It seems that it is pretty common to put it in a cabinet next to the range. When that cabinet has drawers, it might be behind a drawer with the drawer shortened to allow space for it. There is usually a a couple of inches of dead space behind the drawers so the drawer doesn't have to be shortened by much and it doesn't have to be shortened all the way across - the back of the drawer box could just step in to allow space where the valve needs it. A drawer (or a couple of drawers to allow shoulder room) can be taken out pretty quickly - probably more quickly than the range can be pulled out. If the valve can be behind the range right next to the cabinet wall, an opening in the cabinet wall could allow access without pulling out the range and without needing to notch a drawer. There was one person who had a valve with a flat face and a hole that operates with a key (like is often used in the floor to turn on and off gas for a fireplace) mounted in the face frame of a cabinet below her rangetop. I wonder if it would be acceptable to mount a valve like that on the wall so that it is operated from the other side of the wall. Our gas rangetop is in our island. We have a 12" deep cabinet behind the cabinet with the rangetop so we routed the gas pipe through that and put the valve there. It is out of the way not in our prime storage area but easy to reach. Once you are prepared with ideas, you should talk to your GC directly. If he is any good, he should know what the local code and inspectors are likely to accept. You can bounce some ideas around.

The biggest threat to homes from brush fires is not from direct contact with the primary flames, but from the embers they send up. Such is why in the aftermath of many brush fires, one can see burned homes at random hundreds of yards away from the blackened hillsides which actually came into contact with the fire. So while it may be tempting to think sprinklers turned outward might offer the home a protective barrier from encroaching fire contact, the odds are actually higher in the event of wildfire that your sprinklers would be spraying fire-less brush as your home behind the sprinklers burned. The brush clearance was the best thing to do (as the odds of embers reaching your home decline with the distance they must travel), but I also echo the advice of others regarding checking the vents (the weak spot of many San Diego homes that fell to wild fire in the 2000's) and that it would be more practical to turn your sprinklers inward toward your home rather than outward. Your neighbor with the sprinklers on his roof seems to be on the right track too with regard to dousing wind blown embers before they land on his/her roof or enter his/her vents.

Hi Autumn hopefully your new home, however tight, includes an outdoor-air ventilation system. Basically, a dedicated fan that exchanges indoor air with outdoor air. Energy raters, home performance contractors and some HVAC professionals can evaluate and advise if not. For health more than humidity. There is no such thing as too tight. The tighter the better. Your descritpions sound like classic leaky, inefficient house to me. Dry, leaking winter air requiring excessive heating during the cold season and infiltrating humid summer air the wrongly sized AC, can't deal with in the warm season. Could be wrong just sayin. Strive for cooktops vented to the outdoors and if having home performance contractors out to evaluate, have them check bath vent fans. They should be exhausting at least 50 CFM, most dont. Keep the bath door closed while showering and vent until moisture is gone. Easy ways to control big sources. A lot of moisture comes from the ground which is harder to fix on existing construction. Hopefully you don't have a crawlspace and maybe a home performance contractor can make suggestions for the foundation. Exterior grading adjustments uphill of my old home have stopped basement water intrusion, keeping it much drier. For vulnerable foundations lacking appropriate finish grading, gutters should be used and maintained with reckless abandon. I feel most east coast climates require at least some summer air-conditioning, even in MI. Mini-split heat pumps are a good solution but don't settle for HVAC contractor sizing and brand recommendations. Try to find a third party to evaluate needs for load sizing and brand. One can probably lower energy bills by offsetting some of the gas-burning. Lower energy costs plus my friends in PA and uncle in WY appreciate your concerns over their well water quality from fracking threats.

"Husband said he likes the "golf course look." I guess he was talking about only the fairways since most golf courses have beautiful plantings on their courses. Sigh. They took down every old oak and large tree on their property destroying a beautiful woodland garden in half of their backyard area that was planted by the previous owner." And that kind of humancentric, bulldozer mentality is exactly what has killed off HALF of this planet's flora and fauna in just the past 40 years!!! Two million acres, an area the size of Yellowstone National Park, are lost to development each year We have converted 62,500 sq miles (40 million acres) to suburban lawn in the U.S. Because 54% of the U.S. is now in cities or suburbs, and 41% is in agriculture, biodiversity will have to survive in those areas if it is going to survive at all. 96% of all terrestrial birds rear their young on insects. No insects; no baby birds. 90% of all insects that eat plants require native plants to complete their development. So, here's more of the solution: Brad Lancaster's permaculture home in Tucson AZ "I learned the expensive way, by removing 30 100ft tall redwoods after they destroyed my pool, irrigation, and sewer pipes. But thankfully i got rid of them before the rotten ones fell on the school bus stop in front of my house. $50k cost was a wake up call." Or more simply, people just shouldn't be building their houses in the middle of a full-grown forest to begin with. Isn't the loss of 30 massive 100' trees, and all the wildlife they supported...the real wake-up call here?