Thanks saxman1... I did remember to pull the wire, but didn't have a suitable 2x4 handy and was trying to block the blade w/ a 1" dowel which didn't work too well. Regardless, I think I'll need a breaker bar of some sort since it wasn't budging at all. The steel deck is still in decent shape, but I was looking to the future. The underside of the deck was horribly filthy though. I think the seal on the transfer tube box had failed and was leaking exhaust under the desk (is that possible?). The motor shaft wasn't wet as if there was a lower seal leak, so I don't think the excessive filth was coming from there. Ordered a new trailing edge guard, carb kit, mikuni jet, faster gear set, lower seal (just in case), and hope to get this thing back in shape for the next few years. Its funny though... I've got two new LBs (another 10323 and a 10550) still in the boxes on my loft in the shed... can't bring myself to pulling them out while I've got one that is serviceable... I guess I'm 'saving' them for sometime down the road. Also contemplating selling them and putting those funds towards a new ZTR to replace the craftsman LT. -mike

As a clarification, our house is 120 years old and the existing foundation is showing it's age. I doubt it's going anywhere, but adding to it is questionable at best. The idea of the mushroom footings and columns is to avoid adding stress to the existing house. The new piers would replace existing piers along the back wall of a one story addition which started out as a porch. My initial description is incorrect. Thanks mightanvil for pointing that out. There would be four mushroom cement blobs buried 4 feet under supporting typical 10" cement columns along a 14 foot wall. The columns would support 4' lengths of lally (exposed to the elements), then 4X4 wood columns would run through the first floor wall and carry a beam for the second floor 2x12x18 24" o.c. joists. The 4X4's would continue to the roof line and support another beam for the flat roof 2x10x18 16" o.c. joists. Maybe those are called rafters, but it's a flat roof so they might be joists. The structural engineer designing this is the architect, designer, and owns the contracting company. It's a design/build outfit that's been around a long time, and the city inspector relies on his stamp of approval. I'm concerned about minimal requirements. For instance, we had some options to upgrade from 2X10's to 2X12's for an 18 foot span. I thought that was a good thing. So as part of a $3,000 work order change I was surprised to see the plans had the 2 X 12's at 24" o.c. After he explained that his plan met Massachusetts building code, he wants another $300 to make them 16 o.c. and thinks it's a needless change. If he didn't have our 1/3 deposit ($8k) and a ($3K) change order to beef things up, I'd move on. I've only seen piers supporting decks, and some houses along oceanfront properties. Been searching the building codes and haven't seen much written about this design. Code is linked at end of posting. Any assistance or words of wisdom appreciated. I will pay attention to the bracing within the walls of the 4x4' columns as suggested above by early1. Here is a link that might be useful: Mass Building Code online

This house is a newer property and I would start this project by collecting all the information I could find on the house. Start at the local authority and ask for all records about the property and the neighborhood, if it is part of a planned development. You may need to file for a freedom of information act request but since you own it, that might not be required. Find the names from the various permits and do some investigating. That house is less than 20 years old so you might even be able to drag up some blueprints. Maybe you will find the original builder who might be able to tell you all sorts of interesting details for a small consultation fee. No guarantees, but certainly worth some effort. Check with the recorder of deeds and research the ownership. Who owned it for how long and what else did they buy and sell? Ask the neighbors what they know about the house and the work that has been done. Ask everyone you talk to because you never know what information will pop up. You cant rely on casual informants, but it can help you connect lots of small dots into a network of information and suggest future investigations If you are committed to doing the work anyway, cut some holes in the drywall and start looking at the inside of those walls. Temorarily patching drywall is a lot cheaper than repeat visits from an architect or structural engineer.

I appreciate everyone's advice! @hc mcdole Thank you for trying to comfort me. (Your plants are stunning!) The first several yellow leaves on my Philodendron didn't alarm me too much. The photo of my Philodendron looks decent but it lost a lot of leaves in about 2 months and that is when I wanted to find what was wrong. I lost a lot more than I posted pictures of but they all looked the same, either yellow leaves with brown spots, baby leaves half opened that turned brown on the unfurled part, and baby leaf buds that completely died a rusty color when they didn't even open. About 8 baby leaves died unopened that way. I've been reading a lot and looking on YouTube. I think it may have been a few possibilities. I lost another baby leaf bud today but also one is looking like it's opening as it should, so hopefully it's on the mend. I think it likes to get really dessert dry before watering, I may have watered it too soon. Or maybe it was still just adjusting from the nursery to my home. Getting bugs and fungus 3 weeks after having it made everything worse. The store did have gnats flying around but I wanted to get a plant so badly at the pretty store. It looked bushy and healthy. Now it's a little flatter and longer than it was. I love your story about your Peace Lilies! I've heard that they can take a lot. Because of my undying mold issues on the soil I've repotted my peace lily for the 3rd time in less than a month! It's either get rid of the mold or I have to get rid of the plant. I cleaned all the roots the second time and would you believe that root rot can start in just a couple weeks. It was most likely too much peat as gardengal48 said. It was too wet and probably still had mold spores from the other bad bag of soil I used the first time. When I pulled out the plant it already had several fully mushy roots in just a couple weeks. It smelled like the mold that keeps showing on the soil. I cleaned the roots and pruned off the brown ones. Sprayed some diluted neem oil on the whole plant. Then since a large part died from when I neglected it years ago in the hospital I went down 2 inches in pot size. I went to the Terrain garden center and the woman there said she really liked the Coast of Maine plant medium. I'm a little intimidated to do my own mix again right now so I went with that. It does have some nice stringy bark. (Thank you, @gardengal48) The peace lily looks pretty good so far in it's new smaller pot. It was a tight fit which I think it will do better in for now. When I bought it 4 years ago I was traveling for work so I bought a self watering pot which I heard you can do for peace lilies. It seemed ok in it, it would flower each summer but the spathes were small. This time I put it in a terra cotta. I have to say though the Coast of Maine bag had a moldy smell when I cut it open in my opinion but I didn't see any mold. I have some photos but my phone is taking a long time to upload them. We'll see what happens next. Thank you all again!