'England has a lot more sun and summer heat.' tropical_thought - that statement got me thinking that I must have completely misunderstood what the climate of SF is like. But I had a look at the figures. Just looking at May to September, SF is warmer on average and has approx TWICE the sunshine hours than the UK average. e.g in September the average UK high is 64.2 in SF it's 70.2. and in May SF has ave 325 hours sunshine. We get 190. At least according to Wiki. I realise these are averages and the OP's climate might be different - but to say you can't grow any veggies apart from potatoes just doesn't seem possible. Not being able to grow yams is hardly the end of the world. There are stacks of other things which would grow there. The only thing we have more of than SF is rain - roughly 2 - 3.5 inches every month all year round. It's the rain clouds which keep the sun off us. Of course I'm not saying you have to grow vegetables if you don't want to. But I have to take issue with the opinion that you can't. Here's part of my veggie patch in a cooler, gloomier climate than SF. This post was edited by floral_uk on Mon, Apr 28, 14 at 4:36

I'm adding to this thread because it seems like many folks who are posting comments here don't have a thorough background in the toxicity of a wide variety of home remodeling materials. Unless you buy your flooring (wood, bamboo, cork, etc.) from a well-known, long-running green housing material distributor, it is likely that your flooring is filled with toxic glues, sealers, and other chemicals that produce VOCs (volatile organic compounds). Bamboo in particular has a lot of glue because bamboo stalks are so thin (look at a bamboo cutting board to fully appreciate how much glue is needed). I have a MPH degree (Master of Public Health) and one of my areas of expertise is environmental health. I'm currently renovating a new condo apartment and for every material, I had to buy it from a specialty distributor that carefully vetted their product portfolio. The benefit of buying from green supply companies -- living in a healthy home. The challenge of purchasing green, healthy building materials -- cost. Green materials are more expensive. But, if you add up all the costs related to adverse health reactions and getting medical treatment to address them...then cheaper, less healthy building materials aren't so cheap, are they? A good place to start is Green Building Supply (based in Illinois, they have a great website), which ships all over the U.S. I bought cork flooring from them, they're great. Can't recommend them enough. They carry a wide array of building materials including safe paints, safe caulks and sealers, safe flooring, etc. If you want to get advice before a purchase, check out the website, 'My Chemical Free House.' Corinne is a building biologist and her site is filled with awesome tips for choosing safe and healthy building materials. Take good care & stay safe!

Paintguy, Thank you so much for your in-depth response - which of course triggered more questions:) hee hee Trim - After your post and speaking with the SW and BM sales guys I think I'm set on doing a latex trim. It just makes more sense. My trim is very dark. So the SW guy told me to use the All Surface enamel because he said the waterborne Pro Classic cannot be done in dark colors. He recommended using a Preprite Holds Gloss Primer on it and then the All Surface enamel gloss. Do you think that is a low quality paint? I looked up Graham paint - none in Charlotte, NC. So I looked up Muralo. They have it listed at a hardware store here. Could that really be superior to a SW or BM bought from a paint store? Oh and the SW guy also told me no dark trim can be made in a waterborne - he said only light to medium trim colors in waterborne. He also said the painter could put in a float or slow trowl product to allow the spread of the brush marks to spread smoother. Wall color - I totally agree about the chalkiness of flat. Plus I am doing dark rich colors that may mar easily. I used BM Regal washable matte in the last house and liked it. But the SW sales rep told me Duration Home is much superior. He said the finish isn't quite as "creamy" as the Cashmere, but it holds up much better. Also, Cashmere and Duration Home in matte cannot be done in dark colors, only in light to medium tones. He said I had to use Color Accents for dark colors like crabby apple red. He said the dark could be done in Duration Home only if I did it in satin or semi. I don't know if the Color Accents is very durable and it will be in a semi-busy area. And I don't know if it goes on nicely. You mentioned the Duration Home looks "gritty" Does that mean you like the BM Regal Matte better, or do you have another washable choice brand you like best? SW guy says it's not quite as nice as Cashmere, but close. If I go satin won't both look nice? If I use satin in both will the Duration still be more durable? Lastly, we went to see a painters work today. He had a lot of flashing on the medium tone painted ceiling. He said it was a normal issue. It was very obvious around the recessed lights, which they said where dropped down and painted around and it was very obvious at the ceiling to wall cut-in line. SW guy told me that it was because he didn't keep a wet edge and that with a dark color on the ceiling the painter should have the cut in guy go first, followed immediately by the roller. YOUR Opinion? The thing that turned me off mostly about this man's work was the fact that he caulks last in the attempt to make the cut-in line sharper. He says he paints over the caulk, but we saw a finished home and there was no doubt the white caulk could be seen between the cream trim and the light green wall. I thought it looked like a odd way to get a straight line. What concerns me more though is my trim is dark chocolate, so obviously caulking last wouldn't work. This was a HIGH end custom painter, doing million dollar homes! I have never, in all my homes, seen it done this way...is it a new practice? Sorry so long. Thank you again SO very much for the responses!!! Squirt

How long have you had this smell? Did it just start or have you had this smell since Mid March after completed renovation? Is there a gas intake to heat water? Is there a problem with garbage disposal? Is the smell plastic, chemical or rotten food like? Does it smell like rotten eggs? I ask this odd question because of a program on NPR about drywall from China having sulfer. Sulfer destroys copper. It also emits a horrific rotten egg smell. Some drywall from China has sulfer in it's makeup causing serious illness in children. Here are some articles. ~boxerpups http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=101037056 http://edition.cnn.com/2009/US/03/24/chinese.drywall/ By Jason Hanna CNN (CNN) -- Strontium sulfide, a material that can emit corrosive gases in moist air, was found at trace levels in testing of Chinese-made drywall, the Florida Department of Health said.The drywall samples gave off a sulfurous odor when heated, and in at least one case, sulfide gases corroded copper coils in an air conditioner of a Florida home containing Chinese drywall, said the department, which commissioned the study. But more testing is needed to determine whether strontium sulfide was causing the odor and contributing to the corrosion, the department said. And more tests are required to determine whether the drywall poses a threat to human health -- a process that probably will take at least several months, state toxicologist Dr. David Krause told reporters Monday. "It's very hard to predict when we'll have the answers [relating to possible health hazards]. ... We're moving as quickly as possible," Krause said. Concerns about Chinese-made drywall, which is suspected by some homeowners of ruining appliances and causing health problems, emerged in Florida last year but have transcended state lines, with class-action lawsuits alleging it has caused problems in at least three states: Florida, Louisiana and Alabama. The Florida Department of Health has received about 150 complaints, and the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission says it is investigating the Florida allegations. Homeowners' lawsuits against certain manufacturers and suppliers contend the drywall has caused them to suffer health problems such as headaches and sore throats, and left them facing huge repair expenses. The drywall is alleged to emit sulfur-based gases that smell of rotten eggs and corrode piping and wiring, causing electronics and appliances to fail. The Florida Department of Health said complaints there generally involve homes built between 2004 and 2007, around the time a building boom and post-hurricane reconstruction caused a U.S. drywall shortage and spurred builders to use imports. (there is more to this story at the link.) Here is a link that might be useful: Drywall has material that can emit corrosive gas