It is not a coincidence that your maple is turning color early on the side of the removed arborvitae. With non-conifer trees, usually the branches on one side of the tree are mainly fed by roots on the same side. The maple will be fine. The only other thing done by damaging the roots (besides general stress) is the greater possibility of verticillum wilt infection because of the greater number of wounds as infection points. The wilt enters the tree through the roots. You can't do anything about that anyway, so I wouldn't worry about it. Our ash trees will eventually be wiped out, far worse that the elms with Dutch elm disease. Their tree WILL die, it's only a matter of time. Insecticides can work, but must be applied at least yearly. (I think there is one chemical that can be applied every two years, but it is even more expensive). Unless this is professionally injected into the tree, this is not very environmentally friendly either. I was completely taken aback at a review given on TV by one of the news stations; they were interviewing various tree companies for their advice on ash trees infected by or in danger of FAB. Only one gave removal of the trees as a possible (and preferred) alternative. All the other businesses interviewed only wanted to pump the trees with chemicals (and for coming years without end). The news station was very biased, and went out of the way to how "bad" the advice of removal was. (Who knew that news stations were experts of tree insects?) Complete idiots. My whole point with that story is for you to be careful how you approach the removal option. It is what I would do. The tree will only get larger in time, and more costly to remove. I wonder . . . if the tree becomes infected, does the city remove it free of charge? Or is the home owner billed?

missstaceyh, Hi, It's funny I haven't been on this site for about 6 months until a couple days ago when I posted something. Thank you for the compliment on the flooring. This August we will have been in for 2 years so pricing might be different now. But with economics it also might be better. If memory serves me right we paid about $14 installed. I remember installation was a huge expense since we live in SoCal and everything is higher here. I think the flooring was about $6 uninstalled. I could be wrong on those figures but DH has the paperwork at his office. Even with the cost though we still believe it is the best feature of our home and to this day it still gets the most compliments. Of course, since it's not stained digs and scratches don't show as much. We chaulk those up to just making it more rustic. The wood is white oak, unstained, unscraped, 8" boards with random lengths. What you might do first is see if which ever dealer is closest to you would send you a small sample. We actually got two 3' x 3' samples (one stained) and found the unstained to be much much easier to clean. Even if you have to buy it you'll know for sure if that's the floor for you. Once you know get a local installer you trust to tell you how much to buy. I would think any decent installer should be able to lay it for you.

It's made by Cosa. The only place I could find it online is in the link below. But we at least two local tile stores in our area carried it, so it wasn't too hard to locate. Good luck! It's been a year since we finished our bathroom and we still love it to distraction! Here is a link that might be useful: Cosa mosaic brochure PDF

There are several alternatives available. Bi-fold, which would narrow the opening. Cafe style hinged either single or double acting. Tambour, similar to those found in appliance garages and storage units, which can be motor controled. Of course there is hinged at the top or bottom, that can be a little cumbersome for small individuals and narrow hallways