There is something really solid about rocks. I too love them. Quartz, granite, flagstone, and of course diamonds. I went to the diamond mine in Arkansas, but never found a diamond. I am now searching for an Indian grinding rock to add to my collection. At our last three homes, I collected rocks and built rock walls - you know what they say about lemons, if you have them make lemonade. Well I say if you have rocks, build rock walls and place them in the landscape as accents. Anyone every see the movie with Lucille Ball and Desi Arnez called "The Long, Long Trailer"? DH makes me watch it before we go on a trip, so I won't collect too many rocks and weight the car down. Ha !. Below is a chair I just can't bear to part with. I bought it at a garage sale when I got out of college over " " years ago for $15. I put it in the back of my VW and drove to my apartment. When I got home I couldn't get it out of the back seat - I knew I should be able to because I had gotten it in - finally I did. I have enjoyed it ever since. It is sitting next to our bed acting as a nightstand for now as I am looking for a new nightstand to go with our newly redecorated bedroom. Not sure where it will go next, but I'm keeping it. I have all modern stuff now, but this is the last hold out from a different era. Below is a quail among some of the "rocks" we have collected on our property and placed them around the flower beds (these boulders were placed by DH with his tractor as they are much too heavy for me to move by hand).

The reason I am concerned about the roof slope is that the staircase will rise long with the ceiling, so that the vertical distance between the staircase slope line, and the associated rail, is constant. It would not look good for the staircase to rise at a lower rate. The span will not be very long at all - at most about 14'. Ideally i would love to hit the sweet spot of exactly 120" rise, as 16 7-1/2" x 10" (minimum run per code) steps, but short of cutting every wall stud (i.e., from the standard that results in a 9'-1-1/8" rough height), I'm not sure how to do it. For this, the equation must be: 120" = 109-1/8" + subfloor + joist If the joist is 2 x 10" (9-1/4"), then it becomes 120" = 109-1/8" + 9-1/4" + subfloor subfloor = 1-5/8" I suppose I could simply put 3/4" & 7/8" plywood for a really thick subfloor? Sounds expensive! There is one other thing I could do that would make sense. Presuming I go with a 7/8" subfloor, I would be 3/4" short. However, since the first 4 steps are to be winding, and thus would not be matched up to the ceiling - and as well, not in a straight line to begin with - and thus not something that could trip someone up any more than navigating the winding would. I could make those 4 risers each 3/16" less - which is allowable under code, as the variation can be as much as 3/8" for the riser - which would hence shave the 3/4", resulting in a net of 120". How does that sound? This brings up a question about the run (@ 12" from the inner edge) for the winder steps. The code seems to only say that the run must be at least 10", and within 3/8" of each other - but doesn't seem to rule out the possibility that the winder run be within 3/8" of the straight-away run. In fact, the figures for the winders seem to show that the winder run is a lot bigger than the straight-away run. Also about the winder, if I have a 4 step winder doing a net 90 degree turn, can the line along which the winder run is measured (i.e., the winder-line) be along the beginning & ending lines (i.e., that are at a 90 degree angle with each other) such that for 2 steps the winder-line is aligned with the beginning, and 2 for the ending? (The code seems to show this as permitted as well.) Or must the winder-line be normal (i.e., perpendicular) from the nosing for each step? The code does not seem to address this in text, but seems to give a lot of leeway in how this winder-line can be realized.

I'm in a totally different industry (computer science) but I have come to realize that many American males have ADHD (not kidding). You can give these people specs, drawings, instructions, and they ignore it all. Most of all you need really detailed specs - of exactly how you want it done, and you need them to sign off on the specs. This is the only thing that protects you from getting the job done correctly. Not that it will be done correctly the first time, nor does it protect you from frustration of having to get the job done over and over again. I've been fortunate in my career, to have owned a software company, that had very good sales. I've remodeled (gutted) our kitchen, and two baths. Plus paint / fix everything in our home. Neighbors have said to me: "why are you doing this yourself - you could easily pay to have it done". When I do it myself, it gets done right, to my satisfaction.

K S, I can see how the Feverfew might become invasive, but mine hasn’t been terribly so, YET. I say yet, because it’s only been around here a few years. It definitely self sows, but I have about 6 plants today, after starting with one. Each year I have about double the amount of plants, so this year, I’ll need to control them. The one shown above had started itself in a spot in front of some other shorter plants, so I yanked the entire plant when I cut those blooms. It’s very dry here, so they mostly grow where they get irrigation. In a wetter climate like yours, I bet they spread much faster. Lisa