Thanks for answering so quickly. I'm about to go out and get a few more roses planted. I want to get that island finished so I can get the pine bark down before we get much more hot and humid. Evert year I tell myself I'll have the pine barking done by March. Ha! The smoke sure is a killer though. If the wind shifts I'll have to quit. It doesn't look like they have the fires in Waldo under control yet, and sometimes we're getting smoke from that massive fire in Georgia. Yesterday I was outside working and about 5:00 p.m. the wind shifted slightly and it was like having volcanic ash in the air. By the time I picked up all my gardening stuff I had a horrible headache from it. We need rain!!!!

Sandy, when you're on that riding mower, keep the blade deck up to it's highest position when you're mowing your side & back yards with fescue, then when you go to the front yard, drop the deck to the lowest setting on your bermuda. Your watering can be done the same for all your grass, and the fertilizing could be done the same for all, but you might want to sneak in an extra application or two throughout the year on the front bermudagrass. Good day, Dan

Hi, We did buy some of the items online for our build. But here are some tips on what to do. Think logistics. 1) Check and make sure with/in your Contract as to how much money you will save if at all, if you go down this route. 2) If you delay getting your item, then what is the impact to the budget. For example if you are missing a shower valve. That delays bathrrom sheet rock, and tiling. Will there be a charge, and a delay on the build? In general buying things yourself is work and alot of it. The advantage is you get the things you like, rather than some default. For complex items like plumbing, I would use a proper shop which will coordinate with your Gen Contractor. You do not want expensive plumbing parts on site until they are needed. Damage, loss and theft are all issues. Even if you have the parts deliverd to your own address. You will then have to drive to the site and hand the items over to the contractor. You will also have to make sure you got the right parts. Any error in the logistical supply chain and you will eat the cost. Worst of all if you order the wrong part!!! You will have to return it, order a new part, and hold up your whole build. Again eating cost. For simpler small things like door knobs you can order online. The trick here is a spreadsheet and focused attention to detail. Inswing, outswing, left hand right hand, which finish etc. How many? Then you need to encode this into an order number which may look like Baldwin-4637B-OilRubBronz-Insw-Left or some code number like that. Any error you eat the cost. We did this, and so long as you are precise and extremely careful you can say money. The parts should be deliverd to where you live, not to the site. When the builder needs the parts, drive over and deliver them. Note avoid any type in web page. Do your order in a spreadsheet. Then having checked it over, FAX it at the company. Then follow up with a phone call. It is easier and less painful for you and the guy putting your order together. The store I used to love was Home Depot Expo. Cheap prices, and lots of stuff all in one place to. Sadly these stores where closed. If you do order from Home Depot, try and learn their ordering system. No kidding! By the end of my build I got so good at it, and you need to be that good, you would present a spreadsheet, printed out with all the SKU order numbers, pallet sizes, number of tiles etc. Last thing you want is some Home Dept clerk messing up your order. Any delay, wrong part, you eat the cost! Even if you can return it. Try returning a pallet of Garden Rock!!! As a side note, my daughter now hates Home Depot. This is because we spent so much time in those stores trying to order parts! Final word: Be Precise, Accurate, and Think Logistics and you can save money and get what you want. Good luck on your build, Best Mike.

I found a site called spoonflower.com - you can actually design custom fabrics! It's really cool. I have never used it, but I know people who have and they have been really happy. I do think they have fabrics that you can purchase too. Here is a link that might be useful: Spoonflower