Agreed. If I were doing the work, I'd add a 6-mil poly barrier between the framing and the the cement board...because it'd cost about $2 in materials and take 5 minutes of my time to do it. So why not, even though it's not required. That would omit the need for Redgard. If the corner bench is boxed out, then I prefer the membrane to cover the bench and the floor. I wouldn't want to build my pan, install the membrane, run the membrane up the walls, then on top of that box out a built-in bench and cover it with tile with the frame of the bench not being covered by the membrane. It could set up a scenario for long-term water damage to the bench's substrate. If you're talking about a wall-mounted corner bench, like the "Better Bench", then that just hangs on the wall, it does not have to be included under the membrane. An alternative which provides flexibility of use is a small teak bench. It can be in the shower, moved out of the shower, or moved around in the shower as needed. For pictures, they first have to be loaded onto a third-party hosting site like photobucket or it's equivalent. When your picture is loaded, right click on it and in the drop down menu left click on "Copy Image Location". Then come back here and type: <IMG SRC="paste your url here" WIDTH=400> and then paste your photo's location in between the quotation marks above in place of the red "paste your url here". I add the WIDTH=400 to restrict the width of the photo so the picture doesn't end up being so wide that it generates a scroll bar. You could change "400" to a larger or smaller number. Mongo

I see your solution I don't like it. If the water from the downspout freezes in the vertical line it will prevent your discharge line from letting water exit from the sump pump. That verticals line can freeze gradually if the downspout is only dripping water into the vehicle line. If you don't have a good flow of water it will freeze before it gets to the end of the line no matter what drop vertically there is. It's referred to as slow flow freeze here. Drip freeze, drip freeze, repeat. A larger diameter line as Brickeeye suggests makes the problem worse because in a larger diameter line there is less water vertically in the line which means the depth of water is less and the flow is wider which helps it freeze faster. A shallow puddle will freeze faster than a deep puddle. Heat trace the exit line from the sump or at least insulate it with insulating pipe tape. Many sewage lines to cisterns and septic beds have frozen this year because in the wisdom of our county they changed the code from 3" discharge to 4" from the dwelling to the septic bed or cistern We have a bit of experience with freezing here. Some places have frozen water this year that never froze in the history of the home. If you think it won't freeze again this year what brings you to that conclusion? This will be a long winter and late spring. I've lived here on the Great Lakes for 60 years and never felt the cold and constant wind like this winter. My heat trace line is good to minus 40C and it froze, 40C is where centigrade and Fahrenheit meets. -40C is -40F. Edit, do not put heat tracing on this line, of there isn't any water in the line it will melt the PVC or ABS. This post was edited by SouthernCanuck on Fri, Feb 28, 14 at 9:35

My opinion would be to stick with the character of the rest of your house. If you have Coastal and Craftsman features, don't go too Contemporary or Formal. Both examples that you have posted. ;) Besides the siding on the outside of your home, do you have any hard surfaces, like brick or stone? If so, match those instead of bringing in a third element. We recently built an outdoor area for our home. I had my heart set on a stone fireplace, but the house is brick and stucco with a wooden screened porch. The more that I thought about it, the more I decided that bringing in another element was too much. Matching brick would be the way to go. I am so happy with my choice. We also have columns that mirror the columns on the inside of the house and painted to match the screened porch trim and stucco accents. A cedar wood pergola is stained to match the darker taupe of the majority of the stucco. All colors blend in with the brick. If your house is all siding, then I would go with the stone. for inside and out. I believe that the plaster both outside and in, as shown in photos 2 and 3, would be too contemporary and formal for your home. I like the interior stone and wood trim photo that you posted with the hearth, but sadly, you do not have room for that set up. Another opinion...I'd take down the knee walls. You don't need them for a division. The one between the window is taking up valuable wall space. You can create a natural division between the dining and living space with your furniture. I know from experience. We put a built-in in our living room, and I wanted it to have some character, so the middle section sticks out about 10 inches beyond to side sections. That middle section has become a thorn in my side and prevented a couple of different seating configurations that I would have much preferred in that room. The bump-out gets in the way. I think that your knee walls will narrow your walking space, getting around furniture, such as a sofa. Again, just my opinion.

I generally set things in place, and short of hitting it with a something on the large size...like a tractor, car, snowplow, or the occasional horse who gets loose and uses it as a scratching post, they don't move. start with finished elevation, and work backwards. I usually use either 2" bluestone or similar thickness patio pavers, or 4 1/4 solid half block from a hardware store. Under that, a layer of sand...often about 1/2", sometimes an inch. Below that, 6-8" of base...item 4, class 5, something similar. Excavate hole, lay in base in 2-4" layers. Pack, tamp, whatever. Repeat two or three times. Lay in sand, level. Put down your pedestal base, and put your statuary on it. Select pedestal base material to compliment/match your surroundings, or accommodate your elevations to allow you to mask it. If you have a base large enough (on your statuary), you can make the pedestal base disappear under your piece.