arjo, you can use other people's grass clippings: cruise through the neighborhood the night before trash day & pick up free bagged nitrogen. You'll want to mix it into the pile pretty quickly, as grass clippings break down fast & smell like ammonia. I pick up used teabags at a nearby restaurant that sells iced tea by the gallon. I get at least a gallon bucket daily. I do have to stop by every day; tea leaves smell "fermented" if left overnight, & the restaurant has to get rid of them. no need to tear them up, the bag composts just fine. & you can almost always find somebody who has a never-ending supply of stale beer & wine (a neighbor who entertains a lot-or who works for a beer company!), moldy fruit & juices, shriveled vegetables (yogurt shop/health food store/fruit stand/farmer's market), barnyard manure (any place where you see a horse!)...

Tracey, as I read it, if you own the land the house will be built on, you must have a binding contract to build in place by the end of April, and you must occupy the house by the end of June. But if you don't already own the land, but are buying the house and land as a package, you must both close and occupy by the end of April. A down payment isn't a binding contract, but it may be part of one. You certainly aren't going to give someone 10% of the price of a house without a written contract, I hope. To emphasize, the extension does not come into play unless the house is being built on your already owned land, in which case a binding contract is required by the end of April, instead of a closing. And please understand, this is my interpretation of what I have read on the subject. I am not an attorney or tax guru.

Welcome Jphales! You kitchen will have a nice defined area yet still be open...I like that. A couple of comments first, Do you have an actual layout w/dimensions and that shows how the kitchen relates to the other rooms on the first floor? That would be immensely helpful! Your elevation pic is nice, but it only has limited usefulness since it doesn't show me measurements or other rooms. It looks like the aisle b/w the island and the wall on the right is quite narrow....ideally it should be at least 42" (and that's from countertop edge to wall, not cabinet wall to wall). Is there a reason your island is bi-level? It breaks up what could be a wonderful work area...for baking, craft, or homework projects. If you're concerned about dirty dishes being visible, a deep sink is great for hiding them! Strangely, the countertop to the left of the sink appears to slope down...is that a fluke of the software or really there? I notice there's a doorway to the hallway on the kitchen wall, next to the current Refrigerator location. Then, there's also a doorway on the connecting wall. Do they lead to the same place (I can't tell from the pics in your photo album or the layout)? Can you remove the wall to the right of the island? It would give you a lot more room there. What about the connecting wall that has a door...could that be taken down as well? Can you close up the doorway that's next to your current? If so, you could run the counters to where the intersecting wall is right now... Base cabinets...I would look into mostly drawers, not doors. Drawers, in general, are more functional than standard cabinets....whether with stationary shelves or pull out shelves. Even pullout shelves are less useful b/c, first, you have to use at least 2 motions to open/close them....open the door, pullout the shelf, then push the shelf back in and close the door. If you have double doors like I see on some of them, then you have to open/close 2 doors. Whereas with drawers, you just pull to open, and push to close. Range & Hood...how wide is your cooktop? Is the vent hood above it at least 6" wider & 24" deep? Those are the ideal dimensions for venting. The extra width is so you can extend past the cooktop by 3" on each side...thereby increasing the effectiveness of the hood. Refrigerator...I would most definitely enclose that refrigerator with finished end panels on the sides and a full-depth cabinet above. If you cannot afford the full-depth, then at least pull the half-depth cabinet forward so it's flush with the end panels so it at least appears to be full-depth. Make that alcove at least 36" wide & 72" tall, btw, b/c it may be tough to find a refrigerator smaller than that today. When you replace the refrigerator, will it be counter-depth, built-in, or standard/full-depth (much deeper than 24"-30")? If full-depth, can you recess it into the wall behind it? Even better would be to recess into the room behind it so that it appears counter-depth. If so, you can have the best of both worlds...counter-depth look but the interior space of a standard refrigerator! If you can recess or you are getting a counter-depth refrigerator, make the end panels enclosing the refrigerator 26" deep to cover the entire refrigerator carcass but leaving the doors outside the panels (so they can open all the way.)

The right way to do it would be a new dedicated circuit. Alternatively you could use the rangetop circuit if that was dedicated already, although I wouldn't do it. No sharing lighting circuits. An electrician could give you a free estimate. Nobody on these forums could give you an accurate estimate of level of effort without seeing it unfortunately. The condition and location of your current wiring is key.