ok we are wanting to put in a 14ft diameter circle area to place a fire pit on with a path leading to the seating area. what all will we need to do this with out going broke and the easiest. we want a red outline and a cobble stone-ish inside. step b step would be great!

Cool

The promotion you’ve been waiting for came through but nothing ever comes easily. Now you have to move to another city, and that means selling your house, getting new accommodations miles away, all the associated hassles of moving, and it all has to get done in two weeks. If you think that you can just list your home with a real estate agent and have a closing in two weeks and get on with your life then obviously you have never tried to sell a house before. But now there is a way to sell your house quickly and get the cash you need to start your new life.

There are companies that specialize in buying real estate quickly. An agent from one of these companies can give you a quote on your house in 24 hours, and if you like the price then they’ll come over and take a closer look at the house before giving you a quote in writing. The whole process can be wrapped up in just a few weeks, and you can be on your way with cash in hand and a load off your mind. You don’t even have to pay a real estate agent’s commission.

This method of selling a home is also valuable if you have equity in your house but cash flow problems. For instance if your credit rating isn’t good enough to get you a loan, then you can’t afford to buy another house and pay living expenses while all of your assets are tied up in the first home. A quick sale will allow you to put cash in the bank so you have something to live on while you are house hunting. You may even be able to arrange to stay in your house and pay rent until you find something.

Another scenario where this method of selling a home is useful is for divorcing couples. If neither party wants to continue living in the house, then it has to be sold so the asset can be split. In a divorce both parties are likely to need money quickly and this can be the perfect solution. A specialist company will be able to judge with a disinterested eye what the property is worth and the divorcing couple will be able to separate themselves from the past and start new lives with money to pave the way. Or one party can stay in the house and pay rent while making arrangements for the future. This is especially useful when children are involved. They may even be able to buy back the house at some point in the future.

You can find these specialist companies online and you can apply online for a quick quote that will only take 24 hours. You have nothing to lose, and if the price is right you can let them inspect the property more closely to give you a written quote. The whole process can be over in just a few weeks and you can be on your way with no loose ends to tie up later and cash in the bank to ease the transition.

Oliver Wingrove
http://www.articlesbase.com/real-estate-articles/the-quick-way-to-sell-your-home-706722.html

Years ago I attended a H&G show and saw a vendor demonstrating something like a 10-powertools-in-1 kind of a setup. I remember that it can lathe, route, cut, grind, and a vacuum attachment plus more. The salesman made a "round on a post" (as the end of a leg on a table or chair or bedpost) in just a few minutes. And the whole thing can be rolled away and stored in a rather economical space. Anyone know the name of this tool / vendor?

http://www.shopsmith.com/markvsite/index.htm

Guest author, Joe Ahmann, owner of Ahmann Design Inc, has kindly written this article to help you in your house plan search.

So you’ve bought your home lot and you’re ready to by the perfect house plan, but you don’t know where to start. There are important questions that you should ask your designer before buying that house plan, and I can help. I have been designing custom home plans and stock house plans for 20 years, and I have compiled a list of questions you should ask your home designer before buying.

1. How long have you been designing house plans? The more experience your home plan designer has, the more detailed his or her plans are likely to be. Stock house plans experience is also important because with all of the competition for online house plan exposure, there are plenty of home designers out there with little or no experience.

2. Do you design custom house plans? You think you’ve found the perfect house plan, but you want to make a few “tweaks”, and before you know it, your revision bill is 2-3 times the cost of the original home plan. A good designer will recognize the fine line between designing a custom home plan for you and spending too much time on revising a stock house plan.

3. Can I return my house plan if I decide not to build it? Most stock plan brokers online have an “all sales are final” policy, so make sure you check it out BEFORE you click the “buy” button. But there are some house plan companies and home plan designers WILL allow you to return your house plan with a minimal restocking fee, so be sure to ask.

4. Why can’t I return my house plan? Because there are so many house plans sold online to different parts of the world, it is hard to police theft. Bottom line is that there are many people out there buying a house plan and building it more than one time, which is a copyright infringement unless agreed to by the house plan owner. Home designers have limited resources to check to see if you are telling the truth or not, so most have adopted the “no returns” policy.

5. Will I need to have my house plan reviewed by a local architect? House plans sold through the large brokers online are required to be 2006 IRC compliant at a minimum, but some areas of the country require special additions to the plan that are specific to that area. It’s best to check with your local building official before buying a house plan.

6. Do you have references I can talk with? Most home plan designers will not have a problem giving you names of past clients, and if they do, reconsider using them!

7. What is your timeframe for completing my house plan? If you are hiring a home plan designer to draw a custom home, or modify an existing stock house plan, ask up front how long it will take so there are no surprises later. Many home designers who sell their house plans online are a “one man shop” and may require more time to complete the work.

8. Do you have photos of the house plan I like? Many times the house plan designer will have photos of a stock plan that’s already been built, so it’ always good to ask.

9. Who owns my house plan when it’s finished and paid for? The original designer is the owner of the copyright of your house plan, even if you’ve made changes to a stock plan.

What are your payment terms? Some home plan designers will require an up-front deposit to begin the project, and it’s always a good idea to find out ahead of time how payment will be handled.

sumeetha Gowda
http://www.articlesbase.com/interior-design-articles/10-questions-to-ask-your-designer-before-buying-a-house-plan-752221.html

See if you can advice.

….Can anyone help please? I’ve got Grappie-Bingles* swarming round the property?

and it looks like they’re planning a raid on the ripening fruit of our Nepalese Cherry-Plum cactus. Please, please hurry as the danger is real & imminent. What should i do???

(any vulgar or serious answerers will get blocked quicker than you can say? …….pigeon-stool!)

—————————LEEEEEEEEEEET ME TELL YOU——
DONT MOVE A MUSCLE! those nasty buggers had me doubled over backwards, paralyzed with nails sprouting out of my elbows when i attempted to seize them!. they’re related to Bowtruckles (these buggers track around Bows) and so they bite if you intervene.
ADVICE : shut all doors, windows or any other opening to the property; take off all current clothing and incinerate; next FULL MOON, you MUST dance around the Herry-Hub Shrub and recite the three witches passages in ‘MACBETH’……
"eye of newt, essesnse of salamander…………"

and now I have a sprout type thing coming from the ground so i pulled it out and nothing was there so i put it back so my question is how long does it take for potatoes to be done and where is the potato found when it’s done and what’s w/ the sprout or whatever it is coming out of the ground
thank you alot

After you have planted the eye of the potato it starts to grow. That is what you are seeing coming from the ground. Eventually the plants will produce flowers. 2-3 weeks after the plants flower they will begin to produce potatoes. The potato is produced from the root of the plant. You have to dig them up. The smaller potatoes are usually called new potatoes and are delicious boiled when fresh. You can leave them in the ground and they will mature to full size.

People sometimes stay away from their home for prolonged periods during the holidays. Unfortunately this means their house is left unprotected which can put both the house and their personal property in danger. Burglars use the owner’s absence to their own advantage. They are well aware that people travel during the holiday season and use this time to break into those unprotected houses while the owners are away from home.

A burglar will always choose houses that have the least amount of obstacles to entering quickly and easily. But the very first thing they check is whether the owner of the house is at home and next, how long he or she will be away from home. So you have to do something to avoid this risk. The best way to protect your house is to make your house look as if it’s occupied. You can do this in many different ways. Here is a list of 10 steps that will give the illusion that you are at home. These simple precautions will ensure the safety of your house and precious belongings.

The first step is to stop your mail and your newspaper delivery. You can contact your post office and ask them not to deliver mail when you are away. It is easy to keep the newspaper delivery on hold and you just call your newspaper delivery service directly. Or you can ask a friend or neighbor to pick up your mail and newspapers and hold them for you until you return. The reason behind this precaution is that letters piling up in your mailbox and a collection of newspapers on your doorway (or worse, blown all over your lawn by the wind) clearly indicates that you are not at home and haven’t been there for several days.

Don’t leave a phone recording that says that you are away from home. Better to record a simple message that you are busy but will call back shortly. Don’t forget this tip. An experienced burglar can easily manage to find your home phone number and can quickly find out that you are away from home by listening to your detailed message that tells him exactly the information he needs to plan his break-in – not only that you are away, but when you will be coming back!

Make some arrangements so that your lights come on in the evening. You can ask your neighbor or friend to turn your lights on in the evening. Or you can buy an inexpensive timer that will turn your lights on and off at specific intervals. Use the same idea to turn your TV or radio on and off at regular times.

Ask your neighbor to park his or her car in your driveway or on the street in front of your house. This will create a false impression that someone is at home. Hire a house sitter who will stay at your house while you are gone. Unless your house sitter is a friend this can be expensive. Ask your neighbors to keep an eye on your house and to inform the police immediately if they see anything unusual. Give your emergency contact information to your neighbor so they can notify you in a case of emergency.

Check to make sure you have locked all your doors and windows securely. If there are other access points such as a garage door or gate to the yard, lock these as well. Another safety tip is to store all of your valuables (such as jewelry and important papers) in a safe deposit box in the bank. This will ensure the security of your treasured and expensive possessions. There’s really no point in keeping them at home while you are gone. If you don’t have a safe deposit box in your bank, you can arrange for one. At least store your valuable things in a safe.

Be sure to turn your alarm system on before you leave (if you have one). In addition to the alarm system you can install a motion detector. The last tip is to sign up for the alarm system monitoring service which notifies the police if an alarm goes off in your absence.

Follow these tips and you will be sure to have an enjoyable, tension-free vacation.

Jason Spencer
http://www.articlesbase.com/home-improvement-articles/protect-your-house-during-the-holidays-82481.html