Whoa, if you get a degree in industrial arts you get to acquire carpentry textbooks along the way?!? Sweet! Kim, I've always enjoyed/appreciated your contributions; given the wisdom of trial and error that was behind them, I see why they stood out. My mom got us a couple of the Reader's Digest fixit books (have to run downstairs, one of them might be the very one you have); I like the way they are encyclopedic and detailed. I know Jane Powell but not the Small Houses books (do you mean The Not So Big stuff by Susanka, or the Small House anthologies from Fine Homebuilding?) Thanks for mentioning books; I think I might start a reference book thread for this forum. Hey Casey, THANKS for taking the bait. And you are NOT a bloody genius, you are an old house DEITY for crying out loud! Would you please start your own show on youtube? Or maybe just a house tour? Even Petch house has youtube videos. Or, do you already have a project blog and everyone knows about it but me? Actually for someone with a degree in historic preservation, I am impressed with how low-key your posts come across; they read more like an old friend who's "been there" and wants to pass along lessons learned along the way, it's really very nice and encouraging. But if you ever want to browbeat me feel free; I would take it as a compliment. To be honest if I post about something I'm thinking of doing to my house, and you don't opine, I figure one of two things is going on: 1) you're not on the forum; or 2) you're politely disapproving. Most of the time I assume it's 2 because you seem to be pretty consistent around here. But I just want to say, and I hope I speak for many, that I love love love your posts, especially when I'm searching on a problem I'm trying to solve and something from you pops up! (PS I finally got around to using that general finishes gel varnish you recommended and it was fantastic, thank you; I will post photos to the woodworking forum sometime before the next census.) Oh, and I love the way you "aged" the color tones in the new pine beadboard in your kitchen; reminds me of the pine in my grandmother's kitchen. When I was really little I used to look at the gleaming pores and think it was the closest wood could get to 24K gold.

I have a choice of keeping the box (panel?) at 125 (amps?) or upgrading it to 200. The house is currently on 125 (amps?).> If they are only talking about a larger box I would go with the 200 amp. It would still be 125 amp but can hold more circuits which gives you a chance to split some overloaded circuits.

On the ceiling, what kind of plywood did you use? usually luan is cheapest good looking plywood in HD, so that's what I have used mostly. Did you paint the designs with a brush or stencil them? stained designs are painted with a very small brush. How did you keep the stain from bleeding out to surrounding areas? Fist I make a stencil and trace the design with pencil and then fill in with stain, making sure that I have very little stain on the brush. What brand of stain did you use? I have always used Minwax --------------------------------------- wondering what to do with them. I would love to do this! Have you written up any instructions for how you did it? Or could you tell us please? What product(s) did you use? Decosup How did you transfer your design to the concrete? I drew the design on the floor with pencil based on smaller scale design on the paper Did you mask off areas? it was not necessary, as My husband cut the lines around the design before I stained and that prevented most of the bleeding issues. How did you apply the product? with the cheap foam brushes from HD What do's and don't's did you learn along the way? Don't too it on a hot day, the stain dries too quickly and you will not get as deep color. Thanks very much for any help you can give me! Where did you learn to do all this? Trial and error ;) Do you do this type of work for your job? Not yet at least, I have thought about doing it professionally but I am really lousy sales person, so this might for ever be just my obsession and hobby :) PS. I have a long e-mail I send to people that ask about my concrete work, so if you want to receive it, drop me an e-mail.

Shouldn't be too big a deal...except they won't come out 50" each, but narrower as you have to take the split ends and rehem them. How complicated it is also depends on how the top is finished...if it's pinch pleats then it might be tricky due to the spacing of the pleats. If it's just gathered on a rod pocket, then it should be easy.