The original design did not call for that weird angle of the walk popping out of the patio, it was rounded. But that's because the whole middle of the yard was going to be brick, with plant beds around it. The grass area in front of the garage was what I had to do to get it "finished" and under control to get ready to sell. I had posted about that part. I've tried to keep my landscape designer out of this discussion, but really she did not design a true phased plan that looks good at each phase, so when I had to scale back, there really wasn't anyplace to go with her plan. I wanted it in chunks of 5K, but her first phase ended up being 7K just for the hardscaping. At that point it was the middle of the summer and she had kept me waiting so long I went ahead with something cobbled instead of finding someone else to do another plan. My yard was all torn up because I had removed the deck thinking I was ready to go. All that had to happen was my LD had to get back to me with a revised, scaled-down plan. Well, six weeks later after numerous calls and e-mails, at which point I was actually searching for someone else to do my patio at the beginning of June, she got back to me with the same plan, same cost. Obviously a communication problem. I really don't want to get into that part because people are very sensitive about discssions about LDs. I am not dissing the profession or dissing my LD, it was just not a good "fit." But then I have also posted about the fact that there is a certain type of LD that is very difficult to find, small jobs, well phased, inexpensive, working with a lot of constraints instead of a "blank slate." I would say since folks like me in this working class town rarely have the money to hire LDs, LDs are not trained to design for row houses, rather they know how to design yards for new subdivisions. The really spectacularly talented folks here do not do small job$. We discussed that here. Some folks disagreed, but I think my generalization holds true. I'm not saying there wouldn't have been someone out there, I'm just saying it's not that easy to find them. I met the husband of a colleague at work who is a professional LD who only does big jobs and he offered to help me with some ideas for free but I didn't want to take advantage of him, based on the complaints I hear so often here. Looking back I should have taken him up on his offer. Here's and example of what I'm talking about, obviously the chainlink is not attractive, and in a small area, you notice every element. However, I only own one of the chainlinks there. So I could replace one side but not the other. Or I could put my other side of the fence in front of my neighbors fence, thus loosing scarce garden space. Also, to avoid the "bowling alley" look I would have had to invest in a really nice fence, which would have added to the cost even more. So priority wise, I opted to do the patio and shade elements first. Also, you can minimize the negative effects of chainlink by landscaping in front of it. Chainlink can somewhat "disappear" with vegetation in front of it. That's another solution. I've also seen some on these forums some ingenious ways of dressing up chainlink with plants, ornaments, beads, etc. I mean it's one thing to say, "That chainlink is ugly, that's your problem, get rid of it," and quite another to take a sow's ear and turn it into something maybe not resembling a silk purse but a really cool purse made out of a sow's ear so that you suddenly don't dis the idea of using a pig's ear for a purse, since that's what you have, pigs, not a silkworm farm. I don't know if they teach that kind of creativity in professional schools. Also, you're not necessarily going to be able to hire a contractor to give you that kind of creativity since that takes time for craftmanship. I think the best solutions for tiny working-class yards come from the creativity of the owners. Up the road from me there is a house with a stone wall built up against a chainlink. So from the inside of the yard you see a dry laid stone wall. A working class person cannot pay someone to do a dry laid stone wall in their back yard. And being myself extremely limited in the creativity and skill department, it was a challenge to "design" a good plan for my yard. Ironically, that's the kid of unique, creative solution that folks here could share. On the PA Gardening forum I saw someone's yard landscaped with broken concrete used like flagstone, who would have thunk it. And who was it who posted the picture of the wood patio and pergola her dad built--totally creative! I just don't have those abilities or access to them. Sorry I didn't keep track of my advisors, it is a very hectic time with a job change and move on the horizon. Without wanting to offend, and yet being perfectly honest about "what I learned," I have to say that the touchiness, concerns about "appropriate postings" and strong taste ideas on this forum inhibits some of the kind of creative discussion that a forum like this could foster. Seems to me that a free public forum is where non-professionals who are trying to pinch pennies can go to share and help each other out--for free and for the sheer fun of it. I'm a professional too, and I participate in these forums for the fun of sharing and creative community. This is not directed at anyone, most certainly not at the professionals who post here. I don't mind blunt and prickly or strong. It's the $$ issue that I wonder about. I've seen people shut down who attempt to discuss lower end options, and yet realistically that's why someone would want to post here. If they could afford high end they'd be sitting in an air-conditioned office with their LA. That's a huge issue for most of us, how to do something lower end but not tacky. I saw an adorable waterfront cottage the other day on a drive, then realized as I was leaving that it was a housetrailer with a screened in porch added, sided and roofed to match and landscaped all cottagey. Yes, it was a trailer and would never be mistaken for a high end beach cottage, but the owner had made the best of what they could afford, made something tasteful out of something inexpensive. That's true elegance in my book. I have learned that this type of creativity is very hard to come by and usually comes from the "idiot savants" of the masses! :-) On the flip side, sometimes you have to bite the bullet and call in a professional. This forum often helps people sort that out, when is it time to call in the guy with the backhoe.

Dan - I haven't noticed any slow-down. Here's why I do this: From past experiences, I noticed that as soon as the seedling emerges from the soil, it has one thing it wants....light. During this critical stage of growth, mine have grown 2-3 inches in less than 12 hours, creating an unbelievable skinny stem. Once this happens, your only option is to pot the seedling deeper. That's why I throw the light to it for a considerable amount of time, which makes the plant immediately put all of it's energy into establishing true leaves.. Because the chamber is exposed to the outdoor temperature, I have to really keep my eye on the weather. If the daily high temps are below 40 degrees, I seal the ventilation holes in the chamber with foil tape, turn off the fans, and keep the lights on until the situation improves. I try to run the lights between 5pm and 11am, because the warmth of the lights burning raises the internal temperature of the chamber 20-22 degrees. On the other hand, if the temp at night gets as low as 30, but raises to 60 in the daytime - I leave all of the ventilation on standby, and it will circulate air as needed, by the thermostat. EG

Here is what I think is going to play out best for you if you are going to be in the house long enough and will heat primarily with wood. Keep in mind that I am an amateur with absolutely no experience in duct systems. I decommissioned mine at the first opportunity and installed mini splits. I'll gladly accept all criticism from anyone that actually knows something. Berto, you've already said that you are going to have ducted AC, (I'd look at mini-split heat pumps, but that is me and I don't have the time to split wood.) It ought to be pretty simple to make a dual furnace system with a wood furnace first in series with the (second) propane or electric furnace. Your thermostat turns on the AHU blower (for me, ideally, a variable speed blower with a proportional thermostat). If the wood boiler is supplying sufficient heat the secondary furnace does not run. If the duct temp between the furnaces falls below a set temp (which might slide depending on outdoor temperature) the secondary furnace fires up. If the day comes that you tire of cutting and splitting wood, you pull out the cheap furnace and put in a mod con furnace. It is no biggie to toss that first furnace because it was inexpensive to start with. The duct system has to be designed to support both heat sources and cooling. The furnace that you choose will have to be just good enough to run a cooling system well which might be more costly than the least expensive that you might use for (back up) heating alone. Keep in mind that a (complicated) super efficient furnace or boiler is not going to be a good investment in a well-insulated and sealed house that is primarily heated with wood. The ROI time will look like infinity.

Hi @Lynn Morford, I hate to jinx things, but now three months in, I LOVE the floors. I fact, I admire them many times a day (good distraction from current CV craziness). There are about a dozen spots where there were dings or tiny cracks, which freaked me out at first, but I'm pretty sure it was just from the movers. I do take care of them like a newborn child, though--sweep, vacuum, wipe, repeat. Overall, I'm very happy with them! @everdebz, we ended up gluing down. Definitely harder on my body that floating but I've learned to wear slippers or socks and I have yoga mats in most rooms to give my feet a little vacation as I walk through the house, lol. In the end, I trusted @joseph_corlett's comment about letting the contractor make the call on what is best for the situation. Granted, I still pine for the perfect floating feel of my old Junckers flooring, but apparently theirs were unique and most other flooring can't float the same way, so... Anyway, the sad fact is, you can't remove glue-downs without destroying the boards. So fingers crossed you never have to! (I put fake wood in my laundry room and we've already had three floods, so thank god for that decision.)