Nice looking mower. Appears to be in good shape, particularly the reel. Appears to have been sharpened with a relief grind in the past. Only the leading edge of the blade is bright, rather than the entire edge. Looks like it could use a back-lapping, however. That being said, let me focus on the engine. First, the Honda GX is a great engine. Your mower is 24 years old, and a new Honda GX would last at least as long. However, the Honda is a serious piece of change. The Briggs 9 CID "Classic" is also a competent engine, and unless abused should have plenty of life left. Here's what I would do: 1) Remove the carburetor, and then separate the tank and carburetor. The long plastic tube is the main pickup, which lifts gasoline from the tank via diaphragm pump and spills it into a small well directly underneath the carb, The second pickup is a casting projecting into the small well in the tank. The long tube has a screen on the bottom, and it must be free and clear. You should be able to blow gently on the tube, On the other hand, if you suck lightly on the tube there will be no flow as one of the flapper valves has closed. The cast tube has a metering jet pressed into ot and it must flow gasoline. I normally use a set of welding tip cleaners to gently ream out the metering jet. 2) While yo have things disassembled, you should replace the diaphragm in the carburetor. You can only do this when the carburetor off of the engine as the muffler is in the way. The diaphragm is inexpensive ($2 to $4) and widely available. 3) Lastly, while the carb and tank are off, I would check intake and exhaust valve clearances. The valve chamber is directly below the intake and exhaust ports and has a cover held by two screws. Proper clearance is .008 intake and .015 exhaust with the piston is 1/4" beyond TDC with both valves closed. Use a feeler gauge to measure. Usually exhaust clearance is OK because Briggs used relatively high quality steel. The intake, however, is little better than a nail and will stretch causing the valve to lose clearance. If clearance is OK, close up the tappet chamber and proceed to reassemble the engine. 4) If you have insufficient clearance in either valve, you will have to remove the cylinder head, and pull the valves out. Additional clearance is obtained by grinding the end of the valve stem. Remember, you can take metal off but not replace it. Grind slowly and measure often. Reinstall the valves, springs, and retainers, and remeasure with a feeler gauge to insure clearance is correct. Now you can reinstall the cylinder head, put the carb back on the tank, and reinstall on the engine. You should now be good to go.

What did in the twin blade mower, is it has three pairs of bearings, that all need oiling. Two at the top and bottom of the motor, and two for each of the blades. A previous comment alluded to owners neglecting to maintain them, and there are several comments about twin blade mowers making horrible noises as they died. Oiling six bearings was just too much to expect of the average consumer. This also made the twin blade mower more expensive to build, and it lost market share to the simpler (but clumsier) single-blade design. Twin blade mowers were a delight to use, as they were small, light, quiet, and best of all, the handle flipped, so the front became the back. Unlike single blade mowers, you never had to turn a twin-blade mower around. Like a ferry boat, you just flipped the handle and went back the way you came, zig-zagging your way across the lawn. That way you never ran the risk of running over your cord, because you constantly just moved away from the outlet, trailing the cord to the side. My favourite was a deck with a single-side discharge chute, because I pretty much walked beside the mower, not behind it, and pointed the chute away from me so I didn't get clippings on my feet. The world is a genuinely less-good place now that people think a mower is pretty good, because they've never experience the twin-blade design. It was just that much superior to the single-blade concept.

I started out with bermuda and morning glory infested beds. I was so discouraged. I would say #1 don't injure the rose stems when using a sharp metal tool such as a hoe. The canker can get in where the rose got hurt and then your rose will just die eventually. The cardboard and heavy mulch works well. Keep raking back the mulch and slicing off the weeds as the season goes on. The growth gets weaker and weaker. After a few times, the weeds start to die off because there is no top growth to support the roots. If you can't get around the base of the roses, just cut that low and keep the cardboard in place. When the roses get cut back at the seasons end, then go after the roots under the roses. Digging up the roses in winter is a good strategy if weed roots are all through the rose roots and you cannot stop them any other way but I would not do that unless everything else failed. One good aspect of the cardboard/mulch idea is that all season it is breaking down improving the top layers of soil and making the weeds easier and easier to pull. I add some sand too to make weed pulling even easier. I started with clay and man even a little teeny weed wouldn't budge. Don't feel defeated. I have done some nasty damage to my plants with weed killers and the stinkin' weeds came back anyhow. Better to spend your money on mulch and sand which will make your roses happy and as the soil improves the weeding goes easier and faster.

honestly think that you are overthinking this whole project. You will achieve 90% of what you want with 10% of the effort that people on this thread are suggesting. 1) get yourself some new Marvin Integrity windows. Aluminum clad white on the outside, real divided lite. Go for 9 over 1 for a really great glassic look. 6 over 1 can look fakey. 2) have your contractor extend the soffits as was suggested. Have him put 5" fascia boards up on the ends to add more beef. 3) colonial front door. 4) 4.5" trim around all windows and doors 5) center that front-facing garage window when you do it over with a Marvin. 6) have your carpenter dress up the existing columns with some crown tops and bottoms to make them appear more stately. On your budget, your house will never look 100% perfect like a movie house. But it will look 90% of what you want, with what I just suggested. This project can be done by a carpenter and a trip to Home Depot or Lowes for under $10,000. Architect? Contractor? You're pampering yourself with those expenditures. Have a little guts and do what I said.