13.5 hours into the rebuild....I could not believe all the aquatic life that I have found in that pond..absolutely amazing..I transplanted some small fry in the stream today...the liner in the old pond is totally exposed now..5"-6" of water remains in the old pond..water lettuce out the wazooo LOL..I'm going to make a skippy style filter at the start of the stream...so tomorrow I'll be shopping at tractor supply...I'll fill the stock tank up with the remaining pond water and transfer my fish to that...then I'll move the main liner to the new main pond and cover everything with rocks...hope to be done with that by Sunday evening...including filling up the new pond with water...I'll let it sit for 24 hours then introduce the fish to their new home....after that I'll work on getting the plumbing finished and the cover up of the filtration device...oh yeah...I'm getting rid of the largemouth bass...they keep me from having fantails LOL....Happy POnding!! Dave Link added is about 10 hours into the rebuild..I ran out of light this evening to update pictures..... Here is a link that might be useful: pondredo

thank you Susie and Technicolor. I will try the landscape folks too. here is a picture of the other side of the windows which will become a door. The space is only about 9 ft wide and has another pair of windows on the opposite side of the room, entry door to house is on the end facing you, the entry to the garage door is behind the camera and to the right. .. This is a breezeway that links the garage with the house. It is very useful for shedding snowy boots and coats before coming into the house, we got to try it out when we moved most of the furniture in during a late January snow squall. . I am not sure I will get French doors out of this, Spouse seems to be leaning to just a normal exterior type door. French doors may not be the best choice for the extended cold and snow of the northern Michigan winters. Something insulated and well sealed would be more practical, though I agree the appearance is lacking compared to the appeal of French doors. I want it to open out and toward the house side to eliminate any possible interference between the top of the door and the garage roof. Maybe that wouldn't happen anyways, but it looks like it could be a problem from the inside.

That's a large area to do lasagna beds on without getting materials from elsewhere. Check in your area for free or inexpensive sources of material for your lasagna beds. For instance, I get manure from the horse farm down the road, but pet rabbits, chickens, llamas all could be sources, and my local dairy farm will deliver a truckload of manure for a fee. Wood chips to use as the top mulch layer can often be found if you pass tree trimming crews in your neighborhood; I've found them more than willing to dump in my driveway rather than having to haul them to the local transfer station across town. I also get wood shavings from local woodworkers, and have gotten sawdust from a pile at a local sawmill that had gotten wet, so unsuitable for horse bedding, etc. Some towns have compost made from the fall leaf collection, and when we were first starting our garden, we picked up bagged leaves by the side of the road to increase our compost quantity. If you decide to purchase it, get an entire truckload of compost or bark mulch. Most yard supply companies will either let you bring a pick-up to haul it yourself or will deliver an 18-wheeler. It's much less expensive by the truckload than by the bag per volume. I use multiple layers of newspaper or a single layer of corrugated cardboard under the top mulch layer to discourage weeds, so you can start collecting those from the grocery store or appliance deliveries, etc. If you don't mind looking at a somewhat homely view for the summer, you can put down plastic with the edges sealed with boards to solarize the soil and kill seeds and the grass that are currently there. That will help by decreasing the volunteer weeds and grass when you are ready to start creating your beds and planting.

That would be a number I would have to have a ballpark on before I could buy it unless I had a lot of disposable income. If this is a screaming hot deal, you now know why. I have no idea how much it would cost for new rafters, but you could probably estimate the cost of new drywall, new plywood sheathing, new insulation, new ice and water shield, new shingles, etc. Then you have disposal and the labor for all that stuff plus probably relocating (even temporarily) whatever goes through the attic space. (Electrical? Plumbing? HVAC?) Are you sure that when they redid the shingles, the top plates and studs the walls were free from water damage? Because they redid the roof for a reason and it was probably leaking. If at all possible, I would talk to an experienced GC or at least roofing contractor for some very rough ideas/estimates before you proceed. It may be worth it if this is an amazing deal AND you have the budget to redo that roof. Good luck!