Thanks, Jim. It has taken us a year and half to ALMOST have it just to the point where we aren't constantly working on big maintenance issues. Next year's project will be replacing all the heat and a/c ducts since the insulation is beginning to peel off them. I'm saving up for that one. I asked for ...

Our home had been unoccupied for several years before we bought it, so available funds had to be used for repairs (roof, wiring, air conditioning, insulation, plumbing, etc.). I had to "make do" with the furniture and cosmetic stuff, so I put a lot of sweat equity and cleaning to work. I s...

Since South Carolina is in a years-long drought, I tried to plant things that would need little water and the Japanese garden has only some moss and mostly just pebbles. I wanted something to provide a decent view from the porch but that needed little maintenance and the japanese garden gives us a n...

I'm sure it will and I hope you'll be as happy with yours as we are. One thing that I noticed with the porches that most of the people in our area did was they enclosed the top area with beams. We chose to leave that part open and screened it all the way from the floor to the peak of the roof. It gi...

There are actually three support columns across the back. Part of the porch is outside the screened area (about 4 feet wide I believe) and is where the stairs go up. There are two columns there and one more column on the other side. The roof of the porch is just underneath the roof of the house and ...

Yanita, you are soooooo welcome. I'm also really glad that I ordered Mark's book. I've really learned a great deal. I had no idea it would really turn out to be as nice as it is, but it increased the size of the house by 25%. If someday down the road we ever sell the place, someone could close all o...

Thanks, Jim. I must give my kindest regards to Yanita for her advice. I had thought about just putting one of those aluminum structures against the back wall, but since we're in a hurricane zone thought better of it (thanks, Yanita). It was a pretty big project and will be the last one we can handle...

Before it got toooooo hot, I put this little flower bed in at the side of my house that faces the street. There are mature azaleas all along the front. The small tree is a dwarf spruce that should only reach about 12 feet in height when its full grown. In front of that I put in daylillies in yellow ...

Finally I have loadable pictures of my new deck/porch. Beginning of construction: http://i108.photobucket.com/albums/n40/dandjbarrett/porch%20construction/IMG_0170.jpg Extra porch we put under roof but is not screened. It is the entry that keeps all the beach sand, etc. off the main porch (and out o...

Thanks, Yanita. Your advice has always been well-thought, planned and above par. It is much appreciated.

No thank you. Its all I can do to get on a stepladder!!

I had a hard time choosing because I like ALL of your choices!! I finally settled on the beach, but the bbq one and park trips were hard to pass over!

Depending on when you got your est. for the electrical work you need to remember that the prices for copper wire have gone the same direction as gas and almost as fast. Greg You're so right, Greg. Before my husband retired early this year he worked on a project where a bandit (or two) cut through t...

:( Hating the beginning of hurricane season. Our place is on the neck of an island south of Myrtle Beach, so I'm seriously thinking of closing it up, shutting off the water, pulling the breakers on the outdoor power and water heater and staying in Virginia for much of the summer starting in mid-June...

:lol: We felt pretty good about what we had to pay for the construction since the contractor was great, got all the permits and knew every little regulation/rule, etc. and the inspections were a breeze. The electrician however was about twice what we'd hoped to spend. :shock: He did do a few extras ...