Couple things first jangell. A. I can't get the thread you are referencing to work. GW says "opps!" B. Spend a little time researching "poa annua" Studies have shown that it is mainly a winter annual that germinates in fall, once soil temps drop below 70 degrees. However, they are also finding strains that germinate in spring, again when soil temps rise into the 50's. So really, it is a two headed monster. There is a lot of info out there to be read, this is just an example - http://www.grounds-mag.com/mag/grounds_maintenance_taking_control/ To answer your questions: >"1. Dimension - Can this be purchased in the western part of the US (NorthWet - Seattle to be exact) What brand name is it sold under? " I believe so, why not? Look on the labels of the bags for the herbicide named Dithiopyr. Scotts does NOT use Dithiopr, although house brand names at Lowes and Home Depot do. >"2. Granular vs liquid" It is available either way. Home owners will use granular because of cost. Pros will buy liquid which comes in LARGE quantities. We're talking $700 for the smallest container. >"3. Aerating - Before or after putting down dimensions" (sigh) ...It is my belief that weed problems, such as a poa annua infestation are caused by core aerating. When you read my link above or research further, you will learn that poa annua seeds remain viable under the soils surface for YEARS. Aerating brings this hidden soil with the viable seeds to the surface - then they receive the moisture, warmth and sunlight to germinate. I believe in "let a sleeping dog lie" and not aerate ... not disturbing the soil at all. So to answer your question - if you feel you really must aerate, then aerate first and then after irrigating the core plugs, apply the pre-emergent herbicide. Hopefully whatever junk you brought up to the surface will not germinate because of the herbicide ... maybe. I personally refuse to aerate because this risk out weighes the rewards. >"I want to desperately control the spread of the POA and can use some help." Do a split application then. Concentrate on poa annua's germination time frames. Apply early spring (disregarding crab grass germination time frame, ie drop earlier) and then again in late summer, just before it begins to cool down. FWIW, out on the east coast last year, they had a VERY cool and wet June, and poa annua germinated then. For this reason some are planning three applications this year. It's all about the soil temps. I hope this helps. -Gary

pt03 wrote: If this isn't one of the top ten mostest funnest forums, I'd be surprised. There's also more than a smackeral of good information in here as well. So we have a few "characters" and we might all have "issues" but where's the harm? The posters trying to sell something, have ulterior motives or specific agendas become apparent relatively quickly and fade away for the most part. **** Well said Lloyd (and others above)...I'll take a forum with 10 wackos over one a-hole any day. In fact, people here are so nice and civic-minded that we should consider establishing a fund for mental health care for our members, starting with the Madiduspanisophobia Clinic.

That's one of the "charms" of this forum...you'll get many opinions and alternate solutions to the same problem. It's your renovation, and it's your responsibility to do the research and ultimately make your own decisions. I agree with gglks...go with your gut instinct in the end. Regarding the 2 vs 3 argument...if you have a laminated or added edge, then you can save a bit by going with 2 cm, since the constructed edge will be 3 cm or wider for a finished look. If you have a flat edge with slight bevel or rounding, then you'll probably want to go with a 3 cm thickness, since that is what you're looking at from the side (with no added bullnose or thick edging). We used 3 cm for our quartz counters, but then went with 2 cm for the 4" backsplash against the wall so it wouldn't look too thick. I wanted a clean no-bullnose edge for a simple and modern look. I probably could have saved a bit with 2 cm, but then I would have had to add the price of built up edging. It's all in the math, what your budget allows, and look that you want. We're all opinionated in here and we all think we're experts. And we all have different tastes. I learned early on to weed thru the massive amount of information, and I greatly appreciated all the tips and experiences that were shared. Some I could apply to my own renovation situation, and some I had to ignore.

Natal, pier and beam is very different that working with a slab foundation. On a slab, most folks will not install anything other than engineered wood and they will generally not warranty it unless the slab was specially prepared for solid wood flooring or you add a plywood base and wind up raising your floors an inch and a half. The only exception we found was possibly mesquite -- which is harder to find, most flooring people are not familiar with it, it will either have shorter boards and/or be much more expensive, tends to be orangey-red (the reason we didn't get it) and even then, you may or may not get someone who is willing to install in over slab or warranty the job. With the weather variances in the last year or two, we found further qualifications with them telling us the moisture meter would tell us whet we had after a year of drought, but not what would happen with our slab in a wet year and they would not warrant that. Hickory is very different. We looked at it and I didn't want the grain and color variation. If you don't love it, don't do it. I don't love oak cabinets, but I like some oak floors. I don't care for the heavy grain -- might be what you describe as swirly in your BR. I think it is okay to have different flooring in your BR, but if you aren't happy with it, can you find something that will allow you to do it all in the same flooring? We ordered our flooring, but both the place we bought from and one or two others had in stock materials they order in large quantity and can give better deals on. Maybe you can find something along those lines that will give you the look you want and a good enough value to get them all the same without spending more than you were planning. Might be worth looking into.