Watering is my biggest problem. We only have one outdoor spighot. How expensive is it to have watering systems installed?? That would be such a timesaver!!! I have a heavy plastic "plant buggy" my MIL gave me years ago for Christmas. It came from Lowes and has a nice area in the middle to carry weed buckets, fertilizers, dirt... plus additional sections on each side including a section with a lid that opens and closes. It has 2 holders on the sides for shovels and stuff and a long handle. I keep everything in there and all I have to do is open the garage door and pull it out. At cleanup I just throw it all back in the buggy and cart it back inside. I couldn't garden without it! I think I'm going to invest in a gardening bag this year, too. That way I'll be able to keep that in the house but still have some items on hand when I go out for a stroll. Some days I wonder how I'm going to keep this up when I get older but I try not to dwell on it too long. I just try to enjoy the beauty I find in the gardens for now and as long as I look at it as a favorite hobby and not a chore, it really can be therapeautic. (Even though last night I laid in bed thinking "Where am I going to plant my new Queen of the Prairie? I hope the ground isn't too dry. Should I move my Russian Sage??" I finally did fall asleep. LOL)

I'm new to this thread but feel like this crowd might have the answers I'm looking for. I've got a 1918 Craftsman in Oakland, CA with virgin gumwood throughout the living and dining areas. I've spent the last 2 years stripping it (I've got little kids and a full time job). I was able to use denatured alcohol in only a couple of places, got fed up with CitrusStrip and settled on 3M safestrip but needed to strip each area twice to really get it clean. I'm just beginning to sand and realize I want to completely finish the window casings before we hit (hopefully) a rainy season. I've searched all over the web and keep finding partial comments on varnish, shellac, and poly. I'm very comfortable with poly from past smaller projects (mostly furniture). I like the idea of staying true to the original install and going with shellac except that I absolutely need better moisture protection than it will offer. Can anyone tell me why I shouldn't use poly? Can anyone point me to soup to nuts instructions on how to go from raw wood to finished product? Do I need to use anything like a primer? Help! I'm ready to roll but just have so little confidence in creating a plan.

I'm not sure what you mean by "buff up". Actual buffing is somethng that is mildly abrasive and I wouldn't recommend for newly refinished floors. Perhaps you mean "pretty up"? In that case I would use Minwax hardwood floor cleaner. It comes in a yellow squeeze bottle. You squeeze some directly on the floor and follow with a wipe down with a damp sponge. (All this, of course, after a good vaccuuming.) It does a nice job of making the floors look shiny and fresh; it smells very nice. I would not wax over newly refinished floors as I assume they were finished with some kind of poly urethane ....? MOlly~

The flush mount vent job is hideous looking. didnt sand it properly, huge gobs of filler still there. some of the heavier edger scratches are bad. although some of the buffer swirls dont look too bad. heres the issue. NWFA has a 5-2 rule. From a standing position 5ft up, to 2 ft out if you can visually see scratches its not acceptable. Because you took many pictures of the scratches up close, its hard to say if those would "pass". Now thats not to say theres nothing to be done, the vent issue is enough in my opinion to have the guys come back out. the stain splatters on the wall along with the holes, if you can prove the holes werent there prior to the refinish job then thats something they should fix as well. But because you paid the guys in full already, they may not answer their phone. But if they were a legit company they will get their behinds back out there to address the issue. Make the phone call and then take it from there.