Shasta, you can flip sod over and plant and mulch on top of that. That works. Or you can smother what's growing with cardboard and mulch and plant into that. That works too. Cottage: I have 4 dogs and had to fence around my veggies. But in places where I can't fence, I'm resorting to big containers. Even if they do their business around the containers, I don't think the plants will be harmed. We have other scavenging animals here in Harpers Ferry, WV, so we use two trashcans with the bottoms cut out and vent holes in the top for dumping our kitchen waste. Also, I just sent for a trap so I can take "the visitors" to a wilderness area. My problem is a groundhog. If anyone is collecting grass clippings in their neighborhoods, make sure it's from a natural lawn and doesn't contain Weed-Be-Gone. It's normal for piles of grass to be moldy. It's not nice, but it is normal. I find if you stir it up you can reduce that mold. Grass (and kitchen waste) will help cardboard break down. I don't really want my cardboard to break down so fast, so I am covering it with leaves and shredded wood and hoping my new perennials will manage okay in that.

I want to thank everyone for the information. I in no way posted on this site to be spoken down to (as some have done in the postings) about this situation. All I was looking for was someone that has put this unit into the home. This is my first major remodel. If I learned anything from all of this is before starting a project, call out the city to inspect plans. I did not think of this cause of the high recommendation I had from referrals for the contractor. Trust me, I have spoken to the contractor about all of this. I am not the expert on code, the contractor is. I spent this morning going over the documentation from Bosch on this unit. They show in the pictures for the instillation, that the drain hose can be hooked over a sink or tub for drainage. This is just like I do at this time with my washer/dryer combo. This might be the solution to my problem cause if they are showing it can be done this way with the drain hose exposed just like my current combo & hooked to my shower area exposed, not plumbed to the drain. It is just too bad that as someone that is trying to be more "green" in my lifestyle (small car, bringing my own bags to the market, biodegradable cleaning products, etc.), the American way of having everything HUGE from large meals @ restaurants to cars to laundry systems, puts a wrench in using a water efficient system. I even heard on the news today that LA is going to have to conserve water & they are asking people to do smaller laundry loads cause of this. All I had to do is laugh cause if the industry never had these HUGE systems come out, we would have not had to increase the pipes to take care of the water load. Maybe us in Los Angeles are a little more forward thinking than the rest of the country cause we are trying to keep this world from becoming a complete disaster. I have written to a VP at Bosch asking if they can help get more information. Hopefully I will hear back from them.

Years ago 1-1/2" was the norm for a laundry standpipe, but in the late 70s to early 80Âs the appliance industry started installing higher volume pumps in the washing machines and it was soon learned that the 1-1/2" lines could not handle the volume and velocity of the discharge so the plumbing codes were amended requiring a laundry standpipe to be 2". The type of washing machine that you select has absolutely no bearing on the size of the line. Regardless of what laundry machine you choose, there is no guarantee that when that machine wears out that it would be replaced with a machine of equal size, therefore the standpipe must conform to the code standard for a laundry standpipe. Taking this discussion to the next level, living in a condo you are confronted with a number of problems that your real estate agent no doubt forgot to mention. In most jurisdictions a homeowner may perform "maintenance" on a single-family dwelling or a residential multifamily dwelling so the question then is, what is the definition of "maintenance"? Maintenance is the act of servicing or repairing all pipes, valves, fixtures and appurtenances related to the structure water distribution system or DWV system providing the systems are maintained in the original configuration and layout. Any additions, changes or alterations of the original system, no matter how slight, are defined as "New Work". A homeowner may pull a "self help permit" for "New Work" providing the structure is a Âsingle-family dwelling" solely occupied by the homeowner or members of his/her immediate family. (This can get real touchy; I once worked on a house where the homeowner was denied a self help permit because they had a foreign exchange student in residence in their home for a year.) In residential or commercial multi-family dwellings the homeowner (landlord) or his/her delegates (maintenance department) may perform "maintenance" but they May Not perform any "New work" on the structure. In those jurisdictions that have both Residential/Commercial Plumbers and Residential Plumbers a Residential Plumber may perform service for hire on a single -family residential structure or a residential multi-family structure, but not on a commercial multi-family structure. Generally a "Residential multi-family structure" is defined as any structure with two or more dwelling units but not to exceed 4 dwelling units or 3 stories in vertical height. All structures with 5 or more dwelling units or exceeding 3 stories in height are defined as a "Commercial Multi-family dwelling" and a certified residential/commercial or journeyman plumber must perform all maintenance or new work. In some jurisdictions all "condos" regardless of how large or small the structure are classified as "commercial multi-family dwellings" Your Plumbing Inspector has already notified you that he will not pass the installation unless you install a 2" line for the standpipe however what he did not tell you is that installing the 2" line will involve the tub drain line as well. All DWV (drain, waste & vent) lines) are sized by the code DFU (drainage fixture unit) method. Basically the code has tables listing every type of fixture that can be found in a structure and it assigns a minimum drain opening size and a DFU value. When your tub was initially installed a 1-1/2" line was rated for up to 3DFUÂs and as long as you make no changes to that line it may remain a 1-1/2" line however, if you make any changes whatsoever you would be required to bring it up to the code that is in force at the time of the new work. Under the UPC & the Calif. Code a tub is rated at 3DFUÂs but a1-1/2" line is now limited to 1DFU, therefore if you make any changes you would not only be required to install a 2" line for the standpipe, the tub drain line would also be increased to 2", which is rated for a maximum of 8DFUÂs. Now let us discuss the idea of not installing the washer at this time, then after you have your inspection coming back and installing it. Sadly this is commonly done, but if you elect to do so you should be aware of your liability. If you should happen to have an overflow, and if that overflow were to cause any property damage to the dwelling unit below you, you would be liable for all property damage. If you were to then turn that in to your homeowners insurance they reserve the right to come out and inspect the damages to determine the extent of liability. If they note that you have a washer/dryer hookup but the other dwelling units in your condo do not, that would raise a red flag and they will go looking closer. Do not discount insurance investigators because they are fully familiar with code and if they find your installation is non-code compliant they may elect to contact your local code enforcement office to determine when the installation was made and if it was done to code at the time of installation. If they determine that the installation was made without a permit, they may opt to deny your claim. Now to add insult to injury, once they contact the code enforcement office to verify a permit, the code enforcement office has authority to come make an inspection. When the code enforcement office determines that you made the installation without a permit, they will issue you a summons to appear in housing court, where you will be given a hefty fine and they may issue an order that you have not more than 180 days to have the entire dwelling unit brought up to current code.

Definitely something to check out. If you have plywood floors, the plies could be separating and particle board can be like a sponge and expand. You need to pull the carpets up and check. Another thing I haven't seen you mention is the potential for mold. That's something to be very careful of since people like to sue for anything and you have knowledge of the possibility since the flood. If someone's kid gets the sniffles in the future and hears about a flood, they may cry "MOLD"! So be careful. I hope that dummy gets her just rewards! I think I'd be tempted to tell her to check her own messages, or that she has one, the lab called, her brain can't be fixed! :)