Im glad you had a look at the conn rod / crank - twould be a darn shame for you to go through the head rebuild and find out that the crank was 15 minutes away from sh!tting the bed on ya... I was thinking that if the valve guide area was clean - you might have a chance at a new guide. but you might have to peen it a bit with a punch... a bit risky... and with a dead piston and rings - whats the point in this exercise... Upon re-assembly - I might go so far as to put a little on/off switch under the hood to prevent helpful people from being helpful to the point of not being helpful at all. I agree with you on those crappy briggs quick drain / slow leak POS these motors have... I have one on my Scotts 2046 and its very wimpy looking - an occasional drip from it as well - it makes me nervous. It must be there to sabotage unknowing customers into newer equipment - nice marketing gimmick ... Im surprised the American auto mfg's havent utilized that piece yet... I need to get around to swapping that out with some steel pipe as well. So the owner (son-in-law?) is up for getting a new motor then? Was the original motor - an 18HP Intek? (i think ive seen a few posting where some machines had 16 hP motors). Ive heard mixed stories about the Inteks - but my 20HP twin Intek has been a great motor (about 11 years old) ... I am reluctant to sell my scotts as its just soooo smooth and reliable ... (at least for me). With the slow leak from that quick oil change doodad over a period of years - its a stretch to lay 100% blame on the MIL... But I wouldnt let her know that - shes got to be wrong at least once in her life... BUT - I would hope that your daughter and son-in-law place some value (about $450 dollars worth ) on checking the oil upon every mowing... Although - I admit im guilty of occasionally not checking it myself. I guess the good news is - that YOU dont have to break your tail rebuilding the motor - just installing it and get it rotating up will be nice... May I offer a suggestion ? Please put oil in the new motor before starting it ... I'm told some new motors ship empty, and some with fish oil. My buddy told me he smelled something funny when his brothers kid was riding around on a 50cc chinese motor cycle. The fish oil got thin when hot and you could smell it in the exhaust... "Something smells fishy" - after reading the manual they saw that they were supposed to change the oil before running it... The fish oil was in the motor because they are not allowed to ship it with regular motor oil in it... Good luck with this effort - its been an interesting story...

ok, a lot happened today-- my landlord (also a contractor remodels/builds homes) came by --always shows up when I least expect it, cuz he squeezes me in on his light days. anyway, first of all- the house is approx 650 sq' -- about 25x25' give or take he has listened to all my whining about the moisture and my bed, so he installed a nice big quiet exhaust fan in the bathroom!! VERY quiet and works AWESOME I gotta say. He also finished off the garage doors/mancave where my husband lives (literally) the doors had to be rebuilt and rat proof. did a good job I must say. --the garage is at least 20' from the back of the cottage. I asked him about the insulation: attic-- since a certain amount has already been blown in, he said 1 or 2 bricks of the stuff at most (his apprentice says he will help me blow the stuff in if I rent the blower and buy the bricks of the stuff and of course pay him, but he's cheap. just flakes out sometimes and doesn't show.) one of us blowing, one patting it down as he put it (i guess making sure the beams are exposed) the outside ice walls--he told me his apprentice can drill holes outside at top of under eave between each stud, and put foam in there, then plug back up the holes.They've done this many times on very old homes with plaster lath/board homes.The redwood siding is easy to patch back in the holes. He did it for a back door light. the crawlspace--he told me it would cost LOTS of money to have someone do that, but it can be done a DYI. He says R19 batts with metal clips under the subfloor between floor joists or whatever those boards are called (I forget) but it'll take daysssss. He has gotten under the entire house to all 4 corners, it is just a LOT of twisting,contorting your body and not being claustrophobic --which I have no issue with since I love cave spelunking!! I did one last year in the gold country and the roof of some of the cavern was literally right above my face,pitch dark, like being in a coffin i guess!so peaceful. but anyway, i could do it if i'm brave and take my time-it sounds like a month lol, but i'd had to be dressed the right way,have the tools,make sure i know my paths!! and maybe my "loving" husband would hang nearby in case i get stuck or something. well at least in cell phone range. so all this stuff sounds promising...I will be here a long time. My family does (who live around the corner) I have to say he's done a lot of work for a rental, and I've put in my fair share of my own money already.but it's my home and want to retire here (yes I'm only 51 but I'll work till I'm 65+ just give me good health!) so what do you think now? tackle which project first? oh and he's letting pick out the new color of this house that'll be painted in the spring!! pale grey blue!!cottagey blue! with white trim around the 2 front windows and the white front door that I am going to pay to replace it. so one project at a time, I'm not a Rockefeller in the least. heck i owe taxes ug. anybody live close by and want to help? I'll pay money and feed you, I can't pay normal contractor rates :( that's why I have to do these projects on my own. and husband wants nothing to do with the house. (he's fixing up his garage and apt man cave. so...what items to I need to do-keep in mind I can't do any of this alone I think too dangerous.--watch me get stuck under the house lol! attic-- equipments and protection and approx cost? crawlspace-- equipement and protection and approx cost outside walls--equipment and protection and approx cost? well a lot was accomplished today. I should take photos but have no clue how to put them on here.ok, so i now need opinions. THANKS guys!

Thanks, binsd! I don't hang out on the forums. Just don't have the time and it's a shame really; it's so fun over here. Anyway, I received an email question about how my counters are holding up, so I thought I'd post a quick 3-year report. Cork floors - love 'em. Comfy, good for a klutz like myself, hides dirt well, super easy to clean. Would do it again in a heartbeat. Fisher Paykel Dishdrawers - Awful, awful, awful. Replaced them with an integrated Bosch which works great. JennAir CD fridge - I like it quite a bit, but just last week had to have the touchpad replaced. Not cheap. Fratelli Onofri range - I do love this thing, but it has some issues. First, I should have purchased the large single oven instead of the double. It's been a very rare occurrence that I've needed to use both at different temps. The door seal on the large oven recently broke because it became brittle. Had to order a part from the UK to replace the seal. Additionally, the big oven has been flaky coming up to temp lately. I'm going to try a heavy-duty cleaning to make sure there aren't any blocked sensors or anything. Hopefully that fixes it. Cabs - I went with a cab company who primarily worked with stained cabs. I think it shows that they didn't do a lot of paint jobs. There are a couple of chipped areas and other places where you can tell the paint will be peeling someday. (Like on the underside of the sink cab door ??? weird.) Anyway - I think if you're getting painted cabs, be sure to work with someone who does paint to ensure the wood will be properly prepped and they take steps to make sure the paint hardens well, etc. Countertop - Finally, the info people want. :) I still love this stuff. Yes, it shows wear, but it's a warm, rustic-looking wear which is a-ok by me. If you drag something sharp and pointy across it, it will scratch. If you drag a bowl across it, you're probably fine. If you stand in one spot and do a lot of hand mixing in a bowl, it will probably create "rub" marks. If you drag a dish across it that has "unfinished" edges, it will leave a mark. I don't notice water mark problems around the sink. If water is left to sit and dry on the surface, it will leave a mark. Wipe it down with a dishcloth and the mark goes away. No biggie. I've tried to capture their current condition, but it's tough to photograph. I have only oiled them once since the original photos were posted. This is my most heavily used prep area: Here's another shot of the same area: Here's a scratch that just showed up a few weeks ago. I have no idea where it came from. Here you can see "rub marks" in my baking area where the mixing bowl "spins" on the countertop This is new also. There was a winter squash sitting in this spot. It had a bad spot and started to leak, causing this mark. Weird. I'm sure it will come right out if I oil it. Overall, still loving my kitchen! The layout has worked out fabulously and I love spending time in there. It has completely changed my life. Literally. I overhauled my diet shortly after it was finished and that made a drastic impact on my life. Thanks, Gardenweb friends!

Quick update. The painters are finishing up today. The electricians, plumber and carpenter all showed up as promised. The carpenter installed a routed board that goes over the sink to create a soffit that contains two lights. He had delayed because he wanted to make sure the electricians could access the wiring. He also helped the electricians install our 12 year old Thermador double wall oven. Man than thing is heavy. It's a double convection oven with a small microwave. I'll keep it as long as it keeps on working. It's dirty because I don't run the self-clean cycle. The outside is stainless and in good shape. Every year that I don't have to replace it is a victory. The electricians wired up the Vent-A-Hood. I confess there was a moment of female superiority with this installation. They were complaining about the small amount of wire that was protruding from the hood. I realized they had no idea how to install it. So, I handed them our socket tool, told them to take off the black motor and wire it from that side. Nice guys, but a little red in the face for a minute or two. Chalk one up for the little lady. They also finished wiring all of the outlets and switches. We have to wait to the painters to finish the ceiling before we can install the ceiling lights. The LED can lights were considered a fixture. That meant I needed to go get them. Home Depot had what I needed. The LED under cabinet lighting was delayed, also. We had another miscommunication. I thought the electricians were providing all of the necessary equipment for installation. We had a discussion three months ago. Who can remember three months ago? None of us. They thought I was providing it. Therefore, no supplies or equipment was available. I got on the horn to InspiredLED (Thank you GW) and Garrett hooked me up with everything we need. The components should arrive Friday. The plumber did his magic. He installed our old Bosch dishwasher. It's over 10 years old and was the top of the line in it's day. It still works beautifully. It will work even better now that it is properly installed. He installed all of the faucets. Unfortunately, the Hansgrohe pull-down faucet at the main sink has a leak in the sprayer unit. One call to Hangrohe and a replacement hose is on the way. He hooked up our new Insinkerator garbage disposals. We hooked up the Forever_MT soap dispensers. (Thanks GW, again.) We had to call back the back splash installers. Two of the boxes for light switches and outlets were too small. We couldn't get the covers on them. Even thought we could have done it ourselves, we didn't want to damage the tile. Their boss insisted on sending them out to make the fix. We started moving back into the kitchen. I've started cleaning house. We washed and cleaned off the back porch where everyone worked and all the supplies were stored. I can cook in the kitchen. We are still camping out in the temporary area waiting for the painters to finish. The painters started working on the final touches yesterday and will be finished today. It looks great. We will need to let things dry for a few days. Now, we find ourselves with a small to do list. It never ends. We need to install the under cabinet lights and ceiling can lights. We have the replacement hose for the Hansgrohe faucet. I've looked at it and I'm going to get the plumber back out to install it. I'm sure it's a simple fix, but it's not obvious to me. We also need to fasten the HVAC vents to the cabinet toe kicks. I think that's about it. Pictures next. I'll do the big reveal at the end of the week. Thanks for all the encouragement.