Yes, Ellie Topp has a recipe; I've made this (sans cinnamon) and thought it was quite good. I like the way it incorporates all kinds of veggies. Multi-Use Tomato Sauce Amount Measure Ingredient -- Preparation Method -------- ------------ -------------------------------- 10 plum tomatoes -- (about 2 1/2 lbs./1 kg) 10 large tomatoes -- peeled and chopped (about 4 lbs./2 kg) 4 large garlic cloves -- minced 2 large stalks celery -- chopped 2 medium carrots -- chopped 1 large onion -- chopped 1 large zucchini -- chopped 1 large sweet green pepper -- chopped 1/2 cup sun-dried tomatoes -- (125 mL) 2/3 cup dry red wine -- (150 mL) 1/2 cup red wine vinegar (5% strength or more) -- (125 mL) 2 bay leaves 1 tablespoon pickling salt -- (15 mL) 2 teaspoons dried oregano -- (10 mL) 2 teaspoons dried basil -- (10 mL) 1 teaspoon granulated sugar -- (5 mL) (optional) 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon -- (2 mL) (optional) 1/4 teaspoon ground pepper -- (2 mL) 1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley -- (50 mL) Combine tomatoes, celery, garlic, onion, zucchini and green pepper in a very large non-reactive pan. Add 1 cup (250 mL) water. Bring to a boil over high heat, reduce heat and boil gently, covered, for 25 minutes or until mixture begins to thicken, stirring occasionally. Soak sun-dried tomatoes in boiling water until softened. Drain and dice. Add to sauce with wine, vinegar, bay leaves, salt, oregano, basil, sugar, cinamon and pepper. Continue to boil gently until desired consistency, stirring frequently. Discard bay leaves and stir in parsley. Remove hot jars from canner and ladle sauce into jars to within 1/2 inch (1 cm) of rim (head space). Process in a BWB 35 minutes for pint (500 mL) jars and 40 minutes for quart (1 L) jars. Description: from Ellie Topp & Margaret Howard's "Complete Book of Small-Batch Preserving"" Yield: "12 cups"

Thanks, all, for the info. The reason our installer suggested cc was overkill was because we have the room for a similar R-value with oc. So, the main difference between oc and cc becomes structural (so he said). He said that cc was mostly used in commercial buildings where it was important to add structural rigidity but that in most residential facilities, the added structural rigidity was unnecessary. Incidentally, I've heard/read (forget where) that oc can help you identify roof leaks better than cc. Since cc is less permeable, if you had a leak at the ridge, it might run down the slope of the roof before you could see it in the ceiling. Since the oc absorbs the water faster, the leak would appear in the ceiling near the source of the leak. We have a sample of the oc foam, and I've submerged it. It does absorb water, but it is barely damp -- like a wrung out sponge, not a saturated one. The sample, at least, seems to dry out pretty quickly. We do have scissor trusses in part of our house, and a concern with cellulose was that we couldn't get an appropriate R-value there where the roof meets the wall, but apparently we can. The cellulose guy also said that the cellulose lets your house breathe, which is a good thing. I know the Building Sciences guys disagree with that. Sigh. In some ways, the cellulose seems like a no-brainer, if you can get enough in the attic space, which we can. But, I'm still concerned about settling. Really, how can it not settle over time? Also, most people seem to agree that R-values have limited usefulness as a metric. So, I'm a little concerned that although foam and cellulose might have similar R-values, the house would feel differently in each case. Maybe it wouldn't be noticeable. I also worry about trying a relatively unproven technology. The foam is darn cool, but maybe not 3-4x the cost of cellulose cool. Since the differences in efficiency seem negligible, it seems that the only advantages to foam are 1) that it can work in places where you don't have the room for an equivalent thickness of cellulose and 2) with a warm roof, if you run mechanicals through the attic, they are part of the conditioned space. Neither situation applies to us. Is there another advantage that I'm missing?

Code requires that all PVC DWV (drain, waste & vent) pipe used inside the structure MUST BE PVC-schedule 40 and the pipe MUST BE specifically labelled on the pipe wall as conforming to ASTM-D-2665. All joints on the PVC must be solvent weld joints (glued) and the Glue must be specifically labelled as approved for PCV pipe. In addition, code requires that all joints MUST BE cleaned with an approved PVC Solvent Primer before applying the glue. You will note when buying the primer that it is made in both clear and purple dye. While both primers are the same, it is highly recommended (and required in some jurisdictions) that you use the solvent/cleaner with the purple dye so the inspector can be assured that you used the primer. On a horizontal run the pipe must be supported within one foot of any change of direction and a hanger for each 48" of run. Metal hangers, metal wire or metal strapping is prohibited. You must use approved plastic hangers or plastic perf strapping. Here is a side note they don't tell you in most DIY books. The pipe must be hung in such a manner that the writing on the pipe wall is clearly visible. If you happen to put a pipe with the writing against a wall or hung from a ceiling with the writing on top some hard Azz inspectors will red tag it on the premise that they cannot read the information to confirm it is the correct type of pipe.

cpartist, DH vowed never to buy AS again. We put in the designer line of AS plumbing fixtures in our bathrooms. The faucets for the MB was chrome with brass trims. The brass trims had a clear lacquer coating which was supposed to protect and prevent the brass from tarnishing. A year after we installed, the clear coating started to chip away. When I called AS to complain, AS said cosmetic damages are not covered by their lifetime warranty. We lived with these bad faucets until it was time to sell the house. DH replaced the ugly AS faucets right before we put the house on the market. We also installed 6 body jets in the MB shower. After install, we found out one of the body jet was defective – no water coming out from that jet. AS sent us a replacement but we had to hire the plumber to remove and replace at our expense. Also, about a year later all the body jets started clogging. We ended up not using the body jets. In the new bath addition we had a tub shower combo. We chose a built-in diverter on the valve. It never worked even after two replacements. Water would come out from the shower head and tub spout. DH gave up and replace the tub spout with a non AS tub spout diverter. So that tub/shower ended with 2 diverters -- one on the AS valve which didn't work and one working one on the tub spout. The AS plumbing fixtures were expensive and the quality was just not there. In our case, more $$$ did not equate to better quality.