I would think that a carpenter should be able to make everything look right with three pieces of 1x6 and a piece of whatever they are using to make the ceiling on your porch. Here's what I would suggest. First, cut a piece of 1x6 the length of your bumpout minus about 6 to 8 inches. Then cut two more pieces of 1x6 the length of those four support braces minus however much "dentil molding" you want showing and minus the thickness of a piece of 1x6. Now, cut four notches along one edge of the long piece of 1x6 so that the four support braces will fit INTO the notches. Put the three boards together like so: Attach this structure to the bottom of the bumpout and tight against the house so that just the ends of the support braces stick out. Small L-brackets attached to the "inside" edges of the boards ahead of time will make it easier to attach the structure to the bottom of the bumpout. (Sorry but my drawing skills on PAINT aren't good enough to show the L-brackets but it should be obvious where they will need to go.) Now, cut a piece of the material that was used on your porch ceiling so that it will fit INSIDE the structure. Attach this to the the bottoms of the supports so that they are hidden except for the parts that stick out thru the notches. Now, the only portions of the supports that you'll be able to see will be the ends and, once everything is painted white, they should look like the dentils you have on the front of the house. Because the entire structure is tucked UNDER the bumpout by 3 to 4 inches on all sides, all of the screw/nail holes will be protected from weather. Thus no flashing should be needed. Just caulk good where the structure butts up against the bottom of the bumpout and around the notches...mostly to keep bugs from crawing inside and using the hollow spaces as places to nest. If you house is sided with Hardie, they should be able to do this with 1x5 Hardie trim boards instead of 1x6 wood although cutting the notches without splitting the fiber-cement will take a sharp saw and somebody with a little bit of real skill in working with Hardie. Good luck.

I have been using an Oral B spin brush, but I have also used the Sonic, and the cheap spin brush with batteries too. Best results has been the Oral B Spin Brush dip in tiny cup of brown bottle of 3% Hydrogen Peroxide. Dip in Hydrogen Peroxide and brush, dip and brush, dip and brush. Make it pleasant and keep brushing time short so they get use to it. Try to do it a few times a week or every other day to get caught up on removing tarter. It may be the diet causing all the tarter build up. Usually dogs that eat a wheat, soy or corn based pet food get terrible tarter and terrible teeth from it. The gmo carbs from wheat corn and soy don't do well for dogs teeth. Causes terrible tarter build up. Grains are not a natural food for dogs so grains can cause tarter buildup, gas, diahrrhea, and excessive weight gain as carbs get stored as fat as hard for dogs to digest. And now all grains in the USA are GMO's so even worst for dogs. Switch to a sweet potato based pet food or white potato base. I had great results with sweet potato based pet foods. Try USBones.com california natural sweet potato and herring dry and or canned dog food. Best I have found. http://www.USBones.com natural holistic pet foods made in the US with US sourced ingredients. pet food, treats, chewies, bones, supplements for dogs and cats. Great family owned company. Supplement with real veggies. Great for helping to keep teeth clean. Feed green beans, green peas (frozen or fresh - avoid canned veggies as sodium causes diarrhea) Cook and cool sweet potato slices. I keep a bowl of cooked cooled sweet potato slices in the fridge to add to food or use as treats. Banana slices and apple slices are also good. You can also brush with baking soda and hydrogen peroxide. You many need to use baking soda to help remove the tarter if the hydrogen peroxide isn't working fast enough. I think if you brush your dogs teeth 3 times a week, it should start to get rid of the tarter. And changing the diet, and avoiding wheat, corn or soy based pet food which is usually the biggest culprit in tarter build up on teeth. Hope this helps.

Unlike medical insurance, dental insurance is more akin to prepayment for services than classical "insurance". It's probably cheaper for most people to just pay for services as needed. If your coverage is only what you use from year to year, you're probably not getting much out of it. The cost of employer-provided plans is much higher than what's typically offered to individuals, and the pricing is really an aggregation of costs of covered services with a slight discount factor. Many dentists are starting to offer their own "insurance" coverage to their patients, and they're really nothing more than a flat amount prepayment for normal recurring services. Linda, you earned your retirement benefits and are more than entitled to them. Future retirees from government agencies like yours and others at all levels will have skinnier coverage (if any) because the costs are too high and so the programs are unsustainable.

Hi Joyful Guy (what a great outlook on life! Your name says it all! It makes me think that maybe I was "accentuating the negative" when I chose that "MT" screen name--but my life is very full, even tho' my nest is empty!) Thanks so much for your advice. Actually, I'm trying NOT to change dentists, because I love the guy I've been going to for the past 19 years. (Funny you should mention the dental school idea, though, because when I first found my current dentist, he was recommended to me by a friend who had first visited him at the local dental school! He later opened his own practice, and that's where he was when I started going there. He's been saying for years that he's going to retire "next year," so maybe I'll be looking for someone new soon, but for now, I'd like to continue with him. Sorry for rambling so much! I've been researching this question for the past couple of weeks now, and I see that, with few exceptions, the options for retirees are pretty limited. I guess I was kinda spoiled by the full coverage I had while I was working, and I just assumed it would continue that way. Not!! I'm trying to dig up the numbers for various plans (COBRA, discount cards, fixed fees, etc) so I can "crunch" them and see which option makes the best sense for us. I never realized that dental coverage would be so expensive in retirement. I hope others will chime in with their experiences and suggestions, too. Thanks, Sue