I would not consider striping it for parts unless the engine was damaged from sraight gas, even then i would hesitate. I personally hate to see vintage lawn boys working fine but taken apart only to sell in pieces on e bay. Its a compete waste of a valuable item that only becomes harder and harder to find. Generaly issues with this mower include carbon on points if no spark which can be cleaned or replaced. Carb nozzle blocked from old fuel or primer pump not working due to wear on the rubber part of the primer. after you verify the mower has fresh fuel and spark at the plug tilt the mower part way so the carb side is upright and pump the primer. Verify fuel sprays out of the nozzle when priming. Having the mower tilted sideways uses gravity to have the full prime go in the engine block and helps start a engine thats been stored long term. If all else fails and give up let me know and we can work something out to have it shipped to me where it can continue on in life

Janet..thanks for sharing your gardens. I hope you can take some of your beautiful iris, hostas, columbines, etc. with you on your move. Yes, junk "evolves"...thank goodness! It will be a new challenge for you all...starting over! And your creations will be wonderful! I live near New Hartford where so many people lost everything with the tornado and then the floods this summer... 240 homes out of 270...many that NEVER flooded before. We are in the country so personal property not affected by the floods. We are helping "re-build" our town again. School will be opening on schedule Aug. 18th. So many volunteers still coming in! AWESOME! I've rattled on...but I am so glad you shared with this post...a story of more "survivors!" Thanks again for sharing. Jeanne S.

pps7 -- I hadn't thought of hanging a pendant or other fixture there but that would really look nice too! Our U-shape is a little different than yours, as we come to a landing and then turn 180 degrees to the opposite direction. So our landing is 7 feet wide or so. A niche there would be great. I hadn't thought of pot lights in the niche, though. Good idea? What about an electrical outlet -- I wonder if that would be useful?

This is a link to a website (hope it comes through) for the request for rustic tiles. I found Ken Mason Tiles in a magazine. They are beautiful hand-made, hand painted tiles from California. Using them for my entire backsplash turned out to be "beyond my budget", but they do have a slection of "Overruns" on the web site for 1/2 price. I was able to pick out individual 3 x 3 tiles from the overruns to use as accents in my 4 x 4" tumbled travertine marble backsplash. They make me happy ever time I look at them. I love the "culinarios" (fruits and vegetables) and, especially, the cherub tile that is next to my sink. Here is a link that might be useful: Ken Mason Tiles