Hi from St. John, Creativity counts because I am not good at "giving up anything" First, went off island to purchase everything.Had on island quote for Kraftmaid kitchen cabinets. Quoted price of $46,700.00 Eeeeek my budget was $20,000. That one quote started me on my new mission to stay on budget and look for bargains. Went to Expo Design Center on Pine Island Florida. Had a fantastic designer Robert Fabian. I chose and ordered Kraftmaid cabinets for my kitchen and the apt kitchen downstairs only the price was $17,000.00 versus $46,000.00 for my kitchen comparable to what I was quoted here. Sixteen ceiling fans,all plumbing fixtures,all plumbing hardware,all door hardware all GE appliances both kitchens plus outdoor kitchen, except for a Subzero refrigerator and Subzero freezer which I bought at Coral Springs Appliances because Home Expo doesn't carry SZ's.Bamboo flooring for husband's bonus room. 4000 sq.ft of travertine marble for all floors and apt shower @ $2.94 sq.ft. The list was huge but so was the discount by buying everything at one place. The designer gave me a discount plus ordered what I needed the week the store offered a cabinet discount or appliance discount etc.The most miraculous part was everything and I mean everything was exactly what we ordered and in perfect condition. That means alot when you had to ship everything to an island and truck to a site on the side of a hill. The other fantastic savings was for what I couldn't afford to special order.I found the Habitat for Humanity Rehab Stores in Ft. Lauderdale and Miami they are in many cities.I wanted all armoire and drawer built-ins for the bathrooms and bedrooms instead of closets.I found armoire cabinets for $75.00 with raised panel doors.We are building those all in and ordering matching cabinet doors and drawer fronts from Scherr's a cabinet manufacturer recommended on the Kitchen forum.When all is built in everything gets painted with Bin a white pigmented shellac and then with with the appropriate finishing paint.The estimate for our masterbath cabinets was $18,000 from Expo. When all is said and done I think we will end up under $1500.00 with unfinished cabinet doors from Scherr's sweat equity and paint. Another great find was a salvage door store in Ft. Lauderdale recommended by a friend. We bought all of our interior glass french doors bedroom and bathroom doors for $400.00 many of which were brand new. I am making all my own decorative friezes not because I have any talent but what I like by Focal Point I can't afford. I purchased all the acanthus appliques at Constantines on line. I am attaching them to strips of luan and then priming and using brads to secure them to the ceiling trim boards. Crown molding will be attached above as budget permits. Sweat equity is a must to stay on budget. I do all the jobs I can do. I have primed and put two coats of paint on the entire interior and entire exterior surfaces of an all concrete house.We have blue jobs and pink jobs. . A substantial savings was not buying the spiral stairway we wanted from York Spiral Stairs in Maine. It is gorgeous a double helix with wide stringer $10,000.00 plus 6800.00 to ship it here.A poster on this forum showed pictures of their built in spiral stairs, we did that with the help of a local carpenter the labor and materials were 4200.00 complete. I think you have to look at the big picture cutting back items you can't upgrade later makes no financial sense. You can always change hardware lighting appliances etc but it is difficult to add square footage and roof lines that you won't always love.The best of luck.

Those bastards. You absolutely don't want to splice - no way. It would be a huge shadow cast over any future sale. Consider this - very few wires are home run, so you'll be replacing the wire from the panel to the first connection, ie the first device in the chain. Needless to say you'll want to beef up your security! Where I am, scrapyards are required to see ID when purchasing copper (and other) scrap now, I'd be campaigning to have similar laws. Regardless you'll need another inspection, and I doubt they'd be impressed with a bunch of splices. Talk to your electrician, maybe they'll come to the party and you won't need to use your insurance (if it's around the deductible?) but that's what it's there for. As the saying goes, "why spoil the ship for a ha'porth of tar?"

Vicki, Are you having a lot of santa ana winds up there today?? I saw on the news last night that Temecula would be having them and the Red Alert. We have the red alert here in Oceanside,but the winds aren't bad at the moment.Hope it stays that way. Kathi

As long as no other healthy ashes (Fraxinus species) or fringe tree (Chionanthus virginicus) on your property or neighboring ones there is no reason NOT to use the wood chips as mulch. In fact, even if those trees were present, it really wouldn't make any difference as sooner or later EAB will get them as well, mulch or no mulch. Wood chips make an excellent mulch and informal surfacing material for walkways. Never a good reason to have them hauled away :-)