Glyphosate toxicity Glyphosate has a United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Toxicity Class of III (on a I to IV scale, where IV is least dangerous) for oral and inhalation exposure.[46] Nonetheless, as with other herbicides, the EPA requires that products containing glyphosate carry a label that warns against oral intake, mandates the use of protective clothing, and instructs users not to re-enter treated fields for at least 4 hours.[46][47] Glyphosate does not bioaccumulate and breaks down rapidly in the environment.[48] Human The EPA considers glyphosate to be noncarcinogenic and relatively low in toxicity.[46] The EPA considered a "worst case" dietary risk model of an individual eating a lifetime of food derived entirely from glyphosate-sprayed fields with residues at their maximum levels. This model indicated that no adverse health effects would be expected under such conditions.[46] Effects on fish and amphibians Glyphosate is generally less persistent in water than in soil, with 12 to 60 day persistence observed in Canadian pond water, yet because glyphosate binds to soil, persistence of over a year have been observed in the sediments of ponds in Michigan and Oregon.[46] In streams, maximum glyphosate concentrations were measured immediately post-treatment and dissipated rapidly.[46] Glyphosate is "practically nontoxic to slightly toxic" for amphibians and fish.[49] Wikipedia again. Roundup (Glyphosate) is the least toxic herbicide in the world. This accounts for its widespread use and acceptance for use on food products by the EPA. It is an acid molecule that inhibits plant enzymes (not animal enzymes) and kills plants. In contact it binds with soil and and degrades. Unless you swallow it before it dries it is basically harmless to humans or pets. Organic herbicides would be limited to vinegar or practices such as mulching. All fine for small plot in your backyard, but impractical on a commercial farm. Here is a snippit from the Renegade Gardener that should be mandatory reading for those who rail against Roundup and demand the use of organic pesticides. "You chose glyphosate as your cause? FYI, the most commonly used pesticide in the ‘40s, ‘50s and ‘60s, copper sulfate, is far more toxic and still widely in use today in the US and around the world. Where? Organic farming. Copper pesticides are organic, understand, and approved for use today in the US, England (well, not for long) and many other countries. Each season, organic farmers spray it by the hundreds of thousands of gallons. It has an EIQ of 47.8! That’s off the charts!!" Roundup has an EIQ of 15.3 Here is a link that might be useful: Renegade Gardener on organic pesticides.

For most trades it's beneficial to them as well as you to stay as close to the work area as possible to save some steps and keep the project at hand and rolling smooth. Sometimes it can be taken outdoors or in a garage area but for the most part, there are elements that require it to be done in place. This means dusts and debris. A good tradesperson will do a quick,daily clean up getting set up for the next day and at the end of the project, do a respectfully decent clean up of the area concerned. It's common courtesy for the client as well as the trades coming in behind them and shows professionalism. You have to expect a certain amount of mess and not all trades people are going to show respect by picking up after them selves. It's the nature of the beast. You should focus your efforts on working things out with your builder "friend" and not sweat the small stuff such as cleaning up after a sloppy sub. I have a friend who did the most clean finish carpentry work i've seen as far as tight joints,clean cuts, right on detailing, but was the biggest slob as far as cleaning up after himself. Finish carpenters are typically clean, organized trades people, but as in my friends case, not always. Your concern should really dial in on the workmanship of the stairs as that is what you will be living with. The dust will get cleaned up one way or another and is a miniscule concern, imho.

You will need the "A" model which has the internal circ and buffer tank to expect hot water with flow rates of .001 to .05 GPM, then their standard model (non A) would do as most other manufacturers also. While only being distributed in the US for basically 8 months, Kyung Dong, their parent Korean Co, has been in business for over 30 years producing AC, water heaters, ERV/HRV's, wall heaters, furnaces, and much more. Their flow rates at a set temp rise is more than the others since the higher efficiency converts more heat to the water. Unlike all the others that use copper heat exchangers that are expected to last 10-15 years and many times less with bad water, the Navien is 400 series Stainless Steel, thus resistant to waterway erosion and liming that plagues copper tube. I have seen them in operation, they work nice, and as all heaters have some restrictions and guidelines that must be followed and aware of when applying and selecting unit. One small drawback, the pressure drop is higher than most since it has a secondary heat exchanger, not a big deal unless your pressure is low to start with.

Lascatx, sounds like you had the same type of leak/flood we experienced, except in my case there was nobody home so the water gushed unimpeded through the house for 18 hours! And Bonnie, our situation is very similar to yours; we also called ServPro immediately and they were at the house within an hour or so--on a Sunday afternoon! They did an amazing job drying things out and actually had all the flooring off within about 36 hours of the flood to completely dry out the underfloor and avoid mold which is a HUGE issue as you can imagine in Miami FL. Like your MIL's house they placed large fans, dehumidifiers etc. and checked on a daily basis to ensure the moisture levels were low. We also reported the damage immediately on Monday morning and the insurance adjuster told us the same thing, that ServPro was exactly the right choice. As for an update, the day before Thanksgiving after almost daily email inquiries for weeks I finally got the paperwork saying the claim was approved, along with a statement of loss I had to sign and notarize to process the payment. I sent that in earlier this week and was notified yesterday the payment will be processed (hopefully meaning a check issued!) within 10-14 business days. Based on that I told my contractor we can get started. I picked up floor tile samples yesterday, focusing on in stock materials because his floor guys will start work December 10th. Even if I don't have payment in hand, everything seems legally in order so I am comfortable moving forward. Once the work is done I can get the house on the rental market again although I hope things aren't too slow during the holidays.