Thanks for the compliment on the hardwood. It's actually bamboo. It's the Java Fossilized bamboo from Calibamboo. I think I'm there first residential install on the east coast. This stuff is absolutely gorgeous and I love it so much so far. We've been in the house a few weeks, just haven't had a chance to update the pics. I can tell you, whatever you decide to go with will be the right thing for your family. Facing the disability with my husband, and having it be very real and in our face forced us to look at some very real issues. We have a 12yo daughter. It spurred us to decided to go 100% handicapped accessible. My husband couldn't stand the thought of a future time when my daughter might need him in some part of the house, and he couldn't get there to help her. The idea of her sick with fever throwing up in the only non-wc accessible bathroom as he sat in the chair outside trying to comfort her...or having a nightmare as he tried to make corners to get to her bedroom. We knew that at age 12 there wouldn't be too many more of those times, but grandchildren will come one day.... He couldn't live with those thoughts... so we made the whole house accessible. Today a paraplegic could move into our house with access to all but the basement, and we are 100% ready to pop in the elevator as the shaft is prebuilt. However, if he did not have MS...and we only had our minor mobility issues and those of guests to think of...our decision might have been totally different. My inlaws built 100 feet from us on the same 17acres. They both have serious mobility issues. They lowered the switches, raised the toilets, raised the outlets and made the master wc accessible. The other bedrooms and second bath however are not accessible at all. At their age, and with their only surviving child and grandchild living next door...the money just wasn't justified. My grandparents, both just shy of 90 on the other hand are living quite happily in their 2 story home. Nana is blind, Grampa has COPD and a heart condition and needs oxygen frequently. They both can still walk, if a bit unsteadily and refuse any changes. On bad days Grampa sleeps on the sofa downstairs instead of heading up. I just wanted to give you a bit of generational prospective from my family....thought it might help. Laney Here is a link that might be useful: Calibamboo for flooring

The pricing of granite (Levels 1, 2, A, B, Gold, Silver) is not universal throughout the US. It's very dependent on location from ports and transportation centers and the relationship the distributor has with particular mining companies throughout the world. What is an expensive granite from one supplier may not be at another even in the same city, but especially across the US. Your best bet is to get individual fully spec'd quotes from your suppliers for the particular granites you are interested in. Unless you want something very exotic, they all should be fairly close price wise.

No, level 4 is not "better" than level 1. It will filter smaller particles at the expense of higher pressure drop. You use the lowest level that will remove the particulates in your water. Using a filter that is too fine will just impede water flow for no reason. Typically, 25 micron is a good place to start. 5 micron is really small, so avoid it unless it is absolutely necessary. The filter should be upstream from your softener. If it is downstream, it is doing you no good -- don't bother placing a filter cartridge in it.

Keep existing structure, complete gut the space, new footer(s) inside existing structure, load bearing structure above those, floor joists above that, subfloor and refinishing. Have engineered plans/permits before starting. Basically an insulated and interior crawlspace below the new floor when done. Have access to down there, you could use it for storage also. Not impossible. Plenty of work but not impossible. Sounds like it would need a big reno anyhow from description. Just more work than a standard DIY gut and redo due to structure work involved. This is something a GC and crew normally does. This does give you a chance to make it how you want it. Hopefully selling price reflects the need for a large reno. what unexpected or nasty surprises did you encounter? I have found a lot of things in my current house where I ask myself, what were they thinking? So you will probably find a fair amount of stupid behind the walls. When I redid the drain system, there was an old 1-1/2" drain line from the kitchen that had so much gunk built up there was maybe 1/2" left for actual draining. Also the electrical was mix of grounded and ungrounded wire, and tons of junction boxes in the basement, I redid all that mess. Found a lot of the wire nuts where the wires were loose or arcing was happening and it welded the wires and nuts together, at least they used junction boxes or the house probably would have burned down... In laundry area, an ungrounded range receptacle was used instead of a grounded dryer receptacle even though the wire they used did have a ground. At the panel the fuse was rated at 30A so it was safe, just annoying I had to get a different cord to plug it in when I moved in. I eventually changed out the outlet for future owners... Oh yea that old fuse box the main fuse connection started arcing! Talk about fire hazard! So that was replaced with a breaker panel. Also in the laundry room the washer standpipe was a 2 inch that went into that same 1-1/2" from the kitchen with a vent tee instead of a sanitary tee... (so much fail). It now has its own vent and drain to the soil stack. Higher radon level than wanted, had to add active mitigation. Kinked gas line multiple places... Bath vent in attic went to above a soffit grate so 'some' moisture went outside but some got in attic. Not enough attic ventilation. Lots of other stuff, but cant remember it all lol.