I do understand this is a big transition for SD. I don't want to make her feel that she's not welcome, but I also don't want her using our home as her "crash pad" because she doesn't feel like driving back to BM's after seeing her boyfriend (he lives a lot closer to us). You probably can't have this both ways. If she is only allowed to "visit" and not stop by to shower, sleep, or raid the fridge, or other home-type, crash-pad activities, when she feels like it, she will probably not feel welcome. There probably is not a "fine line down the middle" that you can walk. I say this as someone who basically was your SD at her age. Well, I did have a part time job. But I was not heading to college, no idea what I wanted to do with my life, and went out partying a LOT. Up until graduation I lived half time with each parent. Once I was eighteen and out of high school, I basically decided I didn't need a curfew, so I stopped following one. My dad took basically the tactic you're proposing; told me I couldn't live there anymore unless I agreed to quit the partying and have an early curfew; first time I came home late, I would be locked out. My mom let me stay with her, paid a low-end of market value rent, I didn't have a curfew, didn't stop partying, but also didn't bring it into her home. In retrospect, which was objectively better for me? I honestly don't know. If my mom had given me the same rules as my dad, I wouldn't have stayed; I'd have found my own place. I might have "grown up" a little faster if I'd been living on my own, or I might have just been that one kid that has their own place so everyone else comes to party there, which would probably have wound up sending me into a lot more trouble than what I got into coming home to mom most nights. But I will say my relationship with my dad was strained for quite a long time. In my teenage mind, I was working, being a productive member of society, not out robbing banks or anything, and just because I wasn't going to college and liked to go to parties, neither of which seemed like horrible things to me at the time, I was --the way i saw it then-- being rejected by my parent. It did hurt me and I did resent it for years. Now, I'm not telling you that what you're suggesting is wrong I think that's a personal, family- and situation- specific choice. I'm just saying if you do it, be prepared for some emotional fall-out.

Hi, Jenny! Looks like you've gotten some good ideas on getting the glass, so I'll address the how to break issue. When I broke the car window I had, I wanted to keep larger pieces which could be broken smaller later if needed. To do it that way, I coated one side with white glue and let it dry thoroughly. Then I wrapped it in an old sheet and laid it on a table outside so that only 1 corner was hanging over the edge of the table. Tapped the narrow edge of the window with a hammer and had a blast watching and hearing it crackle for several minutes. Be sure to wear safety glasses! Since I was going to store the large pieces in a box, I cut thru the glue coat with an exacto knife and simply stacked the pieces with a layer of wax paper between them to make it easier to remove the larger sections later. HTH, Pat

I have a master bedroom closet area along a wall that is bisected by the chimney chase of a fireplace on the floor below, making a his and hers pair of closets. This is a triple-wall metal chimney surrounded by firecode sheetrock on the inside, studs, insulation, and sheetrock on the outside, including an access panel. It eats up about 30 inches of closet length. For a 10-inch kitchen hood duct with significantly less fire and access restrictions, you would probably loose at most only 20 inches. Many things are possible if the house design is recursively adjusted to accommodate all of the requirements. Do not rush the construction until you are certain that you have met your needs; there will be enough surprises even after everything seems to be defined. If you go to equivalent rectangular duct, you may still need to bulge the wall or otherwise ensure that there is not too much duct restriction. Rectangular ducts of equal sectional area to round ducts have a bit more pressure loss per foot. This should not be your first consideration, however, because you can find a blower with a fan curve suitable for the duct design, even if the duct path is tortuous. As for all of your construction questions, I'll have to ponder them when I have time, if I can understand them. In any case, if cooking is an important part of your life, then ensure that the kitchen design and the ventilation design are given the attention and space that they deserve. Unfortunately, it seems that your framing plan is somewhat past the point of easy revision. For others reading this: Please, please, PLEASE look into and solve all of the kitchen issues before finalizing a design and signing a contract. Comments on your bullet questions: - ?run horizontal through floor joists? YES - ?use rectangular duct vent when necessary? YES - ?Is it allowed to run near/along side the gas dryer vent? Not aware of any restriction on the moist air vent (note dryer vent has to be metal also. However, care to allow access for both, and particularly for the dryer vent duct for cleaning, is important.) For gas effluent vent, that should be determined by consultation with the architect, code officer, or gas company tech. Note: given a gas dryer, we are now in the regime of not letting the differential air pressure at the dryer fall below 0.03 inches, w.c., and make-up air performance or sealing off the gas dryer from the kitchen air is another big part of the kitchen ventilation design. - Run down into the basement if it can't run up? YES, but less optimal than up - Exit through an exterior wall rather than roof? YES - Best to get it in the garage and up into the attic and then up out the roof? Don't know about best yet, but it is a valid option. - best to have the range on wall A or wall B (does it make a difference)? TBD. Kitchen layout should account for numerous factors, of which duct location is only one. - assume need to use remote or in-line blower with any plan given its non-traditional route? In most cases, an external blower with an in-line silencer will be the lowest noise solution. kas

"I went to work in an office that had a pocket door that never worked right because someone had driven nails into it at some point and it was never the same after" (palimpsest) Yes. This happened to us when DH nailed the baseboard on the wall between the laundry and kitchen. The door came off track. When we renovate I will replace or remove. However, this was builder grade. On our extension I added three pocket doors. The one I had put in for the powder room is a solid core door, not thinner than most doors, as I wanted as much sound-dampening as possible with such a device. We used Johnson Hardware - not the home depot variety which runs $ 40 or so, but commercial grade. Look at the Johnson site under 1500 Commercial Grade and you will also find non-standard size frames (door max thickness 1 3/4"). Use a good carpenter.