rexanne, I too am in zone 5, Wonder Lake. I remember when I decided to redue the back of my house I thought it would be nice to have a back yard pond. I knew without a big lottery win I'd never make it to the 'Rockies' with a crystal clear lake or stream running through my property so I took a shot at the next best thing. I procrastinated for a couple years, did alot of research along the way, read some books, bought a few videos. What seemed at first overwhelming gradually began to take shape once I kicked myself in the butt and finally got started. As a newbie I knew that I had an awful lot of learning to do and also knew that after finding this forum I had alot of help and experience backing me up. Spent alot of time 'lurking. Expectations? The only thing I knew was that I wanted something that was going to give me more pleasure than hassle and the only way to find that out was to build it, knowing that I could take it apart or alter it if things didn't work out, so with a sparkle of optimism, I set off on my way. It turned out to be the best decision I made in my life! Only my third year and the pond has matured and gotten better with each passing day. (pics) Your expectations will come true. As I was told here,__if you build it they will come. The birds have been using it as they're personal spa. Had a 'Mallard' couple show up this spring but had to shoo them away when they started wreaking havoc on the plants. Even had a 'Belted Kingfisher' show up last year. Thank god he didn't stick around. Must have been better fishing elsewhere! The thing I miss the most is my bullfrogs, 'Lumpy', 'Rastus', and the rest of the gang (pics). They all died this last winter. Found them floating the first warm day of spring in the pond and the skimmer. Not really sure what it was that killed them. Alot of theories and opinions out there, but only the deceased know for sure. The first year I started coaxing them to come after crickets,___ and then last year they would chase me around the pond begging for 'night crawlers'. Bought some new tadpoles at Petco this spring and some of the 'tads' have 'morphed' into frogs already. It will take some time before they trust me. A month ago the little ones would 'chirp' and jump for the pond when I showed up,____now they'll let me get a little closer before they dive. Won't be long!! It's almost three in the morning, the 7&7s are starting to take hold, I'm starting to ramble, and it's time to call it a night. Good luck, stay optimistic, and happy ponding!!! MaryO, nice pond! Witz

Great thread! Something I was planning on doing for my containerized tomatoes next season (I balcony garden) is mixing some coconut husk chips (1/4 to 1/2 inch chips, not coir) in with my potting mix as the chips retain a good amount of water AND air. I saw that someone suggest coconut coir (which is shredded coconut husk fiber, not chips) in their mix yet I have never used this product and can only suggest using actual chunks of coconut husks. I admit that I am a novice when it comes to tomatoes but for my containerized citrus trees I use a 4:1 ratio of CHC and peat and it works amazingly. For my first Meyer Lemon tree I simply potted in Miracle Gro for cactus and citrus and within a month or two all of the leaves on my tree had dropped and it appeared to be dead. I decided to repot it and the mix smelled aweful and was still wet after not being watered for about 3 weeks. I repotted it in the 4CHC:1peat mix and within a month or two it started to bud again and rebounded. The first ingredient in Miracle Gro for cactus and citrus is peat which holds entirely too much moisture for citrus in a container (at least for it to be the number one ingredient). I'd bet that just about any mix that has peat as the number one ingredient for growing nearly anything in a container will eventually become problematic because of a lack of oxygen to the roots of the plant. When I bought CHCs at the begining of the year I got a 3 cubic foot bale (after being dried and compressed) and even after potting my 15 or so citrus varieties I still have about 2.5 cubic feet that is just taking up space in my storage unit. Depending on what potting mix I buy for my containerized veggies next year I would like to mix at least 1 or 2 parts CHCs and see how how the plants respond. CHCs expand and contract just like a sponge (holding a great amount of water and more importantly air) and also takes forever to breakdown (literally years which is what makes it great for citrus). Here is a link on CHC usage and I used the same supplier they suggest (Crystal Company) as they wash their product 3 times which removes a good amount of salt buildup that may exist. I am not sure if any of my information is useful for tomato growers but if you have never used CHCs before for anything I would suggest giving some a shot (get a citrus tree also!). Great posts folks! Joe

I can't answer all your questions, but I can offer some advice based on my own experience. First, from what I can see in the pics, your roof doesn't look that bad. Nothing against the knowledgable neighbor, but if he isn't a contractor, appreciate what he has to say and seek professional advice. Don't give contractors the impression that you're worried about your roof falling in, because SOME may feed into your 'paranoia' for lack of a better term, and no offense intended by that comment. I'm saying this because I've had situations where we obtained quotes on tuckpointing our chimney, and of course there's one contractor out there who tries to scare us into thinking our chimney is going to fall down tomorrow and it better be rebuilt for a whopping $25k. We got it tuckpointed by another contractor for $300 who laughed when we told them about the other quote. I'm not implying that ALL contractors are dishonest, I'm just saying this was my experience with this particular contractor. If roofs weren't designed to support three layers of shingles, there wouldn't be an ordinance allowing this many layers on your roof in the first place. Three layers are the maximum allowable. I would also go around the neighborhood and ask for recommendations for a roofing contractor rather than just pulling out of the phone book. Go to your local church and ask them. Word of mouth, in my opinion, is best, and sometimes contractors who don't spend money on advertising costs have more reasonable, lower rates. Get several quotes, and compare them. The more you do your homework, you'll get a good feel for what the job is worth. ASK your contractor for references, and contact prior customers and ask them questions - would they have done anything differently, is there anything they could recommend that you wouldn't have thought to ask at the very beginning, etc. Submit all change requests in writing. Similarly, our roof was a three-layer complete tear-off, which of course is going to be pricier than just adding another layer of shingles. Be sure EVERYTHING they're replacing is written in the contract - flashing, gutters, etc. I'd recommend a 'ridge vent' for proper ventilation, not sure if this is standard these days?? I'm not sure what you mean by, 'You may as well open up the main ceiling to be vaulted as well'?? This could be a simple matter of adding more vents in your attic when the roof is replaced. Problem solved. If you need gutters replaced, now's the time to do it - you'll get a better 'package' deal, at least we did. I had some ill-placed gutters re-routed. Since our entire roof was a tear-off, we added a master bath rough-in for just maybe $800 extra, as we were only paying for lumber - the roof was already being torn off, so all they had to do was expand the frame. Can you expand the roof anywhere? Now's the time to do it! You can probably inspect the underlayment from inside your home yourself. Go around with a flashlight to check for signs of leaking. We were told our roof needed to be replaced as well, but we also saw signs of leaking and later found carpenter ants in our attic on the underlayer of original cedar roof shingles that were covered over. Not good. Also, for this reason, if there are any tree branches near your roof line, cut them away as carpenter ants will use this as a conduit to your roofline. They love moisture. Be sure to replace any rotting wood. We also used a pesticide in this area of our attic for the next two years just to be safe. From a financial standpoint, I would look into taking out a home equity loan for the roof fund, if feasible. Even if you don't do the roof now, you know that the funds are available in an emergency if necessary. When the time comes, be prepared that when the roof comes off, there will be less weight on your house, the house may have minor shifting due to less weight on the support beams, and you may or may not have very minor surface cracks in the walls afterwards (we have an old 1920's home), but nothing major that simple patching won't cover over. If you use your attic for personal storage, competely cover your belongings with tarps or remove EVERYTHING and store elsewhere until the roof is done, and plan on using a shop vac when the job is done - nails, dust, etc. Prior to the start of the job, clear areas in your attic so the contractor can properly inspect the roof from the interior as a precaution to locate potential weak spots. They'll appreciate that and I'd imagine they recommend it for their own safety. Cover ALL plantings outside. The contractors will do their best to discard all materials on tarps, but it's inevitable that you will find nails and refuse on your lawn and in your plantings. Don't let them talk you into storing a dumpster on your driveway. It will become so heavy you risk cracking your driveway, and residential driveways aren't designed to hold all that weight. You may have to pay a little extra to have a dumpster on the city street, and of course a permit may be required depending on your municipality, but I'd insist on it and pay the extra $. Lastly, be good to your contractors and they'll be good to you. We supplied them with a cooler of refreshments (they were on the roof on the hottest days of the summer - talk about hard workers). They don't like to be watched over, it makes them nervous and you don't want a nervous contractor trying to balance their footing on your roof. Our contractors didn't like the fact that our neighbor plopped himself out there everyday on a lawn chair and watched them from dawn to dusk. Ugh. That's another story! Very important - you should obtain a lien waiver from your contractor when final payment is submitted. This is especially important if you are working with a company who subcontracts their work. THEY are responsible for paying the subcontractor as part of your original contract agreement, not you. Good luck!

It's such a pleasure to see you so excited about this project! So of course I have a bunch of thoughts. Three things... First, you can buy a version of the Floreat hanger at the home center, but unless it's the real thing, it will work but not as well. I've tried them all, and Floreat is far superior, in my experience. As to clearing your chair rail, if you attach a bit of lumber to the back of the top of the mirror frame to hold the top off the wall by the same dimension as the chair rail, and your hanging wire is long enough to allow for the extra space, it will hang straight. But do have somebody hold it up there to look at what sort of shadow it creates by standing proud of the wall, and see if that is a problem for you. Second...I was recommending bamboo shades, not matchstick. Matchstick blinds are great for some plans, but I think you are wanting something with a little more presence and elegance for this room...and they are completely transparent from the outside at night when your lights are on. Country Curtains used to have nice ones for a rational price, and I have found them at World Market as well. I'd choose a light natural finish, not the tortoise shell or stained versions. And third...I sense pattern and decoration creeping into your thinking! I would let your striped couch be the pattern, at least for now, and keep the chairs completely plain. Keep any prints you add very large, with clear, uncluttered images and lots of white space, both in the prints and in the mats. Take a look at the Redoute prints in the link to see what I mean about clean images and white space...then imagine them with 6 inch off-white matting and slender frames. I would choose very simple matching solid colored ceramic lamps with ivory (not yellowy-cream) silk or linen shades that let the light through. Pure, gleaming, pale color. The classic double gourd shape in cream or gray would be a good choice. But in any case, get your floor plan in place before you add anything purely decorative. And that's enough out of me for the day! Here is a link that might be useful: Redoute prints