I wish we could do seed. It just isn't possible with the grass we selected. Also, the grass has to be complete when we move in. From the UF Extension: With one exception (not Empire Zoysia), zoysiagrasses must be planted vegetatively by sod, plugs, or sprigs. I may request smaller plants on the inner courtyard, as that will be hidden mostly by the front gate & wall of podocarpus. That is a good idea. The landscape budget was set by one of the landscape subs, so i don't think it is out of line to want to stay in budget. I also just think the 2nd sub was trying to rip us a new one with the sod, so I am hesitant to trust them. Our GC really doesn't want us to DIY anything. He offers basically a lifetime warranty on the home (his quality of workmanship, not the obvious like normal wear & tear), & he wants all work done by his subs so he can guarantee his work. I definitely am capable of doing the shrub plantings, if I could get him to agree to it. My brother is a small builder in another part of the state. He said in our price-range, most people get ripped off because the subs get away with overcharging, the GCs tolerate it, & the homeowners don't always do their homework. I have reached out to a third landscaper for a quote. If she comes back high, then we will cross that bridge. This post was edited by wishiwasinoz on Wed, Oct 23, 13 at 10:42

We used a Valspar paint in Summer Gray in DS's condo garage. Please note that I do not recall which line of Valspar it was. We used it because DS received a gift certificate for Lowe's. We also used the primer recommended by the paint counter customer service person. The walls were finished about six months before, I believe. Pretty much builder grade everything. The Valspar paint we used was horrible. Spattered, required three coats and still wasn't great coverage-wise. It was thin, messy, smelly, and saggy. I'm nothing like a pro painter, but I get uniformly great results with Farrow and Ball, and I have done fine with certain SW lines, although I dislike the odor. (Oh, and a pro painter who was my GC's sub and used SW exclusively put the wrong color labeled with the right name in a guest house and no one made good on it--so paint mix goofs do happen, even in the expensive stuff). I have used Frazee happily in the past, too. Perhaps because we told the paint guy it was for a condo garage, he recommended the junkiest paint. I don't know. To spend so much time and effort for such poor results . . . I won't go near Valspar again.

OK - I'll play devil's advocate & try to make a case for house #2. The obvious plus - and it's a HUGE plus - getting a great deal for the area AND being able to pay CASH with money left in the bank is nothing to sneeze at. Ok - so it's a bit smaller than you're used to. Maybe that would be a liberating thing? Get rid of all the meaningless stuff that you tend to accumulate over time. Our first house was a 1910 farmhouse w/ about 900 sq ft. We got a great deal on it, did some really cute cosmetic stuff & ended up selling it for about double 7 years later. It was so small that if we bought something, something had to go to make room for it. We ended up with some great pieces of furniture because we had to be really selective! Another positive with a smaller house is that it costs so much less to renovate. We put in great counter tops, flooring etc and it didn't cost a fortune because we weren't having to buy zillions of square feet of high end products. Unless I was 100% sure I'd be in this next purchase for 10+ years and have kids there so I'd actually NEED the extra room, I wouldn't do it. Having #2 free & clear would be a gift that should not be taken lightly. What a weight off your shoulders not to have a big mortgage! We moved to a much larger house with much more land. Love it, don't regret it - but we plan to go back to small house at retirement. Already got that house (1000 sq ft) and are in the midst of renovations. In the meantime we'll use it for weekends / vacations. It was a super bargain in a great location, so I know what you mean! Is it our perfect dream house? No - but it has some great things - like a view - that we'll really enjoy. It's a bit too small, but then how much stuff do we really need? So - there are a lot of good things about small houses. I'm glad you're going back to look at #2! Good luck with whatever you decide. You're young - no decision can be that bad, can it??? PS - We just went thru this on buying a new TV.... do we really need a 46"-50" set when the 40"-42" would work just fine for us????? I'll bet you can guess where we ended up.

Roof top pools are a bit tricky. You have to build a separate vessel with drainage, and build the pool inside of that. The reason is capture any water that will leak from the pool, and it will in it's lifetime, and allow the drains in the shell to wick the water away from the building structure and any living space or rooms below. A structural engineer who has experience in a build of this is paramount. This job is not for the faint-hearted. There is quite a bit details to be factored. An architect will only give designs unless they are versed in structural engineering also. Commenting on pools being a maintenance nightmare, I have to disagree. Systems available today are automated to take out the guess work of chemical treatment for instance. Automatic cleaners allow for daily cleaning. Computer systems allow you to monitor and control your pool from your computer or your smart phone. High efficiency equipment available now keeps cost down to operate. Automatic pool covers keep pools protected from debris, unwanted animals, people and reduce chemical and heat consumption.