If you are only considering wood products, keep in mind that the finish and the following maintainance of that finish, is [imo] at least equal to the choice of wood. Do take the time to seal all sides including ends; and do plan on extra layers of finish for the topside. I admit that I am old-fashioned enough to prefer redwood, oak or hickory for decking. Or even, especially when economy is an issue, pine. I've read of a lot of problems when Ipe was used for decking; apparently extra care must taken when choosing the finish. Unfortunately, I haven't yet found any user-comments which recommend a particular finish... maybe the happy ones just aren't reporting back!

I have the LG Waveforce washer and dryer, the washer has the internal heater in it. I Can wash King size blanets and matress pads in mine too. The selling point for me on this washer next to the Bravos 850 model was I have the option of adding more water to my wash and rinse cycles if I wasnt. It took me forever to decide on one of the two. When Home Depot put my set on sale and I got 800 dollars off the set, plus a extrented warranty for 150 dollars combined for the set for 5 years, that made my choice a lot easier. Ive had it over 6 months, no complaints about its cleaning proformance or reliability at all

Using steel for the frame is a long lasting idea. There are still plenty of Contractors willing to weld up a frame for Ya These guys>>www.kingmetals.comKeep in mind all steel needs to be painted on a regular not just occasional. Of course a define of failure has to be set,any little break in the finish will let the rust start and bang bang the cancer has a start. I defently do not recomend tendura its bad Customer track record includes a lot of failure causing complete reform in the product. A quick read of the instulation instrustions is the first red flag. As always with a flakey composite these guys blame the instaler,funny how its always the installer with composite never the product. John

The single colour den flooring is the MCM TO DIE FOR floor. People hope and PRAY to see this type of floor. Leave that one be. The hardwoods can be sanded/refinished for $5/sf (all in). The entranceway might be removable...but it is TOUGH to get those things up off of concrete slab. If they are WELL ADHERED to the floor then leave them alone. It can cost $2-$3/sf just to remove them. Yah. Expensive to remove. I would: 1. Leave the Den flooring alone (save money; keep the character; keeps the value of the home) 2. Sand/refinish the hardwoods = $5/sf (you can do the math from there) 3. Remove kitchen tile and have a 'stone' or 'tile' look vinyl put in it's place (colour TBD) I say, fix what needs fixing (cracked/broken tile in kitchen = needs fixing = needs replacement). If you need a new roof (you are missing parts of it and it is leaking) then fix it. You are hoping for 'turn key' ready. That does not mean it has to be updated...it just means everything is safe and everything works. Go ahead and get the furnace and hot water tanks inspected and get the stickers on them. That looks good to prospective buyers. A home in good shape is going to appeal to people who want the STYLE of your home. They will be happy to get a clean, move in ready home that THEY can put their backs into. They are looking for an MCM house with good bones and 'working appliances' and a roof that is stable and a hot water tank that works. They will do the rest of the 'update work'. Let them do the 'insulation'. If the windows need updating then let THEM do that. If the siding looks dated (but intact) then leave it alone (BTW replacing windows, siding and adding insulation are best done at the same time). Do NOT open a can of worms that you cannot financially pay to close up. Let the 'newbies' take on beautifying of the Ol' Gal. You deserve a break. Let yourself have one.