I use a 29k vent free propane heater as my sole source of heat in my greenhouse.It's one of those "Wall Mounted" heaters they sell at home depot.I guess you could buy a 9k btu ventfree heater,and it should work perfect.I went with propane because of the ice storms we get here every few years.

Our GC had a wonderful exercise for us. His assignment even before we met was to have DH & me write out our top 20 items/ideas for the house (in order of importance). We did this seperarately w/o knowing each other's top 20. We then brought this list to GC on our first meeting. This enabled him to get the big picture. We also took these lists to the architect. Along with this list, was a photo of what we desired & a layout we thought we liked. As the process has developed, all of our smaller, nitpicky items have come out. GC has appreciated the thought process that I've put into it all. He said it has made everything move smoothly. In the end, I will have less daily choices to make. Although I did SO much research prior to all of our meetings, I have welcomed GC's ideas & knowledge, as well. Afterall, we are hiring him for his skills, knowledge, & expertise. He has been doing this 30+ years & I have only just recently begun this process. I definitely would not go into this seeming like a total know-it-all or you will make GC's life quite unpleasant. Also, in all honesty, about 90% of our desires for our home, GC had already planned for, so I would really be looking for the best GC you can find.

Smallhouse: Thank you for the links to your friends new kitchen. I like it! And it is so helpful to see how some ideas have worked out in small space. TBB123: Our upstairs is not too-too convoluted, but we do have a room that was divided in half. Both rooms are useful, but one is a weird shape. If your son ever puts info on his house online, I'd be very curious to snoop into what they've done with it. (I haven't gotten the chance yet, but I will map my other two floors and post the diagrams to this thread.) Brewcat: Happy hunting for renovation ideas. I am going to order a copy of the book you mention. I have read a little bit on rowhouse history, since I live in one and am (barring a massive career shift) setting down roots here. But what I read was not super detailed. I bet the book would be very illuminating. Maybe I could even figure out when our house was built... I have a rough idea but its really rough. Thanks for your observations re: the real estate market. My broad impressions are in line with yours on Fed Hill and Canton. I am uncertain what is true in my own market (Hampden). The market is not, I think, nearly as robust; at least, the home values are not as high as Canton. There has been a noticable uptick in buying and selling since I got here (I bought during the housing crash), and all the sudden people are gutting properties and doing the total overhaul inside that tbb123 and 4kids mentioned. Will the trend continue? It seems very recent, almost like it started last summer. I'm not sure I trust it yet. It does make me feel optimistic about the wisdom of smaller projects, esp if they improve aesthetics. I did try to do a little survey of what was up for sale this spring. A lot of houses have 2 baths, and many of them - not even the totally overhauled homes - have those baths above or below first floor. A lot of people who could use a basement seem to have done so. But it's also not super hard to find places that do have the first floor bath. So if a buyer wants it, she will have a choice of houses, and some will offer it. My suspicion is that, in terms of the market especially, there is wisdom in holding onto the powder room. One reason a person might consider Hampden over some other areas is that you can get a little more space for your money, you may be able to get a little yard, and the prices for the not-totally-overhauled houses is still reasonable. My observation is that this has attracted a lot of couples with babies and toddlers. And that, as some have pointed out, makes the first floor bath an asset. Also, having looked over our house very hard this last weekend, I realize that it might be difficult to find (a lot) more bathroom space on the other floors. So if I have space for a powder room on floor 1, it might be a bad idea to erase it. One advantage of the daylight rowhouse layout is that even if we keep the back partially blocked by the powder room, we could invest in nice windows all along the wall that is not shared with neighbors. It is mostly closed off right now, but it is south-facing and very bright. I suspect it that more windows would really open up and brighten the space.

If you don’t have a problem with a door that’s less than 18 inches from the floor, more power to you Sheilaaus, but I seriously doubt most people would be willing to go that route. I’m 4’11 and had to choose between getting on my knees to reach inside (which I tested at the store) or use a foot stool to see inside the soap dispenser, I chose the later. One plus of the Electrolux is they guarantee that their machines won’t vibrate and are suited for 2nd floors. So far so good. I’m not surprised you like your Whirlpool washer though, I really liked ours and as long as I kept the door open after each wash, I never had a problem with mold or oders. The door of our older Kenmore (like the duet) was much higher than the new models we looked at. It was perfect for someone my height. At least we were fortunate in that the store we bought our Electrolux machines from threw the pedistals in for a fraction of what they usually cost. The machines are pretty on the pedistals, but I hate using a foot stool. :c)