You've told me so much and you know the things you need to know. Like ignore all the "fertilize with K and P annually". In Knoxville, at the University, Ione planted a tea noisette, Duchesse de Auerstadt, in river loam about 100 yards from the Tennessee River. (I grow a clone of that, several hundred feet higher and in tight red clay. You'd think they were different roses, but they-from the same supplier- are in different microclimates and soils.) You are in the heat 'island' that is the Nashville Basin. Your soils are self fertilizing but for the N. If I were you, I'd collect Tea Noisettes and make the most bodaceously beautiful rose fence in Tennessee. I might even be tempted to put a few Hybrid Perpetuals in for splashes of red-purple color. Foget the once bloomers. With your water conditions, with the nutrients that are in your river soils, the only thing you need to do is work to keep your pH in the zone where the K and P aren't tied up as salts and stay available to your roses' roots. That you don't have abundant cedar, BTW, tells me that you don't have a lot of limestone anywhere near the surface. In my fields I can almost tell you where there are subterranean limestone remnants under the soils. Even the cedar seeds don't sprout in my red clay. As for trees to tolerate in your fenceline: yes to dogwoods and redbuds- they aren't that bad. No to almost everything else. In your soils with ground water, you may find ten to fifteen years of vertical growth each year. This year we are sufferening the ones we didn't cut back last fall and that loved the inch a week of rain we had all of last year. Kill: all hackberries (they make good firewood). They are the host to wooly hackberry aphids and the aphid poop drops heavily and then gets a black fungus on it and the fungus doesn't wash off. Really ugly when it drops on roses, and everything else. When you get to Knoxville, let me know. I've probably got some suckers you can use. More later, Ann

From your link describing using the tung oil, I'd go with that. I would stay away from polys at all cost as they are so difficult to repair without redoing the whole thing. I am hoping to do my kitchen floor--don't know what's under the vinyl tiles or the several layers underneath, but the rest of the downstairs is oak--white I presume? I think my trim is red oak--is that possible? My house was built in 1908. I would replace the registers also, but don't go to the expense of the linked site--they seem to only sell ones to fit modern ductwork; check out salvage shops/antique shops...there is one in my town where I've bought a couple registers from their large pile--all the good old cast iron black, some with louvers, some without, but all with varying designs of patterns for the grate. I put in an additional duct to my living room, and absolutely had to have the large register if I ever move furniture to match the one in the open near the dining room doors. Your idea of tung oil has given me another and easier option than sanding insanely and doing smelly chemicals. Thanks!

Believe me, there are NO plumbing issues involved. What MAY be an issue is finding a hardware store--or other source--for the parts you need to do a changeover. The best thing you can do for yourself is get down and climb under your present sink, the neighbor's sink, your family member's sinks, and familiarize yourself with the plumbing that's under there !! While you're down there, check for leaks, and use a ruler/tape measure to get an idea of sizes. Bathroom sinks are usually 1 1/4" diameter thinwall pipe; the tub/shower and the kitchen sink are, or should be, 1 1/2". One thing to remember: the 1 1/2" thinwall pipe hooked directly to the bottom of your sink, and tied into the "S" or "P" traps under there, is NOT NOT NOT the same as the 1 1/2" drain piping; HOWEVER--there are adapters to mate the thinwall to the heavier piping. By the way, you ARE gonna go to the store and find out what a "P" or "S" trap is, aincha?? Dont be afraid to ask Q's, and do realize many of the guys you ask are about as ignorant as you are when it comes to plumbing....many--not all of 'em. THEN: when you find somebody who sounds like (s)he can help you do this project, and they put down on paper the parts you need, the best thing you can do is repeat the process--go find somebody else at another store who can do likewise, and then compare the parts recommended, &c. Maybe this soundz like plumbing 101--you're right, it is. Anything else spellz disaster in the making, not to mention the resultant feeling you bin ripped off and jerked around, and that you coulda done a better job yourself.... if only.... you'd taken to heart the suggestion of: kenn 1RmSchlHse millersport oHIo -- there's a time and place for spontaneity....

I do not have one, but I've wanted one! I cannot answer all your questions, but just a couple. I think the choice of double or single bowl depends a lot on the size of the sink. If you are going to go with the 30" size, then single bowl would be better - a double bowl sink in a 30" size may mean that neither bowl is big enough to soak roasting pans, cookie sheets, etc. If you go to a 33" or 36" sink, then the choice is personal preference and your cooking/cleaning style. I myself have a single bowl sink and would never go back to a double, but there are just as many people who would only have a double bowl sink. What have you used and liked or disliked in the past? The advantages of stainless apron front over the traditional fireclay apron front sink are: less expensive, easier to install (fireclay can have uneven dimensions and therefore be harder to scribe the countertops around it), lighter so easier to install, will not chip, and you won't need a drain flange for a disposal (fireclay is thick so in order to install a disposal you would need to buy a longer drain flange). Disadvantages are: the look is not traditional the way fireclay is, and stainless shows water spots and scratches (the scratches develop into a patina over time, so I wouldn't worry about that). Regarding faucets, there are SO many choices. I would make sure that you get a sprayer faucet so that you can easily clean into all the corners. I myself prefer a faucet with an integrated sprayer, rather than a side sprayer. You get better water pressure with an integrated sprayer, and a side sprayer means you have to hold onto the handle for the spray to stay on. Pay attention to the reach of the faucet - that dimension is available on all the brands' websites. You don't want the reach to be too short so that you have to reach far into the sink to grab it. I will link below to a thread with 100+ posts showing faucets, and you can see if any appeal to you. There was an interesting thread that I will link regarding SS apron front sinks, and whether to get a curved or straight front. It has some nice photos, and people also posted the names of their sinks, so I think it will be of use to you. I will link it below. As to brands, I have read on this forum that people really like their Kraus sinks and their Ticor SS stainless sinks; both are heavier 16 gauge. I think Ticor also offers stainless apron front sink with "zero radius" corners, which I would stay away from - those zero radius corners tend to collect gunk. Ticor also offer sinks with "tight radius" corners that will have a very slight curve, which would be easier. A nice kitchen with a SS apron front sink is Hobokenkitchen's. She bought hers as an inexpensive no-name on eBay. Thread Called Which Kitchen Faucet Did You Pick? Thread called SS Apron Sinks - Curved or Straight Front Hobokenkitchen's Kitchen with eBay SS Apron Front Sink Kraus Apron Front Sinks Ticor SS Apron Front Sinks