Artichokey-I think a walk through would be useful and if we layout the closet right we should still have good space. I do not have a plan for the hallway. It has stuck out to me as wasted space but I haven't figured out a way around it. Thoughts? Back to the Garage again (it is what we continually hash over): We ended up with an L thinking it would maximize our space for views and keep it opposite the master br. There is a very large mature oak tree near the already cleared driveway (had a partial clearing when we purchased it) that we are trying to avoid cutting down. Maybe we need to entertain that idea but thus far we have been trying to work with it. The placement of the existing drive is fine - but it does mean the outbuilding will be on the north side so that is a constraint that we also have. Our main goals for the house are: living, dining, kitchen areas on the east and south master on the north or west preferably on a corner for 2 points of light/air flow When looking at plans it gets complicated when the garage is introduced because even if you reverse image the plan sometimes it puts the master on the south side and we don't want that. Living in MI - I can't get away from the attached garage. Totally spoiled and can't imagine not having it. The other issue is if we have a side load on the north side - you will not see the front of the house...and we are back to all garage again. We were hoping with an L company would at least be at the front when they arrive (which we do not have much company besides family anyhow). Here is a rough sketch (very rough - drawing, clearing is accurate but slope of driveway is not) of the land/existing driveway. It starts on the North side and is about at the midline where it ends at the opening of the clearing. We WILL have to clear trees to the west or front of the property. Again - trying to avoid cutting to the south to keep some privacy from neighbors and barn will be on the north. With fall here and leaves starting to change/drop we will get a better picture of where the cover will or will not be in the winter. We do have some pine trees mixed in and may have to plant more or a few blue spruce. Here are a couple more photos with a little detail: Lastly-I think if we got rid of the front and side bumpouts that will save cost? I like the back by the porch so I'd want to keep that if at all possible.

I have a question about how some work is proceeding. Currently, copper water pipe, above ground, 3/4", feeds house, in mild climate, San Francisco Bay Area. Here's the plan. Cut the copper pipe right after the shutoff valve, solder in a T, one side feeds the house, other side feeds a galvanized steel threaded pipe that has multiple elbows and straight couplings, channeling the water underground for a hose and PVC sprinkler connection at the far end, about 30' away. PVC connection then feeds into 3-zone underground sprinkler system. I would like the water at the end of the galvanized steel 30' pipe that will feed the hose to be drinking water quality. 1. How should the coupling of the copper and steel be done near the shutoff valve? 2. Is galvanized steel threaded pipe+elbows+couplings underground (under a paver driveway and flagstone patio) in a mild climate a problem? Threads are wrapped in teflon tape. 3. What kind of a shutoff valve should be used at water source to galvanized steel pipe, in order that the water can be drinking quality at the other end, where the hose and PVC sprinkler connections are? What kind of fittings should be used to connect the threaded pipes? 4. Is lead solder (even low levels of lead) required to connect the copper to galvanized steel, or is there another method that is feasible? In general I want to ensure the water quality entering the house is not compromised, that the piping etc. will last a long time, and that the water quality at the far end will be drinking water quality (assuming the city is providing clean water, of course!). Thanks Very Much for any and all opinions and advice! Dan 4. This entire design is a disaster in the making. First off, the code requires that the supply pipe must be buried 12", or 6" below average frost depth, whichever is deeper. A " pipe is absolute code minimum for a single family residential dwelling and is normally sufficient for a kitchen, laundry and up to two bathrooms however, the size of the supply line must be sized proportional to the calculated load of the structure and the distance from the municipal main to the furthest fixture. There is no way that a ¾" line would be sufficient for the structure and an irrigation system. You would be required to have a "Main shutoff valve" which must be a full-bore type valve (gate valve or ball valve). The line feeding the exterior piping would then be required to have a backflow preventer (check-valve) and a separate shutoff valve. Solder will not stick on galvanized iron pipe. All connections to iron pipe MUST BE made by means of NPT (National Pipe Taper) threaded fittings, however galvanized iron pipe is a very poor choice of material for direct burial anyway. The pipe passing under the driveway and the patio should be sleeved. To make a sleeve you first install a pipe at least 2 nominal pipe sizes larger then pass the desired pipe through the sleeve pipe. All hose bibs must be anti-siphon type. At the point where the pipe first feeds the irrigation system you must install a vertical riser to an elevation at least 6" higher than the elevation of the highest irrigation sprinkler nozzle and install a shutoff valve and an approved vacuum breaker. The pipe is then dropped back down and run to the irrigation system. All solder joints must be made with certified "Lead Free" solder. The first step of this project should be to make a list of all the fixtures in the house and the distance from the municipal main source to the furthest fixture to calculate the load for the structure. From this you could determine the required line size for the house. You must the compute the length of the lines and the Gal/min rate of each irrigation sprinkler head and the hose bibs to determine the load for the outdoor use. Once you know the combined load you can determine the required size of the main supply line. Check your local code carefully because they may have additional requirements for this project.

Pentair recommends a straight piece of suction pipe that is 5x the diameter of the pipe size. So if the pipe is 2", then 10" is required and for 1.5", 7.5" is required. However, it is important to understand why they have that specification. I think it was mentioned before but this is to prevent a vortex in the water entering the pump basket. A vortex increases head loss which lowers the pressure near the impeller which in turn increases the possibility of cavitation but only under certain conditions. This usually only occurs at very high flow rates and depends on the head loss in the rest of the plumbing. At lower speeds, NPSHa increases substantially and the posibility of cavitation decreases dramatically so this is much less of an issue. However even at low speeds, a vortex will always reduce the efficiency of the pump some but it is not all that much. I'm not suggesting that you ignore the recommendations of Pentair but it is important to keep it in context. If you don't plan on operating the pump anywhere near full speed, the length of suction pipe becomes less important. However, looking at the photographs that you have, it looks like you could easily run a 10" straight pipe away from the pump close to the opposite wall. Run a 90 back along the wall to a header which connects all of the suction pipes after each valve. This has a few 90s in it but if you use 2" pipe, it is not that much of an impact. Also, 1-90 has about the same head loss as 2-45s so you really don't gain much by using 2-45s but you can do that if you want. The important part is to have the straight piece of pipe in front of the pump. The extra fittings and pipe are much less important. At 60 GPM, a 2" 90 has about 0.27 feet of head loss. 2-45s (2") have about 0.25 feet of head loss. Not much difference and not much in total when you consider most suction plumbing will be close to 5 feet of head. Also, the optimum flow rates for a filter are for the upper end. So you can always go with lower flow rates and still achieve optimum filtering. In addition, you will save much more in energy costs if you can target close to 1000 RPM with the Intelliflo.

One can see the trends in the floral business as well. It's not always about varieties. I remember when I started back into horticulture twenty three years ago...........It was 'dusty rose'. It carried through all the seasons from geraniums in spring, to mums in fall, to poinsettias in winter. I didn't realise how much that impacted me until we got a company in to lay new carpet and tile. One of the installers looked at my husband and rolled his eyes, and said "did it hit you she's done the whole house in pink?" LOL For quilts, I don't pay much attention to what is 'in'. I likes it or I don't.