I garden in lower framed beds (10" deep), taller raised frame beds (20" deep), lagsana gardens framed in old concrete chunks and also frame free raised beds. I have lots of options, and find that there is a place for all. My annual vegetables go in the framed beds or at church in the unframed raised beds. The lower beds are best - they drain very well and seem to stay disease free. The taller beds hold more wet soils and were filled mostly with compost which both depletes quickly and can carry disease for long periods if disease gets into the soil (soil choice wasn't mine). The few issues with the frameless raised beds in our garden is that they get very weedy because matting weed grasses have taken over in walkways, and the walkways between beds are far too narrow for some people (we have a variety of people who garden with us). The framed beds are much easier to keep grass free and it's just easier for people to move about them we find. I love my concrete edged lasagna beds for perennial vegetables. The soil stays more moist in them yet drainage is excellent, I can keep layering inside the frames easily while building the beds and the beds "look" like something even when they are filled only with green manures or mulches. I can create any look I like with the chunks of free concrete and it always looks like rock in a few years and it always looks more planned. A nice idea if you have a front yard garden and want your vegetables looking more like ornamental gardens. I think everything has it's place, it is really what you prefer, what you can budget for.

Wow, way to revive a thread that is almost 8 months old. Alisonn, I'm going to go out on a limb and assume that you are referring to my posting regarding split foyer homes. As I've been living in mine for almost 5 months I will tell the OP (as I did before) that this home works wonderfully for my living situation and business. If it works for her, she should go for it. There is NO other home layout that would have worked for me within my budget. Several real estate agents have asked to see the interior of our home since it was finished because they had heard through the grapevine that it was an interesting and unusual layout...every single one has fallen in love with it as I have. If I am the person you were referring to I was not "offended" by anyone's opinion that I would not be able to make a profit of the resale. In fact the majority of the thread had very little to with talk of resale and much more to do with certain individuals' personal dislike of that house style. I WAS annoyed by a poster or two trying to tell me that they knew my lifestyle better than I did when they insisted that a split foyer would not work for me or insisting that I was heartless if I did not build a handicap accessible home. But nowhere in my thread did I imply that I was offended by people's opinions of the resale value of my home. I readily admitted that I was not a real estate expert by any means but that there were plenty of split foyers in my area that seem to sell just fine as it's a fairly common house design around here. Personally, I hate cookie cutter McMansions. I'm also not a fan of town houses, studio apartments, mobile homes, yurts, or log cabins. But there are people who love all of those and happily choose to live in them. And to each his own. Where does it say that a split foyer is the least desirable home? I'm fairly sure that there are homes that many would consider much less desirable than a split foyer. And again, if you're not referring to me, I sincerely apologize...but considering my original post regarding building a split foyer is the one that comes up when you search for split levels I'm fairly sure you're referring to me. I do resent having someone reference me and my situation incorrectly. This post was edited by sparkler39 on Sun, Jan 26, 14 at 2:15

I agree that there ARE people out there who live in houses much longer than the average. In NoNJ both of my neighbors had been in their houses for 10+ years (one for 12 years, the other for 15 years). The couple who'd been there for 12 years plan on staying for at least another six and will think about moving after their son finishes college. The couple who has been there for 15 years will be there another two years and then once the husband retires they will move to Nashville to be near their son who recently got married and settled down in TN. So you are looking at 18 years for one family and 17 years for the other. I'd say that's major longevity! My parents bought their latest house in 1991 and are still there with a plan to be there at least another 3-5 years. Once my dad retires they will move south with an eye on buying acreage to build a house and business on. So that'll be another couple who stayed in a house twenty years. My grandfather stayed in his house for FORTY YEARS and only sold when my grandmother died and he couldn't keep up the house by himself. If she hadn't died I guarantee they would have stayed in that house. In my own instance, my DH and I are planning on living in this current house until our children go to college (they are 3yo and 4yo now). We're already planning some minor renovations (add a bathroom to create guest suite being the major one) knowing that we're going to be here a LONG TIME (read: at least 15 years).

Hi, I'm building a fence here in sunny southern California. I'm using con heart redwood 4x4 posts. I've found some conflicting theories about how to set the posts. Some say concrete, some say gravel... and I'm looking for some advice on what wood protector to use for the base of the posts. Because my soil is heavy clay and the drainage is poor, I don't think gravel is a good idea, it'll just create a cauldron of water for the post to soak in after it rains. Even though concrete doesn't seem much better, I think that's the way I'm going to go. I'm definitely going to use about 6" of gravel at the bottom of the hole, and make sure the base of the post is set in an inch or two of said gravel before the concrete goes in. Since the fence is going to be unpainted and I want the natural look of the wood, I'm avoiding using PT wood for the posts, and I've had recommendations to use either asphalt emulsion (Henry 107) or Woodlife Copper Coat green to coat the part of the post that's going into the concrete. The Henry seems like a waterproof coating, while the copper is more of a wood preservative. It doesn't rain very often here, but when it does the posts will get a good soaking, and the ground will take a while to dry out due to the poor drainage. Some say that the Henry 107 will cause water to get trapped inside the wood below ground, accelerating rot. The copper coat would at least allow the wood to "breath" a little and allow it to dry out during our long periods of no rain. I know no matter what I do these posts may only last 10 years or so, but I'm looking to give them the best protection to start with, so they'll last as long as possible. Thanks for any input!