I have sometimes suffered some phototoxicity apparently from applying oil between 10 and 14 days following Captan. The label of either the oil, Captan or both clearly warns of incompatibility but there is no written indication that residue from Captan could create a problem this much later. Only certain varieties, particularly Tomkins King have had this kind of response to so late an interval between Cap and oil- also pears are particularly sensitive. Oil probably wouldn't leave as lasting a residue-it evaporates very quickly, at least if you use some kind of summer oil. I like Purespray. The 10 to 14 day interval for PC protection is for Imidan only. Most other available materials will require a tighter interval and at least an additional spray unless you are very attentive or lucky. Imidan is exceptionally rain-fast for a non-systemic. The manufacturer doesn't even recommend a sticker. As far as historic PC protection results, you never can be sure what your chemicals are doing for you unless you see the PC in your orchard and then spray. In recent years in the Northeast PC has become somewhat less predictable on some sites based on my observations. In 2 of the last 4 years I have seen unsprayed sites produce apples without PC damage. These are large trees with lots of apples. PC often leaves the russeted old-strain Yellow Delicious alone as well. Too bad I don't much like them although they're a lot better than the new strains. PC disagrees with me and attacks those newer strains. Imidan is not nationally restricted and the government is stearing its use away from homeowners because they don't trust them to follow the label. It now has a 3-day REI, probably because it can be tracked indoors, especially off a dew covered grass. Once it is brought indoors it is almost as durable as DDT, outside it breaks down quickly. I wouldn't do any hand thinning of fruit until about 2 weeks after a spray myself which is very inconvenient. On varieties I'm almost sure will overcrop I remove a lot of flowers because I don't use chemical thinners. The Imidan label says not for residential use but according to code I now believe this means indoors, from what I read while studying for certification renewel. I called the NYDEC and was told that it is OK to use in resedential areas. In NY it is restricted to commercial applicators unless you are a commercial grower. In CT it is sometimes available from suppliers catering to commercial landscapers and is not restricted. It can legally be sent through the mail 1 package at a time. I can even have it sent to NY from another state even if I don't prove I'm licensed to use it here. Of course it would be illegal for me to use it if I wasn't licensed.

I'm not so much concerned with rpm #'s. I only use them to determine where I am in set up mode when I do the manual trial. When I look to set the max gpm (for a spa jet trial), I ramp it to an estimated gpm based on the most efficient velocity for a given pipe size. It is then that i look at the rpm to see where we are. If it's at 3450, I'll ramp down until I see a change in that rpm number. At that point, we know anything above that gpm setting is just waste. Still, max rpm is not always the effieicent speed. You now look to the filter psi. Where is it and how is it responding to the pump flow change? If I'm at 20+psi and I can ramp down the flow without changing the jet action, I'll keep going down as far as I can. I don't bottom out as I know my filter getting dirty will cut flow. It just establishes my range and I find a good spot in that range. Your previous numbers did not make sense. what you are reporting now is more realistic. Again, you're really looking a wattage. What is the consumption and is it where you want to be? Under 300 is awesome as long as you are seeing results in the pool and who cares what the rpm or gpm is. Those are all subjective to the installation. 15gpm is a real slow turn and most are not programmed for that. But, if you're getting good skimming go for it. I try not to program under 20. As far as the impeller goes, we use a service set of tweezers. They're long and with the proper, educated feel of what it is supposed to be, you'll know if it's blocked. As times, it will feel clean but palm pods, toy gun pellets, etc can jam the inside of the impeller and you'll never know unless you pull the motor. Where are you located?

This is all great advice, very helpful. Beckysharp, thanks for all the links and the detailed lists. This is extremely useful to me, I'm so grateful for all the info!! Kristen S, I'd absolutely love to chat with you. I don't know how to PM on this site but I'll see if I can figure it out and reach out to you!! I was definitely expecting this project to take years, which is why we bought a house to live in that's good enough to be stuck in for a while. We planned to spend the next year (or longer if needed) finding the land, which also involves a question of which city we'll ultimately wind up in. We figured it'd take a few years after that to build. I was guessing 5-6 years total, my husband was guessing 2-4 but he's an incurable optimist. I also figured that I should spend a lot of time and energy on planning, and I should research everything and teach myself as much as I can. I've spent the last six months reading up on different construction methods, materials, etc. I'm nowhere near an expert and still consider myself a noob but even that much education has been helpful so far! And of course, doing a remodel (which I'm currently in the middle of) has been a good education. It's forced me to learn abut all the different material choices, and I've already learned from a few mistakes. My biggest worry is still finding the right architect and builder, but this has helped me figure out how (an when) to start my search. My husband and I have been going to open houses nearly every weekend for a year to gather ideas. 99.9% of the houses on the market feel very similar when it comes right down to it. A couple have had one or two outstanding details we'd want to copy. I haven't yet come across any with more unusual finishes: polished concrete floors, countertops that are anything besides granite or quartz, steel construction with massive room span and walls entirely made of windows, smart houses -- haven't seen any in our search to date. These are things you see on pinterest or on TV, not at open houses! I think for that stuff, I probably will have to rely on chatting with people, especially online, to learn their experiences. Any and all advice is appreciated!

Just_janni thanks for your response. I actually feel like our design is very functional but I appreciate the perspective of others. The wall ovens are side opening so the landing zone for that is the counter to the right of the range top. That makes it easy to open with my left hand and grab the food with my right and pivot a step to place it on that countertop. I also don’t camp out in front of the ovens causing crowds, I put stuff in and pull stuff out and I’m gone. The fridge and freezer landing zone is the space left of the island sink as that will be my prep area so it’s all in one place. The microwave has a countertop below it for those needs. I wanted a clean up zone and I have a large one on the other side. The right side of the island is where I will store my every day dishes so that is the natural plating area for meals. I will also put my baking gear on that side of the range. That side won’t get as much use as the other side but it is a very large kitchen so it’s ok. I also didn’t want to have a bunch of stuff on that side because it’s the pathway to the laundry room and master suite. I think I will add a pantry door to the other side of the pantry, near garage/mudroom, so that is a walk through, and feel that will improve the flow.