Keith, You know, I'm just kidding about him being a weather weenie! He is, in fact, the bravest man I know and puts his life on the line for his fellow citizens all the time, both in his professional career as a police officer (back when he was hired, they all were cross-trained as firefighters too) and in his volunteer capacity as a firefighter. Our son is the same way...he works as a professional firefighter/paramedic and then also as a volunteer firefighter on his own private time. You can bet that we immediately had a discussion here at our home about the Fulton fire as soon as we heard the story. Both DH and DS said the family clearly was at fault for failing to pay the fire membership fee (or whatever the heck they call it there), that the family knew the consequences and that the family gambled they'd never need the fire dept., and they lost. So, the family received virtually no sympathy from my two firefighters. Also, please note that they were burning trash in metal burn barrels and set their own place on fire by leaving those unattended. (I'm assuming the barrels were unattended since a person sitting there with a water hose could have quickly put out the fire when it spread from the barrel to the grass.). I would have liked to see them stand in front of the camera and say "This is entirely our own fault and we accept full responsibility. Since this particular area's fire fee has been in effect since 1990, there is no doubt in my mind that the family knew exactly what the consequences would be if they didn't have fire protection and had a fire because the same thing happened there just two years ago to another family. I have really mixed feelings about this, but I do want to defend the firefighters. Their hands were tied. If they had fought that fire, each and every one of them who fought the fire would have been dismissed from the department. Those firefighters had a moral and ethical obligation to obey their policy and could not fight that fire. I hate that the family put them in that sort of position to begin with. After all, if you choose not to have auto insurance or homeowners insurance, you surely do not call up an insurance company AFTER the fact and ask them to pay for your damaged home or car. Why should fire protection be any different? If the fire dept. disregarded their own policy and fought that fire, they'd be opening the door for every resident to decline to pay their annual fee. Then, the dept. wouldn't have enough money to operate and would cease to exist and no one would have fire protection. So, it is just a big mess, isn't it? My personal feeling is that while the family was wrong, in my heart I wish the fire dept. had the latitude to fight the fire and then to bill the family after the fact. In that case, the fire dept. should be able to bill the family for the FULL COST of fighting the fire, which my son tells me would be approximately $500 per hour. Then, it would be your choice as a homeowner to pay the $75 per year annual fee or to pay hundreds or thousands of dollars per fire incident in the event you had a fire. However, that was not an option the Fulton firefighters had available to them. You might be surprised to learn that more property owners in this country are in areas covered by volunteer fire departments than by professional fire departments. Volunteer departments receive miniscule amounts of funding from the state of Oklahoma and the amount that most receive from their county or city are not very large either. In our county, if you add together the money you get from the state and the county, you might...just might...have enough money to pay your annual fuel bill. Sometimes you don't have enough. I have personally witnessed, quite often, volunteer firefighters paying for fuel for the fire trucks or parts to repair fire trucks using their own personal funds with no expectation that they'll be repaid that money by their department. In order to have money for gasoline, insurance, fire station utilities, etc., we have to spend tons and tons of time on fund-raising. Our guys spend as much time on fundraising some years as they spend fighting fires. Something is wrong with the way we fund volunteer departments in this country, but you cannot blame departments for that. It is the fault of the governmental officials we elect. Do some departments get federal, state or local grants to help buy equipment, fix equipment, buy personal protective gear, etc.? Of course they do. However, to receive a grant you have to apply, apply, apply over and over and over again, year in and year out, and if you're lucky AND extremely good at filling out tons of paperwork over and over again, you might get a grant once or twice a decade. Smaller depts. who lack grant-savvy members rarely, if ever, receive grants because they haven't mastered the paperwork nightmare. Our dept. is very fortunate because we have a couple of guys who spend probably hundreds of hours per year working on grants, so we get a grant about once every 2 or 3 years. Without them, I don't know what we'd do but think we'd be in worse financial shape than we currently are, and we'd have older, less safe and less reliable equipment. It used to be that professional departments had the funding from their entity, be it a city or county or fire district, to cover their needs adequately. However, in the tough economic times we're in now, every fire dept. I know of, no matter how big and marvelous they are, is fighting to do more with less. Many depts. nationwide have laid off firefighters and even closed down entire stations because they lack the funding to maintain the level of service they once had. I think incidents like the Fulton incident will continue to occur because you'll always have people who won't pay their fair share until their house is burning...and, by then, it is too late. For the members of our fire department, there is nothing worse than being unable to save a burning structure, but sometimes by the time you arrive, the home is already fully engulfed and all you can do is try to keep the fire from spreading to the adjacent dwellings. I cannot even imagine our dept.'s firefighters standing by and watching a house burn because a family hadn't paid their fire protection fee. Doing that would go against everything the members of our department believe in. However, our county doesn't have a fee like that or a policy like that, so it isn't something we have to deal with. The only thing that really disturbs me about the Fulton policy is this: what if people are inside a burning home and are likely to die if firefighters do not suit up, go inside the house, find them, and carry them out? What then? I think that, morally, it is one thing to stand and let someone's home burn because they CHOSE not to pay the fee. It would be something else entirely different, though, to stand by and let someone perish in a fire. I would find that morally reprehensible. I know this isn't gardening-related, but I am glad we discussed it. For all of you who are involved with your local dept as a volunteer or who financially support your local dept., THANK YOU. For all of you who don't, please remember they need your support! There used to be a bumper sticker (it first appeared during a campaign to unionize firefighters and give them collective bargaining rights) that said "Suppose You Had A Fire, And Nobody Came?". Well, if you don't support your local volunteer depts., that could happen to you. Carol, If you're in a fire district with a required membership fee, I believe the insurance companies do require you to pay it or they can deny you fire coverage. Our county doesn't have a fee, though, so I have no first-hand experience with it. I do know, though, that if we send an insurance company a letter notifying them that we fought a fire at a piece of property they insure, most of them send us back a letter of gratitude and a check to help cover our costs. Unlike some residents, the insurance companies understand EXACTLY where they'd be without the volunteer and professional fire depts. Finally, I'd be remiss if I didn't mention this: our local fire department had a big fund-raiser a couple of weeks ago and our whole community turned out in force and they brought their money with them. The fundraiser was a success and virtually ensures we'll be able to pay our bills for the next year, assuming no major disaster occurs. I am SO GRATEFUL to all the Love County residents who attended and who made our fundraiser a success. The residents are the reason that we do what we do, and they also make it possible for us to serve them by contributing money to the department to help pay its operating expenses. I feel so fortunate that in Love County the citizens support their VFDs. Dawn

Dr Joan, You are correct. My clients who have been asking for the ranch plans are mostly empty nesters or one child or a parent who is living with them who want easy access to the whole home even if in less than perfect health. This then also appeals to a wider range of potential buyers for resale. The house also appears to be larger on the lot and in my opinion adds to the percieved and actual value of the home. Both of these are generally ranch plan. The first having the bonus room over the garage and both having full or partial walkout. The first has much more potential finished space as there are 2 bedrooms and bath in the lower level as well as space ready to be finished off for wet bar, rec room, family spaces etc as time and budget allow. The flexibility and potential is very valuable to the owner and any future buyers. The pricing I spoke of was gained through extensive price shopping and great internet purchasing and a year of planning prior to construction. Your pricing seems very reasonable to me based on my experience and not knowing your details of finishes etc. The trick is keeping it that way. Up front its your plans, builder and checkbook...as you move along it becomes emotional...as in gee honey the carpet floor looks fine in the great room...But wouldnt the reclaimed Heart Pine wide plank flooring look fantastic ???? The key is doing your best to be honest and complete in your selections up front as possible.

your best bet in this situation is to hire someone yourself to check out the system and give you an honest answer. If you check craigslist, you'll find guys offering to do "check ups" for $50-100 - just make it clear that you want a full inspection with line pressures, subcool/superheat delta-T and static pressure readings documented in writing on the repair order. Tell them before they come out that you aren't interested in a new system, just in getting the unit back to factory specs. Something is definitely wrong, and it's likely an inexpensive fix if you can get someone to actually break out their tools and check the system properly. Don't let them talk you into a new system, and don't believe the warranty company's lapdog. Google the warranty company's name to see what you're dealing with, most have terrible reviews.

I agree with Mattypies! I LOVE our 2 story great room, despite having a "small" house (1350 sq. ft.). Ours faces due south with 7' tall (4' wide) windows going up 2 floors and a vaulted ceiling to boot, but with a good supply of mature trees that leaf out beautifully in the early spring, protecting us from the UV and heat. We actually don't even have A/C and even with summer temps in the 104 degree temps in the summer, it's been super cosy. The key for us is that all of our windows open and we have TONS of great cross ventilation. The deciduous trees are leaf-less in the winter, and that means that we don't have to start heating the house until late in the year and get to turn the heat off in the early spring. We of course, went with high efficiency windows that are designed to improve heat penetration during the winter, and reduce it in the summer (sun angles). We don't have children yet, but the noisy even when all the nieces and nephews are over isn't very noticeable. We did Roxul Safe 'n Sound in all of our walls and floors, which I think made a huge difference, along with solid doors with a minimal gap under them. Plus rugs and plush couches. We *love* the way it feels like we're outside even when we're inside. The sun shines in during the winter, the birds sit on our window sills, and the breezes flows through in the summer. It's like being a part of the outdoors, instead of being in this little box of wood and drywall. Ick. Our heating costs have been LESS than our friends who have bungalows of the same size, and I'm certain it is because of the passive solar heating. A big fan in the middle of the vault, and using high quality insulation and proper attic ventilation, we haven't had any issue in the summertime either. We keep the 2nd floor doors closed during the hot days, and that helps keep the heat from entering. Not that it matters because one bedroom is on the north side and is quite cool year round, and the east-side master bedroom has 3 windows and a balcony door, so the evening breezes and a ceiling fan cool it down right quick. I think you REALLY need to think about the placement of all the rooms, and if you can capture the heat/cooling in the house. Go with what you love, not with what "everyone else likes". That's my biggest pet peeve; we build a house for someone else, not us. Why bother?? Just buy a used house and live with what everyone else liked.