Are you having the same builder do the renovation this time? If so, just tell him he will have to incur the costs to change the header out since it was not done properly by him the 1st time. Get a copy of the plans & show that to him as proof. Keep in mind even if he does accept that he will most likely make it up somewhere else in this new renovation. If he is not doing the renovation this time then he will most likely just say no to fixing it. It was 5 years ago, there will be too many "he said, she said" stories, and most likely the 1 1/2 X 14" beam meets code. I think you should double check that as that might be the only way to force him to fix it. He can easily say that he never heard of the future renovation 5 years ago. If it is the principle of the thing then I'd suggest you do as the posts above say & hire a lawyer. If you just want to get it done & you were trying to save the expense of replacing w/ the 9 1/2" depth beam (since it was the builder's fault) then I think you'd spend more in time & money going through a lawyer and possibly court than it would cost to just pay to have it replaced.

It's amazing how much of a bed a small cat can take up. Random maxed out at 9 pounds (but usually was closer to 8) and if she was determined to she could get in the middle and shove us both to the edges of a queen size bed. Even with claws fully sheathed those little paws are pointy as heck, and a couple of those planted in your kidneys or belly are pretty effective at moving a sleeping or semi-sleeping person. We had to pick her up and move her down to the foot of the bed when she pulled that trick. (We're both allergic to cats AND dogs, but it's just permanent snot and somewhat itchy eyes so it's never stopped us from having critters.) Her favorite place to sleep was under the covers, curled tightly into a ball right behind my knees, and even though it's been 2 years and a month since she left us sometimes I wake up and could swear on any holy book you'd care to produce that she'd been there. She had a lovely little bed of her own - actually several over the course of her lifetime - but she wanted nothing to do with it until about the last week of her life. She preferred any cardboard box she could jam herself into, draping herself over piles of books (the more pointy corners the better, go figure), the computer monitor (tail flicking back and forth across the screen; we had to take the case to both the monitor and cpu apart regularly to vacuum out the cat hair), and the very moment someone got out of bed she was curled up against that pillow while it was still warm. Pointless to make the bed, mustn't disturb the cat! She even decided to take a snooze in a plastic tarp... My 35 pound dog does the same thing, but neither as effectively nor as subtly as Random did. He just overtly shoves. Remember that a second cat means double the vet bills and there's certainly no guarantee that they're going to get along. I prefer to have a solo cat - I've had a pair twice and won't do it again - and some cats just prefer to be solos as well. Once I "inherited" my roommate's pair of littermates when for all intents and purposes moved in with her BF, and the second time I fell into the trap of "kitty must be lonely while I'm at work (even though kitty showed no signs of loneliness or distress when left alone) so must get kitty a playmate". With the first pair, the littermates, they were so completely bonded to each other and except for "humans are where the food comes from" couldn't have given a poot in a high wind about the very existence of my BF and me. Play with the humans? Cuddle with the humans? Yehrite! When roommate moved out she took them with her - they were legally hers per the adoption papers from the SPCA - and I cannot say that I was terribly brokenhearted to see them go. The second time, the two cats did not get along particularly well even after months together and rather than fight with each other, they redirected their dissatisfaction into wholesale destruction and attacking ME, and neither showed interest in being affectionate or playful with me even when the other one wasn't around (such as digging a hole in the bottom of my box spring to create a hiding place or pooping in my shoes). I rehomed the second cat with a co-worker and original cat's disposition improved dramatically, she returned to being the chatty, playful "Velcro kitty" I had adopted. At shelters I took to looking for the cards marked "does not get along well with other cats"!

To get an idea of the range of prices charged for quilts, check etsy.com. Charging by the hour may not be the best plan because your customers really don't care how long it takes you. Probably they wouldn't believe how long it takes! They care about the finished product. The quality of the materials used, the skill of the quilter, the overall beauty of the quilt, how the piecing and the quilting interact and balance, the ease of care, the uniqueness of the design - these are some of the things that influence the value. I have to agree with Teresa in that mixing fabrics can be very tricky and usually not very pleasing. Your customer might want that and you might agree to do it, but I would discuss the issues with them first. Keep in mind that by charging an unreasonably low price, even to get started, you may be influencing the perceived value of quilting in your area. You are charging for more than your time and the materials - it's your skill and creativity that make quilting an art. Tell us more! It sounds like an interesting project. Kate

Fascinating thread. I thought I would add a bit of insight from his perspective, as I'm a young guy who is in his position too. . I'm certain he only borrowed her things because he didn't have the courage to get his own. He really wouldn't want to piss her off like that if he had a choice. . Just beacause he didn't tell her doesn't mean he doesn't want her to know - it can be an increadible hard thing to talk about. (Would you want to divulge this information to some one you care about knowing a common response is "ick ick ick"). . There is as much chance of him being straight as the general population - this has been proven statistically. In fact he's probably into very feminine women, more than others guys. . If she can accept it (unfortunately this is very unlikely) she will probably have herself the most loving, attentive & monogamous man any of you could wish to meet. . There's a good chance there was more than just underwear involved if it took him time to come out of the room. I would say this anyway, but that clinches it. . Yes he did want her to feel the bra and talk to him about it - he obviously needed her to start the conversation (all men can take bras off very quickly, so it's not that he didn't have the time!!) . Those of you tempted to be self righteous, beware...SO many men have their thing, whatever ir may be and the chances are their partnet doesn't know about it. It's just the way we're programmed I'm afraid. I don't know a single male friend who doesn't have something that would upset his partner if she found out, be it strippers, other girls, porn, strange kinks etc...