Go to the local hardware store and get TSP, or use dishwasher detergent granules. Use water as hot as you can get it and dissolve a couple of cups of the stuff in just enough water to make it into a solution. use a stiff bristled broom or brush and scrub it onto the soiled places, let stand , add a bit more hot water and scrub again. Then rinse, rinse, rinse, using a garden hose if you can, or buckets of hot water... you can keep repeating if you have problems, but usually one vigorous treatment is enough. best wishes

Sandy, I could drive down SR 37 with my eyes closed! We live south of Marion. A quick Google check for architectural salvage in Indy lists several. The prices are out of our budget, but the pieces are beautiful. One door (French door set) was $250. It's much like the french doors I got :) At least one GWer lives nearby. Tom lives within driving distance of Indianapolis. He put Kline cabinets in his kitchen last fall. He posted his kitchen pics and gave Kline Cabinetmakers a rave recommendation. I admired a display at Clarks in Castleton and contacted Kline after seeing Tom's cabinets. Kline will be making our cabinets, too! I cannot remember her name, but there is a couple living in southern Indiana who remodeled their kitchen in a few weeks. She posted day-by-day pics. It came out fabulous! It may have been over Thanksgiving last year. Caroline, Your house is wonderful. If ours turns out anywhere close to yours I will be thrilled. On the stone-You are right, it can always be used for something outside. The one piece was relocated under a tree. There is a chair and little table. It's a wonderful place to read. The kitchen plan has ~36'' cupboards flanking the refrigerator; I need small countertops. One slab for each counter would do it. No need to piece a long run together. One side has a countertop convection oven (it must sit on a non-flammable surface). The other side is for breakfast prep-coffee & tea, toaster, etc. It would be so wonderful to touch that every morning and think of the thousands of people who passed our house over the years. I get emotional just thinking about it! I picked up a chipped piece this morning and tried to figure out what kind of stone it is. It is a brownish gray, (more gray much less brown than these pics) feels grainy-like sand, and has lots of tiny sparkly bits. The rock is compact rather than layered. It must be porous because there are some green (moss stain?) areas. The scraped bits soaked with lime cleaner didn't bubble or dissolve. The large slabs feel very smooth, not flaky like the small piece. Maybe it is sandstone, but I thought that was soft-it would have lots of wear after 100 years. I am hoping one of the stone experts will take a peak and weigh-in with an opinion. If not I'll try a stone forum. Judy

The epoxy coating would work to keep the transition height down, but as far as durability (spilling a pot of boiling water, etc...) Adding new tile would ultimately last a lot longer, and would be more durable. I would have to recommend finding a new tile. That would be the best option for the long haul. COREtec also makes a floating tile that looks like cement that, if you like the appearance, you can install it directly over what you have now. I've given you some links to look at - Cement Tiles COREtec Cement-look tiles TCFC - The Flooring Blog

I suggest that you go in with more than a mention. Oil companies have massive amounts of money and could financially, easily put in another road. But putting in a road involves rights of way, and sometimes land purchase which can translate into a long waiting time to drill which I can assure you is not going to happen. Before you go in, see if you can get some info/suggestions about alternative routes so it will look to the commission like any possible road change is doable in a reasonable amount of time. Don't make the mistake of thinking that any oil or state commission is on your side. You can get concessions, sometimes, but they involve planning and work on your part before you ever walk in and propose them. The trick to getting concessions from the commission/oil companies is to look at the world with their eyes, and to suggest changes that are quick and efficient and will shield them from possible liability, like a safer road. Morals isn't going to get it so try for the effective changes. They will spend money but do not want to spend time. And go in prepared, if you show up and just whine you are going to get ignored and you will have lost your 'first impressions' advantage. And, one more suggestion. If the trucks are not flying but actually doing the speed limit, don't overstate your case; it may be that a suggestion by the commission might be made to change custody/location of the child if there are no records of accidents but your son insists that the current setup is dangerous. Don't open a can of worms you can't close. If you agree that oil has bought up all the politicians, and your grandson's location might hold up a well, and that could be changed by an oil bought politician asking a judge to make a custody change, well you see where this is going. If there are police records of accidents in that area, however, that is powerful info bring records of the reports with you.