I considered new doors but that still meant a lot of money. For a few years I tried to figure a way to add molding toward a mission look, but the rounded door edges made that impossible. Then trolling in a kitchen emporium showroom this last year I noticed dark wood slab doors, kind like mine, but darker. That was the answer. First I tried Minwax Polyshades. Dicey product. Hard to brush on neatly, then gummy, then seemed to leave a sticky tacky residue. I did a thread on the Woodworking Furum "Evil Polyshades to the Rescue" which elicited a lot of conflicting "expert" opinions and arguments that one must strip to bare wood. (Thread may still be around as that Forum moves slow.) I properly stripped acres of woodwork in an old Victorian when I was young and stupid. Never again! Jennifer-in-clyde (in the same boat) and I stumbled around on that woodworking thread to get to this method. SHOPPING LIST: -electric screwdriver or screw drill bits -mineral spirits to clean the years of gunk off the cabinet -miracle cloths (optional) -fine sandpaper -box-o-disposable gloves from walgreens or the like -old socks or rags for wiping on coats -disposable small plastic bowls or plates, and plastic spoons or forks for stirring/dipping (optional) -General Finishes water base Expresso stain (pretty thick, but not quite a gel) This one may not even be a needed step if the Java gets it dark enough. -General Finishes Java gel stain (poly based) -General Finishes clear top coat (poly based) -old sheets or plastic sheeting or newspaper Rockler woodworking stores are a good place to find the General Finish products. Or some larger hardware stores. Quart of each was more than enough for my 60 doors and drawer fronts and goes for $12-14 at Rockler. There are smaller sizes if your project is small. SETUP AND PLANNING: You will need a place to work and leave wet doors to dry overnight - I set up 2 spaces, garagefor sanding/cleaning and basement for staining/sealing. Use newpaper or plastic to protect the surface and floor. Figure out how you will prop doors to dry. Plan blocks of 20-30-minutes for sanding/cleaning bundles of, say, 6 doors at a time. Then just 10 minute sessions to wipe on coats. The coats will need to dry for about 24 hours, so figure that each section of the kitchen will be doorless for 4 or 5 days. Divide the job up into manageable chunks. PREPARATION: Take off doors and drawer fronts. Use screw drill bits on an electric drill if you don't have an electric srewdriver. Remove all the hardware. *Mark alike things so you know what goes back where.* Clean the doors thoroughly. Not with TSP but with something pretty strong and scrub well. There's years of grease there. Sand LIGHTLY, just a scuffing really. Just enough to break the finish and give it some tooth, no more than a minute a door. A miracle cloth is good for getting most of the dust off. Then wipe well with mineral spirits to clean and get the last of the gunk off. . STAINING: In order, we're gonna put on: -General Finishes Expresso water based stain (1-2 coats) - optional -General Finishes Java gel stain (couple coats) -General Finishes Clear urethene gel topcoat in satin (couple coats) But first put on work clothes, tie up your hair (Tom, you may skip this step, LOL) and pop your phone into a baggie nearby (you know it will ring). Glove up. *First do a trial on the back of a door and check if Java coats alone suffice. If the Java alone is to your liking, just skip the Expresso and return it.* Open and stir up the Expresso stain, then spoon some into a plastic bowl. Close the tin so it doesn't get contaminated. Slide a sock over your hand, grab a gob of Expresso and smear it on. Wipe off the excess. Let it dry well - overnight is good. It will lighten as it dries, but then darken again with any other coat or sealer. A second coat can end up with a deeper tone at the end - though it might seem like the second coat is just dissolving the first. YMMV. Repeat with Java gel. This is thicker and poly based (*not water cleanup!*= messier). Color is a rich dark reddish brown. Wait for the second coat to judge if the color is deep enough for you. I wanted a very deep dark color, like melted dark chocolate. So I went pretty heavy on these layers. *I did not sand between coats*. Repeat with clear gel top coat. This will give you the strength you need in a kitchen. Do the same process with the cabinet sides, face and toekick area. Might need to divide that up also, and stagger the work: doors/cabinets/doors/ etc. NOTE: The cloth or socks used for the gels are very flammable! Collect and store them in a bucket of water as you go and then dispose of them all properly. FINISHING AND REASSEMBLY: I suggest you put the doors back up after one clear coat, then you can check everything over and darken an area with more Java if needed, followed by a clear coat. When it all looks right, go over it all again with another clear gel coat. Or two. Install your hardware. The feel of the finish should be wonderful, really smooth and satiny. Color deep and rich - way nicer than that faded, beat 80's oak color. FINAL THOUGHTS: Definitely experiment first with the back of a door or drawer front to be sure it is the look you want. Yes, this takes a couple days to coat, dry, recoat, dry, etc but you may discover that the Java alone does the trick and this will save you A LOT of work. Front end patience is worth it. This is a pretty easy project to do. Hard to screw it up. The worst is the prep - relative to that, smearing on the coats is cake. I had over 60 pieces (big kitchen) AND island sides and book shelves, etc and I admit I lost steam partway through. Had to push myself through the last of it. But it was worth it. Folks think I got all new cabinets - it looks that good. Now the finish will not be as durable as factory finish - go at it with a Brillo pad and you WILL abrade it. But it has held up pretty well. And after a year of pretty heavy use, I've just had a few nicks, easily repaired. I added smashing hardware, raised my passthrough, resurfaced the Corian (also simple but messy and tedious) and replaced the DW and sink. It looks gorgeous to me and I really enjoy the space - how it sits all quiet, clean and serene, then gets all crazy with the food and folks du jour. I couldn't be happier, especially that I didn't have to work another year just to pay for the update!! Link to cabinets in progress: http://photobucket.com/albums/b45/celticm00n/kitchen%20cosmetic%20update%20project/kitchen%20during/ Link to almost finished cabinet pix: http://s16.photobucket.com/albums/b45/celticm00n/kitchen%20cosmetic%20update%20project/finished%20bit%20by%20bit/?start=20 Good luck with your project!! Feel free to ask me any questions as you go. And let me know if you try it and how it turns out.