hsp's Profile

Ditto MikefromNJ - they are awesome for flash use. The regular batteries would be dead in 45-60 minutes and the Eneloops just go for hours.

After that experience I also had a ton ordered for work - since all of the keyboards and mice are wireless - so we could stop going through a case of batteries a month. It's been working out really well.

You know what would be really cool for that floor and would solve the obscenity issue - liquid crystal privacy glass. A switch would be triggered when someone steps on the glass and no more see through floor.

somewhatperplexed - I would run far far away from a contractor who tries to convince you to work without a permit. A homeowner explicitly choosing not to pull permits is a slightly different situation and I think the contractor should be a bit leery of that job.

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A start/end date only works if there are no change orders or unforeseen hold-ups with the project or if you're going to include bonus/penalty clauses. I think it would actually be better to ask for a timeline with good faith estimates (GFE) as to when each phase of the job is expected to be started/completed. This would also give a GFE of the targeted completion date.

I would add that when you're looking at your various bids, make sure that the contractors are bidding on exactly the same thing - a line item bid would be helpful here so you can see apples to apples and better understand where the numbers are coming from. A huge discrepancy in pricing would be more likely to mean something is being left out vs. a quality issues (provided the contractors are also comparatively experienced).

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Elizabeth II - Quality work takes time and it costs money. You absolutely get what you pay for when it comes to construction. If you got a better price but rushed your contractor I would expect to see some minor issues here and there. You still would have been right to ask him to fix any mistakes.

No way. All of our neighbors have horrible beige vinyl siding. Granted, part of our little bungalow has white vinyl siding but the front is wonderful red painted cedar shingles. We're going to update the red this spring. I also have a turquoise and black mailbox and art deco house numbers. It's safe to say we're one of the few (if not the only) "art/design" houses on the block.

Patrick too - Thanks to a post on AT sometime last year, I discovered that a much loved side table in my home, which was left by a former tenant in a long ago apartment, was actually a Heywood Wakefield. I thought it was rather cool that I had inadvertently ended up with a piece of design history, because I really LIKE knowing about design history, but it's not a tidbit that I would bring up in conversation because it really means nothing to anyone but me.

Love of the history of things is the same reason I searched the NYPL for historic photos of my neighborhood and looked up notable residents.

If you'd like a similar, but less expensive, option take a look at Room & Board's Loring sofa.

Eh, we just put things where we wanted them regardless of the baseboard. If they're slightly less efficient that way, oh well; I throw on a sweater and slippers to warm up.

We're planning to rip up our floor and baseboards and install radiant heat instead.

Phat Fabric - http://www.phatfabric.com/
SewMamaSew - http://sewmamasew.com/store/index.php
Pink Chalk Fabrics - http://www.pinkchalkfabrics.com/
Hancock's of Paducah - http://hancocks-paducah.com/

The mailroom clerk at my office kindly supplied about half of our packing box needs. The other half came from a new tenant at hubby's office building (he moved in, we took his boxes). After we moved, we brought all of the boxes back to hubby's office for a colleague that will be moving soon as well. Those boxes have been well used!

I bake and I'm a stickler for doing it all from scratch (I really enjoy the whole process). I was given a small book of desserts from Paula Deen (who I generally enjoy), unfortunately at least half of the recipes call for grocery store cake mixes. NOT interested!