I recently got prices for a tub deck on a bunch of different stones. Low end was just over $1,800 and the highest was somewhere over $3,000 but that was for the most expensive piece of Calacatta Gold in the yard. If it helps to know I live in Massachusetts and the stoneyard was in New Hampshire.

We are in a similar boat - although in our case we're moving things around in a legal three family house (used as a 2) that we have lived in for 7 years. We don't have to rip out an existing kitchen on the relevant floor - because there isn't one there! In our case we're in an old Brooklyn, NY brownstone with a parlor floor (ex) kitchen that hasn't been renovated probably since WWII (or earlier) - the original metal high cabinets just got pulled off the walls this week. And 1920's/40's type paint design got uncovered when the wall was pulled partly down. But since we're in an 1890 house, the walls aren't ready and pipes need to be moved and walls built out, so we don't have dimensions for the kitchen in order to order cabinets. And I'm struggling with appliance placement. So what we want to do is put in a temporary kitchen. In the next few days I want to buy a fridge, range, dishwasher and possibly sink that will be the "final" appliances, and take a microwave and possibly some cabinets from the tenant's former kitchen on the third floor (since we don't need a kitchen on the third floor, it's moving to the second floor) and mock things up until we can finish a kitchen design and order countertops, backsplash and cabinets. My big fear with our temporary kitchen is, what if we ultimately want to change placement of appliances based on the experience in the temp kitchen?

Thanks for the link pressurepros. That won't take off the opaque stain though, would it? I'm sure the product would work great on the flooring, but I don't want to have to strip off what is on the handrails and posts. Anyone have a good deck paint or something similar to recommend?

In many areas Sweet Autumn clematis (C. terniflora) is invasive and seeds around. I don't think it has a long enough time to ripen seeds well in my area, but I've read numerous times of it causing problems where it's warmer, so you might want to consider other plants or at least research if it creates problems in your area. If you aren't familiar with Clematis on the Web here is their search engine so you can put in the height you want, and/or pruning type, month with bloom (though take months of bloom with a grain of salt since weather has a lot to do with this) and see what pops up. (Anything you don't care or don't know leave blank.) Not all those plants will be available commercially in the US, but many will be by mail order from reputable nurseries such as Hummingbird Farm, Joy Creek, Brushwood, to name my three favorites. Sweet Autumn is vigorous enough that I don't think there are any other clematis that won't have issues trying to not be overwhelmed by it. I'd suggest planting a few more plants that all have similar size, and look for plants that have longer bloom time. For instance, Mikelite blooms fairly fully for at least 4 weeks and perhaps longer for me even though it's only been in the ground 2 seasons. Ville de Lyon is another plant with a long bloom period in my garden. Confetti blooms later than any other type 3 plant in my garden, but you can also look at Mrs. Robert Brydon which blooms in August for me. Hopefully, others will have suggestions for longer-blooming or later-blooming plants.