This was in today's Crain's Chicago Business. I'm hoping it works to link to the video: You might have to login to read the article, but here's a link. If you can't see the article online, here are some points I found interesting: - A couple wished to built an environmentally friendly home on a budget, and had a modular home built out of state and shipped to Oak Park, IL (which as a side note has a large number of FLW homes) - The cost savings of going modularwere marginal, in part due to the need to ship the pieces 125 miles - Building tight and energy-efficient was easier to control in a factory setting than on a home site - One challenge is on inspections, and I found this interesting (Sommers, quoted below, is from a firm that has done 2 modular homes in Chicago but is not the firm that did the home featured in the article): "One key obstacle, Sommers said, is that municipalities want to inspect all construction along the way, which, while justifiable for health and safety reasons, makes building a house 125 miles from the village inspector's office a sore spot. He switched to designing for prefabrication of panels, or individual walls, instead of enclosed boxes, so that all inspections can be done on the home's site." - For the home in the article, 3rd party inspectors did the inspections while the modules were being built, and the village's inspectors took over once the home was assembled on the lot.

I'd chose the option of painting your backsplash grout as it is something that's an easy DIY, and if you aren't happy with the end results, a new one then. It will make a big impact, and I think you'll be very happy that you did it. There used to be roller applicators that helped make the job a bit easier, and I think I got ours at one of the Big Box stores. FWIW, if you can't find the exact color you like, you can always use water based paint. Someone here on GW told me that, and I put ours on the floor grout. It faded a little after a year after foot traffic and multiple scrubbings, but backsplash will last longer.

@shaxhome (Frog Rock, Australia 9b) haha I meant to say medium-large for a houseplant, not for a Banyan tree! @tapla (mid-Michigan, USDA z5b-6a) thank you so much for your response! I actually posted that second photo just as an example of an "open non-lollipop structure", because most people I've consulted just try to guide me in to the usual lollipop. I have to say I do love the lazy-S shape (thanks for the reference name!), so I will try that with a the cuttings that I have. Would you have any advice to shape my current trunk into a harmonious and taller tree? I don't need it to be straight, but I'd like for it to look like a tree (not a bush) and just have an interesting trunk on display. @tropicofcancer (6b SW-PA) Sorry to hear about the Great Bayan Tree :(. Thank you for the advice! I guess @tapla (mid-Michigan, USDA z5b-6a) and you would agree that to make great art be bold or get out hahaha, I am not yet at that level, but will take it into account if someday I muster the courage (I might!). If I do... do I leave that 6-7 inch trunk in the same big pot? How long should it take to grow lower branches? For propagating, should the cuttings be from the green trunks or brown trunks? Can it be done with just the leaves? Would you recommend water or soil? How long should it take? I've seen a lot of contradicting advice on the internet.

DOE Cool Roofs Thanks for that info. I enjoyed reading it and would absolutely investigate the topic further. However, I am somewhat doubtful that the difference between a black roof and a cool roof could be 50 degrees. It just doesn't seem realistic; I mean, if I wear a white shirt vs. a black shirt on a hot-hot day -- yes -- the color will make a difference, but not so much as this. I'm also wary about the comment at the end that such roofs in warm, moist areas can grow mold -- I do live in a warm, moist climate. Definitely a topic for further investigation. The question becomes, how did you determine it was only a degree or two? Science often uses actual measurements or experiments to measure differences which it then models to predict change or impact. I guessed. I'm trying to learn something here, and I am looking for a starting point. I'm trying to understand what's realistic. I genuinely don't know whether 2 degrees is realistic, but -- as I said above -- I am skeptical about the 50 degrees in the previous article. So rather than guess maybe try this ... https://web.ornl.gov/sci/buildings/tools/cool-roof/ I tried to go through this cool roof calculator, but I just don't know these details, so I put in what the calculator says is "average" for my area ... and the net savings for a house the size of mine in my area with average numbers is $68.60/year. That's interesting, but I was really more interested in the original question about air conditioning /now cool roofs. After reading the two sites, one thing that seems crystal clear is that black roofs are "the worst" in terms of environmental impact and cost. Yet I think they are the most common. That, in and of itself, is interesting. We had an off-white roof when we moved into our last house. It was in awful shape, and we had to replace it almost immediately. I was glad of it because it was terribly stained. I wonder if all white roofs do this age they age?