Thanks "Rhizo 1" Children & cats play about that area, and it is really good to know that it is NOT Water Hemlock! I DID Google this a number of times. It looked too low to be Water Hemlock; however I was warned that it starts out low to the ground and then bolts with a flower. I also tried to look up Wild Carrot; Wild Parsely, etc. I tried & tried to solve this before I posted here. I even called the Master Gardener Helpline in our area; and received no return call. So I arrived here for help. Thank you! Thank you! If anybody can take a guess at what it could be, that would be nice -- but as long as I know it is NOT Hemlock -- I am satisfied to leave it in the garden as is. Thanks again, Janet

CE - just found your note and wanted to follow up. At the GC's suggestion, we waited until they were ready for the final coat. They came and did the one room that was separate from the rest of the house. After 3 days of curing, I went in to wipe it down (with a wet cloth), to verify it looked ok. It was a nightmare - not only had pieces of lint and dust gotten into the finish, but they also managed to seal over areas where the painters had managed to drip paint on the 2nd coat - it wasn't a lot of paint, but small drips and smudges permanently sealed under the poly. And they were scheduled to come the next day to do the rest of the 1st floor. I sent pictures to the GC and told him that either the painters or the floor guy needed to verify that all the paint was gone from the rest of the floors before putting down the 3rd coat in the rest of the house and that we needed to meet to discuss what to do about all of the paint, hair, lint, etc. that was already sealed in the poly. I then spent the rest of the night, washing the entire 1st floor on my hands and knees, marking all of the paint, dust, hair, etc. in both parts of the house. The next day the painters came and cleaned all of the paint that was on floors that didn't have the 3rd coat applied. The floor guys came and scrapped by hand all of the places where they had sealed in the paint and where lint and dust landed on the floors. the day after that they came and redid the separate room and the rest of the house. After all of that, there were still a few places with paint in the original room that they had missed. They used a special lacquer pen of some sort to mark over the few spots and you can't tell there's paint under the poly. The floors finally look great, but, I firmly believe only because I spent the time on my hands and knees marking every spot. The floor guys blamed the painters for being so sloppy and the GC for removing the paper covering too soon (before the painters were completely finished, as they had to return about 16 times before we would sign off on their work - lint in the paint (I think they quit cleaning their brushes at some point), areas where they didn't prime the wood before it was installed, so they just painted it, and it raised the grain, so they had to go back and sand then repaint), areas where the switch/outlet covers weren't flush with walls (painters were responsible for finishing the drywall) - and when they did things like just try to fill in around plate covers without removing the covers, we removed the covers and had them do it again. A lot of work on our part, but it seemed to be the only way to get them to do the work correctly. And the GC just left it up to us to identify anything we didn't like. I did get tired have having them come back again and again, but I also knew that if they didn't fix it, I was going to be the one who was going to fix it, because I certainly wasn't going to live with having to look at all of the flaws in their work. After a very long 9 months, we're very nearly finished with the project. Whew...

Okay, off topic, Sally, please, please do a new post, for your reveal. I do enjoy all the white kitchens but for many reasons did not do one myself; we non-Somethin's Gotta Give remodelers need more inspiration photos! Was that Costa by the way? It's gorgeous! On topic: When one measurement changed, I did not think through how that impacted the rest of the plan. Despite research on the web and the store, when I received my microwave trim kit, the cabinet needed to get deeper than planned. I figured out pretty last minute that we now had a tiny unacceptable walkway and we moved the fridge over. We were so busy congratulating ourselves on our narrow escape, but the ride wasn't over. I didn't think about the 3 upper spacious cupboards that would now be microscopic when installed. The cabinet maker cut me a pretty good deal to redo that set with fewer but bigger doors. He definitely went above and beyond, and given what everyone else has posted about contractors, I am so very grateful that it got corrected as it did. Another one I did not think about soon enough was making a Ceiling and Texturing Plan. This is not the same as a Lighting plan, although lighting obviously figures into the equation. We did parts (not all) of this project DIY. We hadn't realized some areas that we needed to mud better because they would not be covered by tile or cabinet (ie above the window) and he had to add some hot mud last minute. Given the contractor we got (a personal rec), that was only a small upcharge. Also, be aware that once your texturing is underway, the room is sealed off. You can't supervise unless you are sealed in too. I would send in a big map or go over it with blue tape that you remind him to pull off before he starts that area. Like another poster, I also did not figure out that I wanted my ceiling light hung from a different position. I will not retexture, my husband is adamant that I find a table fixture that can be hung to correct position by a chain and a hook. It is what it is. The height and exact placement of the hood was not ideal. I was adamant that it be within the manufacturer's specs so that it worked properly. However, there were several inches of leeway within those guidelines. Have everyone pretend to be cooking and see what they think. It should have been higher to avoid my husband bumping his head. He is learning. But that was definitely a mistake.

Are you saying no one knows what grade of studs were used or that they refuse to tell you? It is the responsibility of the builder to prove that he met the contract spec, not yours. This is where I would be explaining how to be sure the next requisition for payment will be approved. I don't understand what the concern is about the beam in the window opening. Obviously the exterior face of the opening is covered with plywood sheathing and I assume that will be covered with some kind of weather/air-barrier and/or cladding. I don't see anything in the photo that suggests that work won't be completed properly but you should follow through to be sure. As for bracing, the end of any beam must be prevented from rotating when loaded. I suppose it's required by code but any experienced carpenter should know to do it. Offering blanket criticism about the quality of work from a few photos isn't helpful. Until someone tells me the grade of the lumber, I can see nothing wrong with the work other than an absence of more conservative connection detailing and, of course, nailing at the post. Counter-sunk Timberloc screws from each side would be fine if they are 4" or longer. I've seen the best carpenter's I know make worse mistakes.