No, I suggested to NTEP that they should take pictures, but not sure that will happen for this next round of tests. You have to trust the data. They do have stats on color, blade width, drought tolerance, disease resistance, etc. You have to look at the full report, not just your area, then you will see the other tests. Don't get me wrong, Faith is a great choice, but there are ones that have better brown patch resistance. Also you have to realize that a 7.3 vs a 6.9 in quality or color is almost indistinguishable.

I've you've ever walked by a pallet of bagged mushroom compost you'd catch a whiff of why its not real popular fresh, but I've got room to isolate it and after a day or so it doesn't stink as much unless it rains. When I get it, I usually have to let is sit for a good while before using it, but its rich. Usually I empty the trailer onto a big brush pile, by the time I've gottent ot the bottom of hte pile there is nothing left of the sticks, they are all just eaten up as the pile cooks. And it is cooking too when I get it, one itme I finished late in the evening in mild weather, after I rinsed down the borrowed trailer, the trailer itself kept steaming for 10 minutes... But there is no point in paying anything for other people's yard trash. You can get that cruising the neighborhoods during leaf season.

Just buy the house next door and do a covered walkway between the two. It'd be a hell of a lot easier and cheaper ;) Because that is what you are essentially proposing to do. You're talking about building a nice new modern addition that is the size of a full house. And then attaching it to the old less modern settled over time existing walls and foundation and insulation house. If your neighborhood supports 1.5M comps, you would be miles ahead functionally and financially to do a teardown. You would actually be likely to be able to finance that through a bank if your income would justify the resultant note. If your income would not justify the note, then it's unlikely to be able to support doing the remodel that you envision, as that would be even more costly. And the mix of old and new will not appraise nearly as well as all new. So you spend 1M on this home overall with original purchase price and remodel costs. It won't appraise for that. However, if you spent that overall on a teardown, you would most likely be able to sell it for very close to that if you had to. Never think you won't have to sell. Live your life for you, sure. But, if you can, make sure the risks you take won't wipe you out completely if the unforeseen happens. The problems start, and the real spending of money gets escalated when you attach new to old. Attaching old and wonky to new and straight is a problem. Throw lots of money at it, and the problem gets solved. To do what you've envisioned, you will need all new electrical service from the pole and to redo a good portion of your existing wiring. You'll need all new septic plus extensive reworking of existing plumbing to get it to flow properly to the new septic (or city sewer connection). You will need all new HVAC, and additional reworking of existing ductwork. You'll need all new roof and siding, at least on the back half of the house, and that will make the front half look like a stepchild without it. (Then the new windows won't match the old drafty ones, and you'll be replacing them too.) You'll need to completely retrofit the old house to modern seismic standards. In other words, you're already completely rebuilding the major money portions of the old part of the house anyway, so going ahead and tearing down what's there makes it able to be completely rebuilt to modern wiring, plumbing, window, seismic, and insulation standards much easier for the tradesman. That equates to a lot cheaper labor to do everything when the walls are completely open during new construction than it is to fish everything in existing walls in old. That's the biggest reason why remodeling is much more expensive than new construction. Labor is high. Retrofitting is more labor intensive than new construction. And you live in CA. The red tape capital of the US. It just got even harder (and more costly) with the requirements that your state and potentially your muncipality requires. There's nothing wrong with spending your money on your home if that's where you want to spend it. You'll have more substantial visible results than if you had a crack cocaine problem. But, be sure you understand that you are spending your money with a remodel. You will not get the financial return on investment that a teardown or moving would give you. You're literally digging a big hole in your back yard and burying dollar bills. If you're lucky, you might get 1 out of 20-30 of those dollar bills returned to you in the ephemeral (but important) "resale value". If you are totally comfortable with those financial ramifications, and the increased utility and comfort in living is worth it to you to spend that money on, then do proceed with the plans as you've outlined. If the notion of burying that much money makes you uncomfortable, then you should definitely explore the other options here.

Tomatoes, Mother Earth's favorite fruit! I like tomatoes sliced thick, spread with a mixture of pesto and bread crumbs and passed under the broiler just until the topping browns a bit. Fresh sliced tomatoes with basil and balsamic vinegar and a little extra-virgin olive oil. Heaven! Tomatoes stuffed with ham, chicken, tuna or egg salad make a lovely lunch.