Thank you all so much for your concern. I really appreciate it as DH and I are still pretty ignorant about the whole process of building, although we've been taking a crash course in window flashing and installation online, this past week! I have followed the links all of you have kindly sent and decided to spend the $67 and download the ASTM E2112 window installation chapter. It is too technical for me and DH to grasp, but what we can understand is that it says the window openings require flashing prior to window install. DH contacted the window dealer again, relayed our interpretation of the document, and that our opinion was that the windows need to be reinstalled correctly! Surprisingly he didn't even have a copy and requested I send him a copy of the pdf file! So it will be interesting to see if it's still 'acceptable' to him. We will be letting the builder know that we want the windows installed properly! I don't understand why window installation is not in the building code! With all the 'mold' litigation going on, how can building inspectors say it's not an issue of health and safety. This is how they look from the interior.

Came back to this again, LOL I mentioned the corrosion because I dont know what that might do to the bond between thinset and or concrete and the penny. I just know it will happen. some people like that look, others dont. Also just fyi, I saw where you said the pennies you were going to use werent worth more than one cent. pennies made before 1982 were the copper type and those will corrode and turn green, just like copper exposed to the elements. Due to copper proces, they are also worth several cents apeice. modern pennies, after 1982 are the zinc pennies. I dont know about the effects on those outside. Theres an artist somewhere who did her kitchen floor in pennies and I think she epoxy resined over the surface after the pennies were laid. I will see if I can come across it.

Ichabod, we're in the desert southwest, but I probably should have expanded on that comment! Our annual average rainfall here is under 10". Snow does happen but is not common. Ice dams are not a problem here, for example, so local code does not require ice and water shield at the eaves, either. We recently had a wet 6" snow but that is fairly remarkable for us, down here in the southern part of New Mexico. Also to you and tlbean2004, thanks for your thoughts on the metal flashing. We may request metal valley flashings, with ice and water underneath. Metal flashings got the roof through 17 years with no problems, so I'm not sure why to abandon them now...unless the technology of modern underlayments has rendered metal valley flashings obsolete. I thought that was what the roofer was implying, and we weren't sure if that was correct. I'll admit I am also a bit more worried about this roof than I would be if it was not such a low pitch. So you folks are a big help. klem1, thanks for your explanation. Nope, no interest here in removing the 2x2 trim to try to treat the rafter tail end grain (DH would leave me if I suggested that) so it looks like the consensus is to keep a very wide metal flashing. I guess it will be less distracting when painted to match the wood. Our house was built in 1965 and I sure don't want to make uninformed decisions that lead to damage...all for the sake of looks. (As much as I dislike the look of the big drip edge.) I guess a smaller drip edge and rotted wood would not be very pretty, either. I need to figure out which ice and water shield product will work in our hot temperatures, if we want it under the metal valley flashing. One bid specifies GAF Weatherwatch (but the contractor isn't local.) I don't know how heat resistant that product is. I know Grace Ice and Water has the best reputation, but I was surprised to see the Grace website says that only their most expensive product, Grace Ultra, should be used in the desert southwest: Grace IWS Contractor's Guide So if the esteemed Grace Ice & Water Shield (regular product) will not stand up to desert southwest heat, I wonder how any of the (much less expensive) GAF ice and shield products would work. There are a few scary stories in some roofing forums about "bitumen bleed" when ice and shield products are used in higher temps than recommended. (Roofing is not for sissies, have you noticed?)

I've been the victim of three crimes - all preventable. 1.) Being assaulted by a man while walking with a friend down a dark street to an unlit parking lot after Fiesta in San Antonio around 2am. I was 19 and clueless. We were more mentally harmed than physically. 2.) My brand new '98 Thunderbird was broken into while parked on the street in front of my house. It was locked but I should have parked in the driveway and not under the shadow of a large tree to the side of the house. 3.) My sister and I were at a salon in a mall and I was getting my hair cut while she was waiting. A guy with a backpack sat next to her and secretly fished her wallet out of her purse. I had just paid her a few hundred dollars because she was going to stay with me for the summer, babysitting my son. Of course her purse was on the floor, totally laid open with her wallet in plain site. The things I do to keep myself safe: -keep all doors locked all the time - security system - keep lights on in the house (even at night) and have motion sensor flood lights on the exterior - big dog who is encouraged to bark - TV stays on when not at home - reporting suspicious activity - being aware of my surroundings and not putting myself in precarious situations