Yes and the more people that report the spam, the faster it is gone. Copy the URL of the spam thread then click on "Contact Us" at the bottom of the page and catagorize the message as "Abuse Of Forums" and paste the spam thread's URL into the message and ask for removal.

I recommend that you listen to michaelg. When your roses get large and you don't have the time to do all that cutting, you can learn to snap off spent bloom at the abscission layer. It makes absolutely no difference whether you cut at an angle or cut to an outside facing bud. In fact, you may slow rebloom by doing so on some cultivars. Don't believe me. Look at my garden and judge for yourself. I've been doing this for years. Your precious time is better spent watering, weeding, and mulching. Exceptions are long, tall, narrow Hybrid Tea-types that grow 30 inch stems, roses you're planted in the wrong space that are too large for the area...and roses I never deadhead at all because they rebloom no matter what. My top 10 roses. My next 20 or so. Warning: links to the Galley are graphics intensive. Cass

Change orders should be in writing and signed by both parties. That's a standard business practice because if you don't document what was said, you end up with the he said/she said hard feelings down the road. WHich is where you are at. I must say that the price he's given you for replacing the floor joists is extremely reasonable. Extremely. And, he's due his 10% markup on any of the changes. That's how he's paid. That's fair. The lighting needs to be referred back to the original contract. Read it to see what's included and what's not. If it's not in the original contract, then it's a change. Sounds dumb, but the original written contract is the bible for the process. If you don't get that 11th commandment in writing in that bible, then it's a change order, even if it was verbally discussed. The $300 demo wall credit sounds fair, if the cost of demoing the wall was the only part of that wall removal that was in the original contract. It didn't include drywall repair, floor repair, moving of electrical? If those costs weren't specifically stated in the contract, then they weren't included in the wall demo and the $300 is a fair price for just removing a wall. Maybe it was worded like that originally because until you DO put a hole in the wall, you can't know what would be in that wall that would need moving and those changes would have been a change order at the time of demo. It's all about communication. A contract is nothing more than a written document about the communication you've had with your contractor and the things that you've agreed on. Some contractors are good at the work they do and not so good at the business side of it. Sounds like you may have one of those. But, the communication issue is a two way street. In the future, you need to be proactive in getting those changes documented as well, for your own protection! Write the date you discussed the item down and email it to him, "Per our 2/14 discussion, you agree to do XX job for YY money and this does include sub jobs ZZ and AAA. If hidden problems occur, I understand that further change orders will ensue." You'll get his attention quick if you put in writing something that he didn't intend to convey to you in your conversation. For now, your best approach would be to call him and have a face to face conversation. Communicate with him that you need further clarification of the charges. It doesn't have to be confrontational. Just a friendly dialogue. "I'm a homeowner, not a contractor, so I'm not sure I understand your bill. Help me figure out what you're charging me for here." And if you do disagree with the charge, say so. "I was under the impression via our conversation back in the first week of December that this was included in the original payment. Why is that now a separate charge?" Allow him to clarify things to you. And, doing so in person will allow you to clarify your own thoughts and...

One of the reasons I use gravel topdressing is to make sure leaves do not touch wet soil (...but I do not use soil anyway). If your soil stayed wet enough for leaves to start rotting, it is too water retaining, and it may be better to consider different potting mix. It is a good idea to take photots - if no problem, they can be easily deleted. But they help to figure out a problem if there is one. Plants just purchased should be repotted - they are, most of the times, in pure peat. Peat is easy to overwater, and if kept too dry, it becomes hydrophobic. Neither is good for plants. If you just take existing plant out of pot, leave the peat and just fill the rest with your own mix - it most often doesn't work. It doesn't mix with new potting mix. If you find it too dry around roots and difficult to remove, try using skewer and tease it off. If it still doesn't work, you can swish rootball in a bowl of water and rinse it off. If peat is very dry and caked on, water should be warm - it helps to soften up peat.