Thanks for the advice. We had to fix up our previous house, a 1950 brick georgian, so we know these types of issues are par for the course (even if we had secretly hoped that this house was a bit better off than the last one). We used this forum a lot when working on the old place and always received good advice, so this seemed like a logical place to begin our research. You are right that natural gas is not an option- something we overlooked, due to the fact that other houses close by do have gas service (our street may be the one of the few in the area that does not have service). Insulation in attic will definitely occur. I intend to bring it up to R-50, if it is not already there (hard to tell with fiberglass on top of what appears to be cellulose). My estimate above was intended to be conservative, based on not knowing the R-value of the cellulose. There is definitely R-30 on top of that, and so the attic is fairly well insulated except for the area underneath the floor, for which we will need to have insulation blown in. We will sit tight on the windows. It is likely the most expensive option anyway, and the advice has been consistent that we are unlikely to get a high enough ROI to make it worth our while. Electric supply has been updated. Would it just be the basement overhead areas that need insulated? I ask because if walls would also be included, I think we would be precluded from going that route, at least in the traditional sense. Our walls "weep" when the temperature outside is dramatically different than what is inside. We just noticed this interesting phenomenon and apparently this is not uncommon for old stone foundation houses. Consequently, I am reluctant to put any insulation against an exterior wall due to mold concerns. As for the attic, we have vents along the peak of the roof. The fans are mounted to two windows in the attic. It seems as though they were intended to serve both roles (pure ventilation of attic and whole house). Given the recent weather I did not necessarily notice a big difference between having the fans on or off, but they did pull a lot of air. We have already had in two HVAC contractors to look at the ducts as part of an estimate to put in a heat pump to supplement our oil heat. Their take is that the ducts are in fairly good condition and sized correctly. When asked about insulating, their response was that it certainly would help, but that the costs may outweigh the intended benefits. Ballpark, do you have any idea how much it would cost to insulate the ducts(per foot of duct)? Finally, did you have any experience with shooting insulation into plaster walls. I suspect we have limited space to work with behind the wall, but any insulation is better than none. Many thanks again for the advice.

We almost lost our 15 month old Cockapoo and we fear it was due to this drug 'Metacam'. We brought our dog to the vet with a slightly sore paw, nothing we were overly concerned about as he was putting weight on the foot and in good spirits. Reluctantly we agreed to our dog being given an antibiotic and an injection of Metacam (we felt this was a bit unnecessary but we trusted the vets opinion and that we were doing the best for our dog). That same day the dog was groggy and lethargic. By that same night our dog was groaning with pain so we gave him half a painkiller prescribed by the vet. The next morning our poor dog couldn't move, he lay unresponsive and couldn't lift his body weight upright. He wasn't eating or drinking a thing! If we touched any part of his body he was in severe pain. Our dog is very energetic with a great appetite and we were very worried! We returned to the vet and found our dog was running a very high temperature. The vet was adamant that this was as a result of his sore paw and possible bone infection and was very critical of the dog breed. Our dog was kept in over night and medicated with paracetamol and an IV antibiotic. Within 24hours our dog was returning to normal. The vet insisted we do an x-ray and nothing showed up. Thankfully we were able to discharge our pet after two nights but found the vet very reluctant to talk about what and how much medication he had prescribed our dog. We have no way to ever know for sure the reason our dog fell unresponsive within a couple of hours but we can't shake the feeling that it has a strong connection with the Metacam he was administered on first meeting the vet. We have also noticed our dog's weight is not correct on his medication label - it is double his weight! Finally, when leaving the vet practice with the prescribed medications, the vet had to call us back as he has prescribed double painkiller doses. The vet carried out a blood test without our knowledge and still has not disclosed the result of this blood test. When asked to discuss our concerns the vet became extremely defensive and condescending towards us. We would love to put our minds at ease and find out if any other dog owners experienced this reaction to Metacam or if it sounds like a over dosage of Metacam?

SG, Thank you so much for your insight--I believe you are a true "dog whisperer"! Let me clarify a few things and ask specific training & environmental questions: First I'll say, due to you and Annz' kind help, I believe I have corrected one of my problems. When I designed our new home I made space under the wall cabinets in the laundry rm for the dogs' kennels--next to each other. I thgt I was so smart doing this, but for my dogs' personalities, this may be one big problem. So hours ago, I moved Tiger's kennel to a different room (pantry next to L. rm) and he went right in! So now they will have their own space--away from each other. ~~I am also not going to allow either to sit under my desk while I am working--maybe that made Pepper (the Wheaton) think Tiger was getting special treatment (?). #2: The dogs do know I am TOP DOG for I, also, use their food & bowls to show my dominance--pretend to eat a kernel from their bowls before putting bowl down--pick up while they are eating & touch them/their food while they are eating. Never a problem--never a growl or resistance. Also, when we pass thru a door outside I am to go first, after I have them sit-stay & wait for me. I have them sit/lay/stay on command from time to time during the day to reinforce this too. ~~A trainer I consulted after the first attack told me that they both knew I was top dog but I did things to allow Pepper to think she was my equal--that we were BOTH top dogs. So I've been doing these things for a long time---more strictly for about a yr--but now you'll see NOT STRICTLY ENOUGH. ***Let me be specific in my info and question: When I open a door to let them out, Pepper does bolt out the door ahead of me about 1/3 of the time. I use my correction sound (Ehhhhh) and she immediately returns to my side to sit/stay until I give her the "OK" to move. (Sometimes just hearing the correction sound from me, she stops & returns to my side.) Specifically, WHEN I say sit/stay--she ALWAYS obeys. If I give NO command, she will start thru the door. ~~~Writing this out, I see I'm slacking and creating top dog DOUBT in her mind. So she isn't totally convinced that I am top dog? Or am I teaching her that I AM top dog but if she "assumes a top dog behavior" there is no real consequence besides "re-doing the situation" and moving on? SO, I need to go back to square one and take better control--using a lead to control, give commands EVERY TIME AND be persistent. But is it as "simple" as that? I can & will do these things correctly now but what else am I doing or what else can I do. Surely my "allowing" her to even consider disobeying my top-dog status isn't the only reason she's "comfortable" risking punishment in order to attack Tiger? I believe Tiger knows Pepper is Alpha dog and is comfortable with it. It has to be ME & my behavior that affects Peppers attacks. Hope I've been somewhat clear about what I do & don't do in order for you all to help give me instruction & advice. tks again in advance, CB

non funziona Claudia. Il cartongesso e' un materiale che flette e appoggiato in questo modo i pezzi sono fissi a due elementi distinti, quello del muro e quello sopra la porta, quindi si muoveranno in modo indipendente come e' normale che sia e si apriranno le crepe. Nelle giunte si usa il nastro di carta o uno fatto a rete, ma il problema qui e' la giunta. Quello che e' stato proposto purtroppo si tratta di un taccone e prima o poi Lei si imbattera nelle famigerate crepe. Il cartogesso posato bene presenta giunte solo tra panelli superiori ed inferiori e negli angoli come nella foto che ho mandato. Oppure in muri particolarmenti lunghi le giunte tra due pannelli in cui entrambi appoggiano su uno stud doppio e' normale. Ma per le aperture non si puo fare. Stiamo ristrutturando casa e TUTTE le finestre, porte e aperture varie presentavano lo stesso tipo di crepe. Io e mio marito abbiamo buttato giu TUTTO il cartogesso di tutta la casa e mio marito ha posato quello nuovo come ti ho detto, il cartogesso vecchio presentava il tipo di giunte che hanno fatto a casa tua, quindi di questo puoi trarre le conclusioni...