I purchased Johnson hand-scraped walnut flooring in 2012 from a local dealer. They installed it through the entire first floor living and kitchen area of my home and did a great job. The total cost was ~$28,000. The floors were beautiful. My wife and I were happy. Our selection of this product was based on a lot of research on websites like this one. Our final decision was based on reviews, perceived quality, and warranty. Price was a factor, but not as critical as the other factors mentioned since we planned to enjoy these floors for as long as we were around. Only my wife and I live in the home and I always remove my shoes when coming into the house and we keep the floors like furniture. About a year ago. I started noticing that the urethane finish on the ridges of the hand scraped finish were fading and dull. It has become very noticeable. I called the supplier and was glad to know I had a 35 year warranty and the issue with my floor would be backed by Johnson. Today, I received a response from Johnson stating that my problem was normal wear and tear and not covered under warranty. I thought I did my due diligence on the front end by selecting what I thought was a reputable manufacturer with a solid customer support network. Knowing what I know today, I would not recommend these floors if you need more than 4 years of service. My wife and I were really disappointed with the lack of support we were provided and I am only posting this to provide insight for others who may be considering a decision like the mistake we made by purchasing Johnson floors.

Whoa, if you get a degree in industrial arts you get to acquire carpentry textbooks along the way?!? Sweet! Kim, I've always enjoyed/appreciated your contributions; given the wisdom of trial and error that was behind them, I see why they stood out. My mom got us a couple of the Reader's Digest fixit books (have to run downstairs, one of them might be the very one you have); I like the way they are encyclopedic and detailed. I know Jane Powell but not the Small Houses books (do you mean The Not So Big stuff by Susanka, or the Small House anthologies from Fine Homebuilding?) Thanks for mentioning books; I think I might start a reference book thread for this forum. Hey Casey, THANKS for taking the bait. And you are NOT a bloody genius, you are an old house DEITY for crying out loud! Would you please start your own show on youtube? Or maybe just a house tour? Even Petch house has youtube videos. Or, do you already have a project blog and everyone knows about it but me? Actually for someone with a degree in historic preservation, I am impressed with how low-key your posts come across; they read more like an old friend who's "been there" and wants to pass along lessons learned along the way, it's really very nice and encouraging. But if you ever want to browbeat me feel free; I would take it as a compliment. To be honest if I post about something I'm thinking of doing to my house, and you don't opine, I figure one of two things is going on: 1) you're not on the forum; or 2) you're politely disapproving. Most of the time I assume it's 2 because you seem to be pretty consistent around here. But I just want to say, and I hope I speak for many, that I love love love your posts, especially when I'm searching on a problem I'm trying to solve and something from you pops up! (PS I finally got around to using that general finishes gel varnish you recommended and it was fantastic, thank you; I will post photos to the woodworking forum sometime before the next census.) Oh, and I love the way you "aged" the color tones in the new pine beadboard in your kitchen; reminds me of the pine in my grandmother's kitchen. When I was really little I used to look at the gleaming pores and think it was the closest wood could get to 24K gold.

USDA loans money under several different programs thru differing agencies and each have their own requirements. Some are just for purchase of land and if there is a house on the land they do not care. Others if it for a house and a small amount of property they care more. Go to the website's for the particular type of loan to read the requirements.

I saw this sign at the Palm Springs Flea Market frequently: This is the extent of my experience with Venmo, but it seems to be the preferred payment at this flea market. I've seen similar signs at farmers' markets. When my sister paid me for some work I did for her, she used Zelle to make a payment to my commercial bank account. However, Zelle does not allow me to make payments from this account. My sister is a banking lawyer, and this is what she is most familiar with. I tend to use Paypal instead, but Paypal does keep a percentage of the payment, just like credit cards do. I found this out when I was an Amazon seller. When I send money to someone, I use a check, and the only cost is the postage and the cost of the check, but my checks cost more than the postage, and so there is that.