I don't garden entirely organically, but I use organic methods as much as possible. My reasons are: 1) The biggest risk with pesticides (not often discussed) is to those using them, especially if the users have not had training or don't have the best equipment (such as the home gardener). So being an organic home gardener will probably make a bigger difference to your health than buying organic produce. 2) I'm don't much like mixing sprays, wearing safety gear or digging, whereas I think composting, mulching, carefully monitoring pest and predator populations etc are fun. 3) I like insects and other creepy crawlies and want my garden to have as many as possible. Preferably not ones that eat my food, but if I have a choice between a few pests and also having the lovely praying mantis, wetas, giant earthworms, or having none of them because I used pesticides, it's a no-brainer. 4) A lot of the methods I learned from organic gardening, such as mulching, just seem to work better. I've left a couple of unmulched beds, just to see how they went. Now I remember why I like mulches. 5) I'm trying to make my garden a part of minimising my impact on the environment. So providing as much of my garden's needs from my garden (making compost, growing green manure etc), or from waste, makes more sense than buying fertilizers that have been mined, manufactured, shipped around the country and the world. 6) I hate sending food and other organic waste to landfill, and think it is absolutely terrible for the environment. My garden takes all except a few meat bones. It even takes other people's waste, for example 20 litres a week of coffee grounds from a cafe, cardboard and newspaper from various sources. 7) The only food from the garden I wash is root vegetables, and then only lightly. So far, the more I eat from the garden, the healthier I am. Perhaps I am a dirt-eating hippie. 8) I'm actually not convinced that buying organic food is better for me and I consider pesticide residues low down on my list of concerns. When I buy organic food, especially stuff like coffee, I do so mostly in the hope that some farmer in a poor country didn't get sick from using pesticides without having any safety equipment or training, and maybe even got a better price for their goods. 9) Not entirely related, but I've lost nearly 20 kg trying to eat a diet that was better for the environment. I was NOT trying to lose weight (although I'm not complaining as I was a bit overweight) and I haven't even given up chocolate. 10) I've had more than my share of the earth's resources. I'm trying to leave something for those who have less. Of course that is probably cancelled out when a neighbour buys a new SUV or some greedy politician flies his girlfriend/ boyfriend around the world at the taxpayer's expense, but in theory, maybe there will be something left for that girl in rural Bangladesh who is studying hard at school and hopes she will grow up to be a doctor. Honestly, I'm not convinced that it is necessary or even a good idea to follow every idea in the "organic" philosophy. I'm not convinced that some of it is effective, or more effective than the so-called "conventional". I'm not convinced that organic food is better for me, or that it invariably tastes better. I don't think it is the answer to all the world's problems and in some cases I don't even think it is necessarily better for the envoronment. But I think there are many valuable lessons and certainly many benefits for the home gardener.

How thick is the retaining wall? If it's planted only a couple feet behind the wall, it's only a matter of time before the wall cracks and crumbles. I know around here it happens all to often... retaining walls aren't meant to retain a massive root system. Even dwarf trees, given enough time, will knock it down. It all depends on time. If your 80 years old it doesn't really matter so to speek lol... if your 20 years old and plan to live in the house for some time almost any tree will cause damage. What about some tall grasses to block out the neighbor. The type of grasses that get 5-6' tall with pink or white flower spikes then some cool stuff like Juniperus horizontalis 'Mother Lode' that drapes over the wall?

Thanks for all of the replies...it's taken me awhile to get back online, I've had sick kids. All this info is good. In my case, the cabinets are framed (inset, Shaker style), with maple plywood boxes and maple hardwood (which will be painted). All lower cabinetry is drawers with the exception of cabinets for the pantry (floor to ceiling, 15" interior depth), the cabinets under the sinks, a tray cabinet over the wall oven, a utility closet (floor to ceiling) and dish cabinet (counter to ceiling). Based on this, I will stick with the 5/8 inches unless someone else chimes in with objections/different advice. Live_Wire, thanks for the info on the hanging rail, that was a good reminder to double-check these details. Babushka cat, you are right on. Thank goodness this cabinetmaker has worked a lot with other folks on our team and their end product is excellent. But I agree, some items were verbally agreed upon and not spelled out in our contract. We are lucky in that the cabinetmaker is standing by their word. But others in our situation might not have been so lucky. My recommendation to those who are using a custom cabinetmaker is to ensure everything is laid out in the contract beforehand. Unfortunately, in our situation, some items were not apparent until we reviewed the shop drawings. So it's important to work with someone that you can trust to do the right thing in the end and stand by their work. And I'm willing to pay for items that I think are fair (i.e., we did not discuss and are expensive add-ons); and our cabinetmaker has not charged us for smaller items/changes. A good end result! Davidro1, I already had chosen our cabinet style, but just strongly recommended frameless to my best friend who is redoing her kitchen. Her space is limited, so even more important to utilize space efficiently!

First of all, let me congratulate you on a very good description. Just one minor correction on that, if your reducing tee is 3/4" through with a 1/2" side port it is properly a 3/4"-3/4"-1/2" tee. (Tee sizes are identified as inpup, output & side opening.) The tee you described would be a 3/4" input, 3/4" side opening and a 1/2" output on the feed through. Now in regard to your question about "Pressure". Under laboratory precise measurement we would see a minor change in pressure resulting from a change in velocity however in the real world it would not be enough of a change to even be noticable. In fact, a shower does not require near as much pressure as one might think. The code minimum for Static Head Pressure (pressure at static rest when no flow is occurring) is 40psi however the code minimum permissible "Dynamic Head Pressure" (working pressure under flow) for a shower is only 8psi. Most people like to feel a strong force of water against their skin while in the shower and to that end they equate "Force" as "pressure" but such is not the case. Pressure occurs inside the pipe but as soon as the water exits the shower head orifice the pressure almost instantly drops to "standard atmospheric pressure" and from that point the water is propelled by "Force" which is the sum of "Mass x Velocity" "Mass" or commonly Volume is determined by the cross sectional area of the faucett or valve that regulates flow or in the case of a shower head it may also be controlled by a "Flow Restrictor" in the shower head. The 1/2" inputs on your valve indicate that a 1/2" line will supply a sufficient volume to meet the manufacturers design specifications for that valve. The minor variation in the inside diameter between galvanized iron pipe, copper Pipe or CPVC Pipe will then be compensated by a proportionate change in the velocity of flow in the pipe but in the end, no matter which type of pipe supplies the valve the volume of water passing through the valve will remain the same. The actual "Force" delivered by the shower head will be determined by the design of the shower head. If the shower head has a large number of larger diameter openings we get a gently rain shower while if the shower head has a small number of needle sized openings we get the high force spray that rivals the nozzle of a pressure washer however if you were to measure the amount of water passing through one shower head for a full minute, then change heads and repeat the test with the other shower head you will find that you got the same volume of flow, assuming of course that the shower heads do not have an additional flow restrictor built into the shower head.