That option occurred to me too, of putting concrete inside the timbers. There is an argument to be made that you could just remove the timbers now and build a proper wall - why wait for the timbers to rot? - but then you have to build a form for it, which is tight by Thursday. The real "right" answer here, for lurkers and for future notice, would have probably been to put a concrete footer under the fence, which could also have served to retain the patio and would have avoided that gap. There is one other way to look at this, which is that by the time the timbers rot, you (or the next owner) may be ready to rethink the patio anyway - shape or size or even whether you have one - and would be ready to re-lay the patio and reset the fence on a proper footer. Then it would be easier not to have old concrete to deal with, although concrete can be relatively easily sledgehammered out (disposal is a pain though). By the way, the treated wood you have is not quite the same as railroad ties, and railroad ties are regularly replaced. But even so, I don't see why you couldn't expect 10-15 years out the wood that you have (in my climate, at least, that would be my estimate). I'm really glad you found a stone that you like. That's the best part! Also, do a little homework on how to properly work with flagstone. Keep your gaps narrow (I know that's been said) and with flagstone this entails treating them like puzzle pieces where you are designing the puzzle as you go. Be prepared to fit and fiddle, move and try a lot to get the pieces fitting as tight as you can. One "rule" I remember is that you don't want long continuous joints going through but if possible have each joint line lead to the side of a slab. You can get a chisel or (depends on your stone) chip or cut it to size to make it fit. I know you can find tons of photos of well-laid flagstone on the internet and in books, but I'll put in a photo of flagstone we did in our yard to make the point that you can really play with your pieces to make them do almost anything you want. I did the cross-yard flagstone walkway here without any cutting, just moving around and trying different combinations with the pieces that we had until they made the shape I wanted. It's an advantage if your pieces are not so big as to be immovable, of course! Karin L Here is your overload of materials again, Ink :-) PS it's a work in progress shot, pardon the mess - although to tell the truth, it's still messy now, in a different way!

MM: I use a systemic called Orbit as a brown rot preventative on stone fruits that has a similar application rate on the accompanying brochure (intended for commercial use), and my math is the same as Scott's. I use an eyedropper intended for veterinary administration of antibiotics that is calibrated in CC's, and add 1 1/2-2 CC's to each gallon of water. That's a tiny amount in terms of volume, but it seems to be enough with these powerful systemics. It is also enough to give a distinct chemical odor to the spray mix. Don Yellman, Great Falls, VA

A cubic yard contains 3x3x3= 27 cubic feet. A 3 gallon pail will hold about 1/3 cubic foot. So, 100 pails X 1/3 cubic feet = about 33 cubic feet, or a bit more than a cubic yard. Most companies will not deliliver that small amount. Probably, you could carry about 1/2 yard in a pickup truck. So, two loads ought to do it. I think I paid around $30 bucks per pickup load some years ago. It's probably changed by now. I would suggest that you try a 1/2 dozen of the small pails first. For a tomato, there might be too little room for the roots in a pail that small. Maybe someone else may have more information for you. I talked to a fellow who said they grew their hydroponic tomatoes in sawdust with real good results. I think they used gunney bags for the containers. chuck

Well, he might. If the average house sits on the market for 100 days, and he is 60 days in, he very well might get a better offer down the line. There's still 40 days to go, and things might be picking up now. I would always counter, no matter what the offer is. But be firm. Let them say no. Then, if they come back later, it's a huge advantage to you. Like anything that's worthwhile in life, there's always some risk. So, one has to decide how much risk they are willing to take. We always countered back, but refused to give in to low offers because we knew that our home was priced right. We looked at lots of comps. Personally, I don't think waiting another 40 days is that risky, and he surely could get an offer that's worthwhile. Or not. One thing I do know is that there are no easy answers.