The American Society of Home Inspectors ("ASHI") website allows you to search for ASHI certified home inspectors by zip code or city. The site also gives a lot of information about what a home inspector should look for and what they would not be responsible for looking at and information about home inspection laws in various jurisdictions, etc. I was VERY pleased with my ASHI-certified home inspector (unfortunately he works in central Texas so wouldn't be able to help you.) I can tell you though that he was tons more knowledgeable about good building practices than my builder and spent hours at my home inspecting things and the explaining to my builder why he needed to make certain changes... and then coming back out to make sure the changes were made. I doubt that all ASHI certified home inspectors are as good - but at least that would be a starting point. Here is a link that might be useful: American Society of Home Inspectors

Aujourd'hui and L'espalier (french) are both excellent places for a celebration. Yes they're upper crust but you go there when you're celebrating getting a PhD (esp. from a Boston-area Cambridge, perhaps? University ;-) ). A less expensive cousin to L'espalier is Sel de la Terre and is run by the same establishment. Personally, I prefer their waterfront version to the new one on Boylston street. Food is really good. Craigie on Main is another excellent choice, as is Clio. FYI, Ken Oringer (of Clio) was one of the chefs that appeared on Iron Chef America and really impressed the judges from the "the genius in that brain of yours" and "you've trained your staff to implement your billiance" noises the judges made ;-). He won that challenge by a mile - and the reason he did shows in the food he serves at his restaurant. Fantastic. But so is Craigie Street B. Hammersley's bistro is also very good but it has been a good many years since I've eaten there. All of these but for Sel de la Terre do run up a pretty penny though, it has to be said.

I'm in New Mexico and we have 1960's saltillo tile in our house, including the kitchen. There are local companies here who refinish Saltillo (my mother had it done in her house, almost $2000 for one large room, a hallway, and a bathroom.) I am guessing you're right about the expense of having someone travel to your area...I hope there's another solution! I've done a lot of reading because I wanted to learn how to do this myself. Some of the best info I found was on this forum of tile restoration professionals: DirtyGrout.com Forum They have a forum devoted solely to Saltillo Tile Restoration and Maintenance. You might consider posting to this forum, to see if they have any tile restoration pro members in your area. It's also a great place to learn about what is involved in restoring it, so you'll be better able to understand your options. After reading there, I was able to determine that our own Saltillo floors don't need to be stripped; only deeply cleaned, and then resealed with a water based sealer (I know it needs resealing because water drops can sink in to the worn areas of the tiles.) That makes it possible for me to handle it on my own, using Aqua Mix products. I like doing it myself because I can do one room or a hallway at a time, without disrupting our lives too much. I've done one bathroom so far and it looks so much better. My mother's Saltillo did need professional stripping, though, because it has been previously sealed with an oil based sealer of some type, and the tile had taken on a very deep (and ugly) reddish hue. They used chemical sealers with very strong fumes (she hadn't moved in yet.) Then they resealed her floors with a water based sealer that restored the lighter, more natural peachy color of the Saltillo. They look wonderful. Are you certain you want the Saltillo stained? I think some on the above forum recommend against staining, because it can wear so unevenly with time. I completely agree with you, from my reading, it's really best to find someone with Saltillo tile experience.

Hi- I used Creative Cabinets in Walpole. Mike is great there and the two guys who work for him are great too.. I can't think of the # off the top of my head, but if you are interested email me and I can get you the info.. We didn't choose him.. We built our house in Canton and just moved in about 2 months ago.. Our builder uses him and we were so happy. Reasonably priced b/c of course we went over our alloted budget and in fact we are adding a "dry Bar" which he is building for us as well.. let me know if you want pictures of his work! Good luck! Elissa