I found that site VERY useful when hubby broke his hip three years ago... The list of facilities the hospital provided were all in places I wouldn't go in broad daylight, with an armed guard, and after checking that site I found out they were all below standard... I was lucky enough, with the help of that site, to find one that was within 10 miles of home, ranked high in quality, had a higher ratio of help to patients and offered twice as much rehab time and the best part was, at the time, our insurance covered everything... If you're considering a nursing home, rehab center or assisted living I urge you to check it out... Rita P. S. Ratings change so don't go by the ratings today and expect them to be the same 3 years from now.

Just updating in case anyone else is looking for steel carriage house doors with a stained wood look... I couldn't find anyone in our area who carried the Raynor brand but was able to look at both the Amaar and the Clopay doors. Amaar's "Classica" line comes in a dark woodgrain finish. When looking at images of the doors online, I was just about convinced to purchase the Amaar Classica Lucerne with Seine windows. I thought it would be PERFECT. But, because garage doors are so big you can't NOT see them, I decided I really wanted to look at samples of the actual doors before I bought. I'm so glad I did because as soon as I saw the Amarr door in real life I knew I would not be happy with it. While the overall color (a reddish mahogany shade) would have been fine, the Amaar "wood graining" simply was not at all realistic. Amaar apparently impresses the wood graining into the rolled steel metal before the door panels are formed and then the paint is baked on (or something like that). Then, they stamp the door panels out of the embossed and prepainted sheet metal. The result is that all of the "wood graining" runs in the same direcetion (horizontally) even where the door is stamped out to look like it is made with vertical and/or diagonally placed pieces of wood. The Amaar doors MIGHT look okay from 40 or 50 feet away but, as soon as I walked into the shop and saw the door (from a distance of about 20 feet) I knew it simply would not do. Having the "grain" running in the wrong direction was just too jarring. So I went looking at Clopay as an alternative. It turns out the Clopay's Coachman style doors ARE NOT available in the stained wood colors. Instead, if you want a stained wood color, your only option at Clopay is their "Gallery Collection" which does not include any of the crossbuck styles which is what I REALLY wanted. Still, the Gallery collection comes in two stained wood colors (medium oak and dark oak) AND they actually emboss the wood grain pattern into the steel so that the portions of the door that are supposed to simulate vertical pieces of wood have vertical graining and the parts that are supposed to look like horizontal pieces of wood have horizontal graining. I wasn't too impressed with the dark oak color. It real life it is sort of the color of melted chocolate icecream, i.e., a slightly greyish brown. The medium oak color looked a lot more realistic, a golden medium brown. It might be a tad shiney for some folks but real stained oak finished with a glossy varnish can be shiney as well so I wasn't put off by the shine. I was just disappointed that the Coachman styles (which include crossbuck doors) don't come in the stained wood colors. I also checked out the Jeldwen composite garage doors that are supposed to be stainable. I decided against them for two reasons. First, we would have to have them stained and varnished on-site which would mean either finding someone competant to do the job or doing it ourselves... and of course that meant I couldn't see how well the composite would actually take stain. I even asked the salesman if he had any previous customers who had stained their garage doors that he might call and ask if I could take a drive by and look at their doors. No luck. But, what finally put me off was that, just like real wood doors, Jeldwen recommends that if you stain their composite doors, you sanding sand them down lightly every year and revarnish them! Our garage doors face west so for us so ours would probably need even more maintenance. I don't want to do that much maintenance on garage doors. So, ultimately we decided to get the Clopay Gallery doors. With arched windows and the strap hinges, they look pretty good and were not too outrageously expensive. Installed price was right at 5K for all three garage doors (two 9'x8' and one 8'x8') including the three garage door openers. I'll post a picture when I can locate my camera again. No doubt, next week someone somewhere will come out with a metal carriage house door in a crossbuck style where the embossing is made to run exactly like it would on real wood, and it'll be available in a perfect mahogany brown shade with a satin poly finish AND they'll be selling them for 20% less than my Clopay's! If they do, please just don't tell me. LOL!

I am not a fan of MDF on cabinets. Any water splashed, sink overflows, dishwasher incidents, etc. can wreck havoc on them. Likewise, MDF shelves are generally a bad idea, particularly in areas where something might be put away very slightly wet (i.e, a plastic cup which you have not physically dried off, etc.). We have had these issues for years and won't have any MDF in our new house. I do think it might be fine somewhere there was no water (built in bookshelves, etc.), but I would keep it out of water rooms. As far as paint ability, I am not convinced of that. Definitely cheaper though . . .

Picture shows trash/dirt left in recessed area of tub. Plumbing and drains not sealed allowing entry of anything. I feel mfg homes are designed and constructed to provide you a very strong/banded box/structure. The design, materials, and detail to construction are where things go wrong for the home owner. The design does not protect from moisture, most construction materials absorb moisture, and poor detail to construction allows for all moisture problems. HUD building standard/code is an excuse to build to a minimum construction and materials standard and it should not be an acceptable part of your negotiation. I challenge you to actually receive the homes engineering? HVAC design, duct sizing, and equipment list. Plumbing; size, location, ventilation, pipes insulated? Electrical/switch locations, and homes envelope/see picture? All materials used in homes manufacturing and supporting documentation. The purchase involves a Mfg home corporation that uses 3rd party; ‘seller’, ‘manufacturer’, ‘transporter/setting up’, ‘engineered foundation’ and ‘accepting testing’. After deliver repairs are completed by ‘independent contractors’ and ‘aftermarket warranties’. Do not count on any warranty or promises for repairs. Plan on several weeks of time and expense making corrections. Your choice to believe me or not! Plan on taking responsibility for overseeing homes foundation (elevation) and design. Also correct location of septic and electrical. Roof overhang (choices available), gutters, and your access door protection (patio covers) from rain are your primary moisture concern. I recommend not installing wash/dryer in a mfg home for numerous reasons. My 2011 Texas experience going to where they build mfg homes; Remember the bobble head figures from years back? I am old enough to know when someone is lying to me and told him so. They knew they had my money and I have a HUD home. Suggestions; Gas/propane heat and water heater are a good choice, ceiling hvac vents and 10’ ceilings. You do not want the holes in your ceiling from recessed lighting. Watch for; fiberglass tubs and showers; not structurally supported to add a safety bar. Flat spots (seating area) where water puddles and does not drain correctly. Be careful with changes, I removed walk-in shower (added whirlpool tub) and my master bathroom came with NO shower. Inspect design and finished product. Choice of cabinetry. Exterior doors seals. Caulking around flooring. Upgrade; Windows, sheetrock (best R value) entire home vs board interior, plumbing faucets, interior doors/hardware, exterior access door size/type, max insulation in belly/ceiling everywhere, wire support to belly, hvac system, 2x4x16oc walls (fyi interior are 2x3x24oc), ceiling fans and switches (everywhere). Roof-there need to be a better option than asphalt shingles and greater than a 3/12 pitch. Roof penetrations/HUD. Best project; whole house vac system. Easy, cheap, and works great.