Hello All! I realize that this was fifteen years ago. But if there is anything new, please let me know. I am having the same issue. I did the flooring myself and did undercut. But the carpet was pretty much attached to the bottom of the hearth and much cement came right out when I was ripping out the carpet. My LVP sits much lower than the carpet did as well. My Fireplace installer has passed away, so I cannot ask him. I’ve been researching grout, but am afraid that I cannot match the original color and it would not adhere properly. Could the original poster, please send me photos, if available? Look me up on Facebook please? Lisa Dachel West. And send me a pm? thank you!

I plant my pumpkins on the top of a slanting hill. I actually caged in my pumpkins 4 years ago as I think if they were able to move down the hill, they’d break the vines. There is a rock wall between my plantings and the grass. I made my own caged area. I have lots of wildlife who seem to enjoy my pumpkins, especially as fall sets in. I have to enclose many in mesh bags to keep from the animals. One year I lost several to animals. They wait for them to get a certain size and eat. It’s late so I cannot take a picture right now.

Anytime a woody plant "mature" size is mentioned, keep in mind that it's a snapshot in time, referring to the plant at 5 or 10 years of age. What size will the plant be 2 and 10 years hence? Bigger! After comparing the stated mature sizes on tags to the actual plants, I've come to the conclusion that the best thing to do is double them. What you're thinking of as a 3' diameter (you said radius earlier) tree is really going to be 6'-ish at some point. Also, you cannot cram plants onto fences and pools. There needs a to be a little clearance. Plants are not like products that come off of a machinist's lathe, such that you could reliably calculate out the space they will occupy to the inch. That's why I'm saying your plan is unrealistic. You need to figure for the long term size. There will be no space left over for an awkward grass strip or row of shrubs. The trees are going to take it all, except for a little bit at the back corner and the triangle at the front. The number one planting error -- by a wide margin -- made by newbies is not allowing for the plant size. And everyone still seems to want to learn this lesson the hard way! If you want a hard "edging," your best bet is a mowing strip set flush with grade ... nothing raised, especially when you cannot raise and retain grade behind it.

The limited usable space in the so called basement is approx 5 x 12 facing the lake. The other half of the house facing the lake is crawlspace. The entire back portion of the house has the rock shield. So the house is straddling an area between dirt and solid rock? I suspect there isn't much you can do about the 'basement' because water is going to follow the path of least resistance. And then there is the lake--how much is the level of the basement above lake level? If you love the place, which it sounds like you do, barring other problems, I would consider the basement as 'only 60 sq feet', abandon it and add on/ relocate the laundry room. Or, is a sump pump an option? Maybe a combo of a sump & dehumidification will allow you to keep the laundry where it is?