There is not anything actually pushing on the wall. It's simply a verticle concrete wall built between a house and a hillside (but not in a hillside) to serperate the sitting area from the parking area and tied into a patio which will more than likely be dressed up (with stucco?) and further aid in a little water irrigation. I was wanting the height so it'd be able to sit on the patio and not see the cars on the other side but with a little more dozer work on my part I think I can lower the parking area to help lower the wall like people have suggested. As far as architects or concrete contractors go, there are no architects and the closest advertised concrete contractor I can find on google is somewhere close to 100 or so miles away. Unless you mean Day laborers that call themselves contractors or Commercial Contractors that build Highways and Walmart supercenters. I've tried calling these guys about small stuff like my pet project and they are never (ever) interested and for good reason I suppose. There are no Building requirements around here and to be honest that probably let people just started building themselves. It is probably the entire reason there are very few contractors and then that caused the need for community construction, where the community congregrates and 'Barn Raises' as the need arises. Above sarcasms aside It was done this way long before any engineering schools and will probably go on for some time to come, either out of need or sport. However I also fully understand peoples' need to defend their professions and if I had went to school and spent my life dedicating myself to said profession I wouldn't want a country full of DIY idiots thinking they could do it themselves either. But what are you gonna do. It is what it is. This type of construction goes way beyond concrete and I think some people don't realize that in unregulated areas people can still build an entire house or anything else (for that matter) for materials only if they want to take the time learning a DIY solution. We all have gardens, patios, front porches, driveways and houses even when we have to (or want to) build them ourselves. Of course I appologize for the bickering the post caused. I had hoped if I actually labeled the thread "DIYers only" Everyone wouldn't have to endure a 'Professional VS DIY' thread. That having been said I'm looking forward to building my new wall in the spring and look forward to reading everyone's comments on the subject. That is if the thread hasn't been ruined yet. Thanks guys. I hope everyone has a nice weekend.

Hm... Re pricey sinks, check the Kitchen Forum Conversations area for "Garage Sale" items. I think a few people were going to put up sinks. Also, check for closeouts, eBay, Craigslist, etc. Pricey plumbing, well, better to have it done right if you're doing it, so if that's an expense you want to forgo, it's understandable. You can have a cover for the sink made of countertop material, or something practical, that will keep general garden dirt out of the sink when it's not in use, and convert it to counterspace if you need it. I live in a moderate climate where we don't have to winterize pipes. Do you have hosebibs in the garden? Sprinklers? Other things that need to be set up for the Winter? Is it a lot harder to do whatever it is to a sink? Can it just be added to the list? I don't think anyone who wanted to buy your house would reject it because there's no sink in the outdoor kitchen, though it might help the overall impression of the outdoor living space on an emotional level. I think most of it is about looks, however, rather than specific features. Whatever you decide to do about the sink, the outdoor kitchen sounds like it will be a lovely addition to your home.

I have a gas range top. It will light with a match when the power is out. I think its an important feature for people living in certain areas, ie hurricane prone areas or frequent electrical outages. When hurricane Charlie hit us, we had no power or water for over a week. It's a long time if you haven't experienced that kind of event. All of our friends had ranges and gas ovens that could not be lit with a match. We all had tons of food in the freezer thawing so everyone came to our house to cook. It was fun having everyone bring their food and cook it on my 6 burner stove top but I would never have a stove top without the ability to light it with a match. The oven is electric but I can live without that. My husband went on a long distance kayak trip many moons ago. One fellow was a professional baker who made an oven from a cardboard box. I wasn't there so can't give the details but stories are they ate well with everything he baked from bread to breakfast pastries etc he was the hit of the trip. How one can construct an oven from cardboard and use it to bake over a camp fire leaves me wondering. But...it's a true story Inga

New fridge came. Much drama getting water connected. Got to actually practice a lot of Spanish, though, which is cool. The previous fridge didn't have a working ice maker, and LOTS of plumbing work had been done in the house during this time. I knew better but didn't insist on flushing the line before connecting. Once the water wouldn't flow, I eventually convinced installer to flush first the line from the wall and then the length of tubing. By then it was too late! Fridge was stopped up internally. Installer was flummoxed. I cranked up the PSI from the well and kept washing the filter. Third wash worked. Kicking butt and taking names! The previous fridge had leaked for a year. Only a small ridge of Pergo was damaged at all. You have to get down on the floor to notice it n I didn't bother to clean it up after the first month, either. Whatever the original owners first installed is, sadly, long gone. New fridge is SO much easier to see things in. I hope we will have addressed most of my husband's habit of opening two gallons of milk at the same time and shoving food in the back and abandoning it. I can put four gallons on the door--key for me. (Used to be zero.) Even with that, I can fit almost all of the door stuff in the rest of the door containers. This is a bad time of the week to show how much it holds because I've cooked all the produce--and we have eaten down the fridge a lot. Still, I can stack the Rubbermaid Premeir 9 cup containers 2 deep on the edges--also important. Without a custom depth future fridge cabinet, I would hate this fridge. It is a MONSTER. But because I can do custom depth, I love it. No other place for cleaning supplies. Open.... Drama!