I like tall ceilings. We have 10' in every room. You just have to keep the ratio right because you don't want very tall ceilings with a small room. "The Not So Big house" addresses this issue. I'll have to see what page it's on... Here is a quote from a website: "Raising the ceiling height can make a room look bigger, but only if the dimensions of the room are greater than the ceiling height, in which case the room will look smaller". Good website by the way, I just stumbled on it but you might like it: http://www.sensiblehouse.org/des_rooms.htm The article is called Room Design, I haven't read it yet but it looked interesting. Look up "golden ratio" & "room size to ceiling ratio" . As far as finding fixtures cheaper, you first research what you want, be it plumbing fixtures or lights. You find what you like & you read the reviews to make sure it'll last & other people liked it. Then you take the exact name of that product & Google it. You'll then find a number of websites that carry it for either a lot more or way less. Look for free shipping on heavier items & no tax - those will be your big savings. Also always call & nicely ask if they company offers any discounts - sometimes just for calling they'll give you 10% off. And try to buy in bulk - like your lights for example. A lot of companies offer discounts when you're buying a majority of say lighting fixtures from them. Don't be afraid to negotiate, even if they'll match any price always call & say: I'd like to buy from you but the price is a little too high for me. Is there a chance you could give me 10% off? If it's no, it's a no - you didn't lose anything by asking. But if it's a yes & you're buying $6000 worth of lighting fixtures - that's $600 saved. They know they have competition & buying fixtures is one of those areas where being pushy really helps because you�re the one with the check book. Overstock is always a good one. But any website that offers the same product for cheaper is a good website. I�ve saved anywhere from $50 to $150 depending on what it was. You just gotta click on every website that has your product in stock & keep going to about page 3 on Google & you�ll find these sites. LOTS of clicking but you get used to it. Sometimes a price you see is what you get but most of the time it�s not. Websites will come that say they have your product & they don�t so you just go to the next one. If you have a product item/number sometimes you can type it in the search engine of the website itself or search by brand. We�ve found some of our most treasured items at Lowe�s or Home Depot. One chandelier we just sprayed black because it was grey & we wanted black. When I tell people it�s from Lowe�s & cost a $100 they can�t believe it. Try to match the exterior of the house to the inside. If it's a Craftsman style house you'll probably want more woodwork then just 2 posts. Usually Arts & Crafts houses have a lot of detail to make them more authentic. I like 14� lodge room but am not sure if you need to go the extra mile in the kitchen/keeping room/master. Ceilings make statements when they are vaulted or have beams or are tray ceilings & those might be the things you might want to give some thought. I know they�re more expensive but we went with regular 10� ceilings � didn�t even add moldings & they don�t look so great. It was cheaper but now I want to add something to every room to make it feel more special because really the ceiling is your fifth wall. If you�re going to have brick instead of stone though that�s less of a Craftsman style house.

We’ve had the navien ncb-240 for 8 years now and its still going strong! we repalced our 50+ year old oil system. we were paying $300 per month, year-round for oil. we live in new england, 2,000 square feet and built in 1906. We’re family of 5 and Our gas bills are $20 a month in the summer and never more than $300 a month in the winter and i keep the house at 70°. I can run the dishwasher, washing machine, take a shower and heat the house and the water is consistently burning hot. We’ve not had any major issues with navien, we did just replace one part for $30 plus service for a total of $95. With oil we had to have a service $350 contract for oil delivery and maintenance. I believe we paid around 8k for installation/ gas conversion... worth every penny! found this thread trying to see how long these systems last. scrolled and saw the comment claiming it would never last more than 7 years and blah, blah, blah. wanted to add my .2 cents to ease any fears to the new navien owners! they do work and work well!

I am not familiar with that manufacturer. That recent a model *should* have decent construction and insulation, but you never know. I’d suggest finding and hiring a home inspector that specializes in manufactured homes. Have the plumbing checked in particular, as I recall there being an issue with a type used widely in that time frame. Be sure the furnace, A/C, hot water heater, and roof have been replaced since it was new. Get receipts/proof of that. Or be sure the price reflects the need to replace those items. Find out about any owner/contractor performed repairs or alterations. If it is in a park, get a copy of the park rules before committing, and talk with a few random residents about the management. Do they repair the things that are their responsibility, or do they put it off? If it is on land in the country, be sure the well and septic system are inspected (generally health department) and in good shape.

Thank you both, Omelet and Joseph Corlett: I am just starting my research, and so of course I started with Garden Web! I should add Garden Web slash houzz! But next thing is I'm downloading the NC State guide, Omelet, for a little light reading later this evening. Thank you for that. I realized when I prematurely broke my hip ( I was 58 at the time, long before the more usual age of 80something, and no doubt a result of the daily prednisone I take). Negotiating the shower is still a vivid memory, made worse by the memory of my mother going down as I was holding her and we tried to step over the "barrier." (I'm caregiver, she's 88 and has got dementia, and almost no speech, and lives with my husband and me). In the past five years that was the closest she came to eliciting what would have been a real "comment" from my sweet Irish mother. This house has three bathrooms: one bathroom has shower only, one tub only, and the master has both shower and tub. But both showers have a barrier! .We've had little choice but to switch her to daily bed baths. The manager of the local Council on Aging told me in passing that she pays a local company $4-5K to retrofit a bathroom so certain of her clients can stay living in their homes. (Of course it may be that part of the true cost is picked up by the construction company because they are definitely doing the best kind of charity work). I've got to say I like a $4-5K number much better than the $10-12 @Sophie Wheeler hit me with! Except I got Sophie's exact number, $10-12, in a recent conversation with a big box store employee. And Sophie I was way impressed by your expertise, the effect I'm sure of hitting me with: "dropping the joists" (requires structural work.) I know more about dropping plates and glasses... @Joseph Corlett: I agree about the positives of a barrier-free home, and many of these "universal" changes can be done now in ways that don't necessarily shout "two old folks reside here" or "careful, a handicapped person baths here" and they do look great. And costs (like for the walk-in tub) are coming down for sure. I considered a walk-in tub even (both my mother and I would enjoy it) and were we staying in this house in this area I probably would go ahead and do it. Doing an upgrade of the master bath is yes because it needs work but yet to what extent and cost is TBD as ready funds are extremely limited. The main goal of whatever work we can do is to help us get the house sold quickly and to finally return home to my husband's native California, something we've been attempting for the past decade! But I should really keep that depressing fact in mind because who is to say something else won't happen (like so many times before) to keep us stuck in this house. (Though it is a beautiful house and it does sit on an unusual acre and a half in which our sweet dog Remy does sometimes run and enjoy himself in reckless abandon; if not way back in 1999 we wouldn't have bought it for our then two precious dogs to frolic in and enjoy, having relocated Prince and Honey from their paradise in southern California to a totally new way of life in N.E. Florida. But Joseph, just as I probably wouldn't have listened to well-meaning advice, (I did marry my first husband even though my mother did try to emphasize to the very day of the ceremony that there was no need to "rush" into anything) there's no telling the young and superbly healthy that a bigger doorway to the loo is a good idea. They will need to learn this for themselves. Until then they will continue their merry way, and maybe even install what I consider to be a "trendy addition", a "freestyle" bathtub, in their first home... just place it facing out to the view, in the middle of the floor, and please don't anyone forget the "telephone," folks. A special note to @catbuilder: If your intention was to rob me of the three hours sleep I was hoping to get, you were successful. In fact I'm still wondering why there'd be a need to "drop joists" or "lower the shower floor." But I aim to learn all of these details. But you see last summer I helped a friend design a new master bath in his previous home, which he was converting to a rental. A major part of this new bathroom was a new and huge shower, installed right where the previous shower had existed. I helped him figure out the correct Schluter system, etc. and then turned my attention elsewhere. I later showed up to view the progress, and as expected the travertine tile was in, and it had been beautifully installed from side to side, from end to end; need I say no barrier, no curb was anywhere near the property!! This was a ground floor bath, as is mine. I never heard mention of the word "joists" and I think my friend would have been on the phone immediately if he did. Maybe joists and all of this work that involves did come up and he sorted it out without me. It's possible but not likely. Does the home's age matter? (When work is being done on one of his two sweet little beach homes I'm usually the "unannounced" general contractor. I'm also the unpaid GC but he knows he only gets what he does (not) pay for!) And I have to get to work everyone. You have kickstarted my brain on this project! You are all wonderful courageous people to stick your necks out voluntarily, putting to good use your expertise and doing it such a neighborly way, whether helping many of us in a huge and detailed way, or helping us figure out for ourselves just where to start. I thank you very much for that.