I can't tell you how large a planting area you need but a 1200sf garden should be able to grow a LOT of produce, especially if you do succession plantings of fast crops likes greens and peas. I grew up with a much smaller dedicated vegetable garden than that and my folks canned and froze a lot of what we grew. There were 6 of us in my family. You might want to look into 'square foot gardening' for intensive planting in a smaller area. How much soil/compost you will need will depend entirely on how large the garden area is you decide upon. You will have to determine that before you know how much to add. If doing raised beds, it's pretty easy to calculate the volume each will contain (multiply the length x width x depth). If open beds, you'll need at least 6" of soil, more if you want to grow any root crops. Remember to keep the units the same - 6" = .5'. If you were going with the 30'x40' garden area again to a depth of 6", you'd need 600 cubic feet of soil or about 22.5 cubic yards. That's assuming you have no existing soil at your disposal. Here is a link that might be useful: square foot gardening

I have had red wigglers in a bin in the basement for a LONG time (maybe fifteen or sixteen years?). For me, they have been a great way to compost my kitchen waste because my yard was too small for a regular compost bin, and besides I live in New England where it is too dark and icy for much of the year to really have a flourishing compost bin--at least not a small one. Anyway, that was long before I had access to the internet and wonderful resources like this forum, and even before Mary Appelhof's book (which later became my bible!) All I knew was that these red wigglers could consume my peelings, eggshells, corncobs, and leftovers, and that I should tear some newspapers into strips and throw the strips in too. And it worked! Over the years I have set quite a few people up with their own Rubbermaid tubs and a starter set of worms, and once when I did lose my worms (I moved during the winter and they ended up freezing) I was able to start up again with a cottage cheese container full of worm-filled compost from an old friend whose worms were the progeny of my original ones! So I am an old-timer at this, and despite that fact, I have only recently joined this forum and am absolutely amazed at how much I have learned. I love it! And I just love the fact that so many people are getting worms. I think they are terrific, and I don't understand why everybody doesn't have them! (Well, maybe the fruit flies might explain a lot.) To those of you new to vermiculture, I say welcome! Thank you for your enthusiasm, and for contributing to making our world a better one. And please don't worry too much about what to give your worms or not to give them. They are sturdy and forgiving little creatures, and even if you have a set-back, you (and they) can recover. And I know from personal experience that not everything people warn you about is that much of an issue. My worms have always had to contend with the fact that I view them as responsible for taking care of ALL my kitchen waste and turning it into lovely castings. I had no idea that oatmeal was verboten! And neither did they, apparently. And I think vermicomposterchild is very wise to have two bins, because that way of one of them has a melt-down, she will still have plenty to reintroduce to the process. Probably that won't happen, but it's comforting to know. (To me, anyway!) Worms are great, and so is this forum. When I have a problem or a question, I know just where to come. Keep up the good work, everybody! Betts

Depends on the floor plan I would think. I have tile in my kitchen, laundry and pantry, then into the great room that the kitchen is part of (open floor plan) is wood laminate, then in the bathrooms they each have a different tile. Do you have some photo's of those rooms and how they relate to each other? Oh, and I have porcelain tile in the foyer that leads into the great room. So I have 4 different tiles and one laminate wood.

The housing market in the zipcode only dipped slightly, and I paid less than the last one that had been sold, and now the market is rebounding a bit. This house actually had a competing bid in a slow market, and Both of us started by offering Less because of the new bathroom than we would've offered before.(Both having seen the house pre new bathroom). The house had been taken off the market and reappeared accidentally when the demolition was complete. We both asked the seller to "stop" but the Realtors said the work should be finished because of appraisals and such. The main bath would suit many people at this price point, the new 3/4 bath, I think most people would consider a strong negative. My current place appraised identically with the new bath and the old, but there was agreement all around that it needed to be done to go onto the market. Sometimes it isn't a dollars and cents decision. Kevin, I looked at such a house: 1810 two long term owners and no real bath in the house proper. A kitchen and bath had been built in the side yard along the stairs in the 1960s and there was a toilet in the basement and a toilet in a closet cantilevered over the very top of the stairs. The plumbing for this ran openly through the stairwell. Out of necessity I would have inserted a bath in place of the smallest bedroom, but I would have tread lightly. Unfortunately it was Marketed as needing a full rehab, and it looks like that is what it is Permitted for. This means complete destruction of the 1810 stairwell because they are not up to current code, and once touched, they must comply :(