I do not judge people on the weeds in their lawn ... mostly I look with scorn upon those WITH perfect lawns because I know how they came to be. As for weeds, I try to keep any that I have from going to seed. I pluck off every dandelion flower that I see (and put it in my pocket because it turns to seeds if you throw it on the ground). Right now, the "enemy" is hairy bittercress - I walk around with a grocery bag and pull every one I see (they are easily pulled up) before they go to seed. I'll miss some, I know that. But I will have stopped thousands of seeds from hitting the ground for next year. Henbit is also quite easily pulled. Dallas grass is bad, I know. For that, I use scissors to cut it off at the ground and hopefully it runs out of energy one day. I don't use a lawn service, but then I guess you figured that out by now. Here is a link that might be useful:

Thanks Ladies! Am rushed for time but wanted to say that DH has ordered the cast cover that Outsideplaying and Cat Mom suggested. It should get here on Friday. Thank you for that one, Ladies!! Have made and frozen 4 dinners so far: Shepherd's Pie, Spaghetti and my homemade meatballs, Meatball Stroganoff and (today) my homemade Chicken Noodle Soup. Thanks to Joanie for reminding me to think about comfort foods. I made my own personal comfort food: my homemade Chicken Noodle Soup this afternoon! Thanks to Jshore's suggestion, I'm making sure that everything is pre-cut into small pieces as I won't be able to cut things for at least the first week. I had NOT even thought of that before she suggested it! I have my list (thanks to you all) of things to do and to buy in the next 4 days and am checking them off one by one. I feel so, so much more prepared because of you all. I am usually a super-organized person, but have found that in stressful times like this, I do need a little help from my friends. Thank you for that! I'm off to go iron 3 or 4 shirts for DH. By Sunday, I'll have a at least a week's worth ironed and ready for him. Lynn

"... Her house build demonstrates that. She described the floor and stair riser issues in her first post ..." She does not go into detail on why the condition of the construction is the way it is. You are assuming it was all the gc's fault. While I am certainly not going to defend the GC she fired, I will say part of that condition might have been from the house being open to the elements for a period of time. ANother part was that she never gave the original GC the opportunity to make the work that was done ready to be installed over. The GC did not complete the project and was removed from the job before he could finish his work, so of course it was not ready to be installed over, because the work was not completed and the original GC did not have the opportunity to make sure the stair system or any other part was in a ready state to be installed over. She very well may have had just cause to remove the CG, but nevertheless she took on the GC responsibility on herself to ensure it was ready for finish trades. I believe it is apparent that this house was not ready to have finished trades in it performing finish work, and it was her responsibility as GC to make sure it was unless soneone else accepted that responsibility by contract. "...A person does not require a GC to have a floor put down. ..." The problem with this is that it was not as simple as getting a floor put down in a home that was ready to have finish trade present. Again, we do not know what caused the stair issues, which could have been: Framing problems caused by the GC's incompetance, or being open to the elements, which flooring installer holds no responsibility for because its a hidden condition, unless it was a tile contractor who must check for build stability, and deflection and rigidity requirements. You might not be aware that carpet, wood, and resilient installers are noit trained for, nor do they hold any responsibility or liability for framing issues. All of which she holds responsibility for as the project GC. The only way the flooring installers would hold liability and responsibility for framing (hidden conditions) issues is if it was addressed on their bids that they agreed to do the work. Any flooring installer would address this in their bids if they elected to take on the added responsibility and liability from stair framing condition and height requirements she may ahve had which could only ahve been taken care of with additional prep they should have addressed in their bids if they wanted to take on the additional responsibility and liability for an added fee. Additionally, she admitted she has no local building codes for such things as stair height. Could they have done better...sure. But it begins and ends with who is liable and responsible. She took that on by electing to be her own project GC. "... While it might have been possible for her to have stepped in earlier to babysit the install where she would have seen that they weren't able to handle the job, stopping it sooner than what happened, that doesn't relieve that company of their total responsibility for having installed a floor over an (obviously) unsound substrate. You can't remove prep from the flooring equation. The flooring company is the professional here and in charge of their own work. It's their job. Once they start putting the floor down, they have accepted the substrate as sound and taken ownership of the results. They did not act responsibly or professionally. Period. Doesn't matter who did the hiring. They and they alone are responsible for their own incompetent work ..." Again, (and again, and again, and again) an installer absolutely is responsible and liable for the surface they install over. However, I will disagree that prep cant be removed. It very well can, and often is removed. While most professional flooring installers do much surface prep, others do not, and FEW, if any, will concern themselves with framing issues AT ALL. I do, but most do not. It all boils down to what was included in the bid. Flooring installers have no responsibility to do added prep work unless they agree to be contracted to do it. They ahve every right to stop work, tell the GC this or that prep needs done before continuing, and tell them to give them a call when its ready to be installed. Lastly, you seem to be taking everything she says as gospel. I dont. I have alot of experience with customers, and customers lie alot... and often. Mostly to save face, save a buck, and/or to shirk their responsibility. The customer is not always right. Thats a falicy. I find it hard to believe that she had issues with the GC, then issues with all the trades. Everyone was wrong in every aspect of this project ... except her. I dont believe that for a moment, but I am not saying its impossible. What I see as possible is someone who bit off more than they could chew, and is blaming everyone else. I am not stating no one else holds any blame though. Could be a little of each. Bottom line its mostly her responsibility unless she has a piece of paper saying different ...except the subfloor issues which the installers absolutely are responsible for if they elect to do the prep and/or install over it.

azmom, I'm in AZ also and know just what you are going through. I am 7 weeks into our actual remodel and beginning to see the light of day! We are remodeling kitchen and a powder room off our entry way. We did remove a couple of walls, and had electric, gas, and plumbing lines to move and or add. I thought about what I wanted for a long time but soon realized that there were holes in my plans. The best advice I can give you is to ask friends and colleagues who have gone through a remodel who they used and if they would recommend them. Even with a recommendation, do due diligence yourself and check GCs with the Registrar of contractors and BBB. You don'y want anyone who isn't licensed and bonded. Don't take their word for it, check it out for yourself. It only takes a few minutes on line and you wont regret it. If the GC you go with has subs, make sure they are licensed and bonded also. When you are on the Registrar"s website, you can check to see if there are any complaints against them. We (I) decided to go to a certified Kitchen/Bath designer for some workable plans. We interviewed several (5) and you have to be careful about that also. Some of them would not do a thing without a sizable retainer paid first which I thought was silly. How would I know if they had a clue without seeing their work. I finally chose a designer who came to the house, measured the areas involved and discussed with me in general what I wanted to accomplish. She drew up a couple of designs and when I saw that I liked her ideas, I paid her a fee and after several more discussions and changes I had the plan I wanted to use. You will find that most Design companies can and will recommend GCs to do the work, but we hired our own. I think I must be rambling and I don't want to bore you. As for hiring the GC, yes get quotes from at least 3. They expect that they won't get every job they bid on so don't worry about hurting their feelings or wasting their time. The GCs should give you a fairly detailed bid which should include the types of materials they would use, a reasonable timetable whether or not they use subs and if they do, who they are. How they will want to be paid, (do not ever pay too much up front) Yes, do have a contract. GCs expect that too. We also, when it came to choosing the GC, checked out their work not just looking at pictures but going to actually see their work and talk to past clients. They should be proud of their work and will gladly arrange to set up a meeting with satisfied clients. This website is fabulous for doing research and I am so glad I found it before getting into this project. I check out a lot of things so I have a clue at what to expect and what I want done. Houzz.com is also a good source for design ideas. As far as fixtures, appliances etc. goes I found that doing on line research helped a great deal. I also found I could save A LOT of money ordering from online purveyors like Build.com. Lumens.com, amazon.com and many others. I hope this helps, if you haven't been bored to tears and have other questions, let me know. Linda