It's all for a vegetable garden. The beds should stick up 2-4 inches above whatever mulch I use if I use 4 inches of it (more if I use less). The depth of the beds will be more as I intend to dig down directly under the beds to give more depth for better soil I'm going to haul in. I plan to leave some room at the top of the beds to add compost as time goes by. Some of the beds will be 10x4ft with 4ft spacing between them. These will probably be the least of my worries and I'll mulch with newsprint inside the beds with drip irrigation on top to keep it wet (and by so doing, keep it from blowing away). I'm reasonably confident of that part of my plan. Mulching between these beds will be important mostly to avoid the tall weeds, and to avoid anything that likes to spread weed seeds to the rest of the garden. Elsewhere (which is the majority of the garden), my bed setup will be the same in terms of height/depth but widthxlength will be 2x2. The purpose of these will be for larger plants like watermelon, muskmelon, pumpkin, squash, etc. While the pumpkin and squash MIGHT be able to hold their own against the weeds, the watermelon and muskmelon (which will be the bulk of the plants) won't. I proved that this year when I didn't weed some of them in time and the plants didn't put on near the growth they should have due to being shaded. The ones that were weeded in a more timely fashion did fine. Due to the size and quantity (around 125 or so) of these plants, it's really not practical to try building a bed large enough to hold them. The purpose of the bed in their case is to provide for the main stalk/root system. The leaves and fruit will have to be outside the bed on the ground where I need some sort of a mulch system to keep the weeds under control. When these things start growing, mowing obviously won't be an option because I'd destroy my plants. I've got about 9,000 square feet of space here I need to mulch in some fashion, so cheap is important. I can live with spending a bit of money up front if it means I've solved the problem (or the majority of it) for several years. Spreading anything over that much space is a fair amount of work too (and often the work involved is more daunting than the expense - particularly if I end up doing something like rock). Landscape Fabric I tried some experiments with landscape fabric this year and didn't like the results. At a minimum, I'd have to replace it every year if I put it on top, and in that quantity, it's rather expensive for a yearly cost. Newspaper I can afford (I buy the end rolls from the newspaper company), but isn't suitable outside the beds mostly due to wind. Black Plastic I'd consider black plastic, but I don't think it will hold up to foot traffic - assuming it can survive the wind. Astroturf Any sort of outdoor carpeting/astroturf appears to be to expensive. Old Carpet Old used carpeting might be a real option if I can find a ready supply for free/cheap though I have concerns about the chemicals and possible smell. I suspect smell (if there is any) would only be an issue when it's wet during the spring. I can't really see it smelling when it's dry which should be the bulk of the year. Stone The more I read the more I'm afraid it won't do much at all for my weed issue after a few years and then I'll just be stuck battling weeds with a ton of rock involved. Organic Mulch I have doubts about being able to make the expense/longevity make sense here. It might be able to work, but so far the numbers aren't looking right. If it was either cheaper, or if it lasted longer, I could justify it. Cardboard I've got doubts about being able to locate this quantity of cardboard, and far more doubts about being able to make it hold up to the wind. I realize I could pin it, but if the cardboard pieces aren't very big to begin with, I think half the mulch will be pins instead of cardboard. Even with the pins, I'm not sure it could manage the wind. The wind gets really rough here sometimes. Aggressive non-mow groundcover Haven't found anything I think would do the job, I could reasonably source and afford, and I could have in place and ready to take over by next spring - I'm looking for a solution that will be working by next spring. Not one I'm going to have to spend a few years getting up to speed. whatever I do, I don't really mind spreading some more of X every year, or rolling out new cover, etc. but it has to be affordable at those replacement rates. I'm trying to stay below $3K for the beds, soil, and mulch. For $3K, I want a minimum of a 5 year solution, preferably more like a 10. If I spend less, I can live with having to spend more on maintenance each year. I forsee getting some good life out of the soil (if properly maintained which I will) and the beds (if decently built which is the plan). My concern point and issue is the mulch.

Rereading this thread in its entirety -- a trip down memory lane -- reminded me of some web sites with filters on their search function such that when one clicks on enough constraints there are no candidates left to purchase. feisty68's constraints have a similar effect. Thinking that maybe there is some way out of the box, two concepts come to mind to bring up: (a) One can choose a hood with internal blowers (as seemingly required) that has more specified flow than the external duct can handle. In this case, at full power the flow will be low, (or possibly zero, depending on the fan curve shape), but when run at part power to yield an appropriate flow rate for the duct, there should be reasonable flow. Whether this is adequate flow would require some analysis. At partial power the blade tip speed will be less and lower noise should result. For example, a VaH hood with two motor squirrel cage fan assemblies run at part power would likely still expel grease onto their housings as intended. Choked flow, however, may be sooner (CFM-wise) than a similar over-sized conventional blower / baffle system due to the nature of a squirrel-cage blower (as implied by VaH CFM vs. pressure loss data). I wouldn't want to guess which approach was louder at the power setting that was at the point of diminishing returns, CFM-wise. Related to this category is using an inline axial blower designed for higher pressure loss at the desired actual flow rate. Fantech might help here. Such blowers may be noisier, so an in-line silencer on the hood side of the blower might be essential. There are screaming-mimi aerospace fans that can push 1600 CFM through a six-inch duct. (b) The other concept is a hybrid exterior/recirculating hood scheme. I think both Best and VaH have examples of recirculating hoods. In this concept, if the actual systems are so configurable, the path to the filter pack would be split with one branch going outside. When the pressure losses of the exterior duct path rose high enough as blower power increased during heavy cooking, additional flow would be through the filter pack and back into the room. Some recirculating hood users here have commented on effectiveness and noise and their threads might be discovered and checked for relevance. Obviously, the simpler approach here is recirculating without engaging the external ducting. In that case, a separate soffit blower, soffit face register scheme could be used for further kitchen overall ventilation, helpful (slowly) when the oven is opened. kas

I think you have hit a point in this discussion where it would make sense to start a new thread. The current title is misleading now for the direction the thread has gone (layout advice) and won't attract as much of the help you now seem to need (from the layout enthusiasts). Plus even if the layout people found their way here, the information they need to make suggestions is now scattered across many comments. I suggest you do this: 1) Start a new thread. Ask specifically for layout suggestions/help in the title of this new one. You don't need to be discussing the nitty gritty of lighting/finishes till after you have decided on the layout that will work for you. Asking for layout help will attract the layout gurus. Asking for lighting or finishes help later in a different thread will get the lighting or decor gurus. (Involve a KD later when you have exhausted the free help here.) 2) In your new layout help thread, post a floor plan of the entire floor the kitchen is on (not just the living and kitchen, but also every room on this whole floor and the garage/laundry too). It helps us more than you can imagine to see the kitchen fully in the context of the rest of the house. It is fine to hand draw it, same as the other plans you already posted. There is no such thing as too much information or detail when it comes to this floor plan. Indicate on the plan where the best views are. Mark where the windows are, how wide, and how far off the ground. Indicate doorways. All of it. Whatever is written on this plan will be absorbed and understood FAR more than anything you type in your comments. This floor plan should be on graph paper and to scale where one square = 1 square foot. 3) Post pictures of the interior of your kitchen/living area, particularly of things that are difficult to see on the plan -- the shape of the fireplace, the view you want to make the most of. There is no such thing as too many pictures. The better we understand your space, the better and more relevant (and more fervent) the help you will receive. And visuals are a million times more helpful to our understanding than anything else. 4) Write these things (more or less) in the new thread: __________________________________ Title: Please help - kitchen layout! Post: The situation: we are remodeling our soon-to-be-open-plan kitchen/dining/living room (we're taking down the wall between the kitchen and living room) we are couple with one dog (no kids and no plans for them) husband is a contractor and will be doing the majority of the work budget is $40,000-$60,000, plus contingency fund we like to cook/make snacks together and to entertain small groups (4-6 people) -- both inside and out on the deck I also bake often and want to start canning we will live here for ten more years and then buy another house and rent out this house Primary goals for the remodel: ability to have two cooks/snackers in the kitchen at once maximize view/windows towards the deck -- we have wild bird feeders out there and enjoy watching the birds from our current slider make the kitchen very open to the living room (we've had that open layout before and loved the easy chatting between those rooms) we do not use the dining table unless entertaining (on normal days, we eat in front of the TV), so we would prefer a plan where the dining table can be put away or repurposed in between parties and the space used for something else day-to-day desired big appliances: dishwasher, range, and fridge (already bought the fridge -- it is a 36" counter depth French door) --> I made these numbers/details up. Please provide the real ones. places for these frequently-used small appliances: coffee maker, toaster, Kitchen Aid mixer area for pet food/bowls pantry storage Like-to-haves: baking center with spot for KitchenAid mixer to live on the counter not moving the slider -- it works well with the deck now and would be a pain to change cookbook storage (does this have to be in the kitchen, or could it be in the living room?) small appliance storage sink and range on the same run of counter (not across the aisle from each other) microwave drawer seating facing the view towards the deck Here is an awesome and thorough to-scale floor plan on graph paper of the entire floor with everything and its grandmother indicated and labeled: [Image] Here are 12,000 pictures of the inside of my home from every angle: [Images] Here is a picture of my dog: [Image] For more information here is a link to my previous thread: [link] _____________________ That's all the information we need to start making good suggestions, and providing more info. than that just makes it harder for people to remember the important stuff and also can sometimes constrict creativity. Talking more broadly about your goals rather than your conclusions allows people to surprise you with solutions you may never have considered. Also, part of good kitchen layout design is routing non-kitchen traffic away from the kitchen work zones, providing logical locations for trash/compost/recycling, maximizing continuous lengths of counter space where they are most useful, maximizing storage (especially point-of-use storage), making the aisle width appropriate for the kitchen as designed, making things more functional, etc. So you don't have to ask for any of those things specifically. We will make sure our designs have those features to the best of our ability from the get-go. (Any good KD would as well.) What I have posted in bullets above are the parts of your kitchen design that are not automatic for us. The condensed, pertinent information to a layout designer. You'll notice none of the lighting or finishes info. is included because those considerations mostly come later after your floor plan is set.

I preface this reply by saying that it may step on some toes and is not for the easily offended... Think of your floor cleaning like your teeth cleaning: you can brush, floss, and gargle on your own to your heart's delight. But at the end of the day, it can't replicate the cleaning performed by a hygienist in the dentist office. In other words, you need to have a professional cleaning company periodically clean your vinyl floors. I know, most of you DYIers had it installed to get away from carpet, tile, and other flooring that has traditionally required professionals to maintain. Truth is, you DO NOT own the equipment needed to get these floors, particularly the ones with a textured profile, completely clean like they were prior to install. And while the flooring companies didn't outright lie to you (calling it low maintenance rather than no maintenance), they certainly led you astray by letting you to believe that a little hot water or their overpriced, product-specific cleaner was all you needed. So, find a reputable local cleaner to professionally clean your LVP floors. Got kids and dogs? Do you go barefoot or wear outdoor shoes in the house? Get your floors professionally cleaned every single year. The rest of you? Every 2-3 years. In the meantime, stop using steam. Stop using acidic (vinegar) and high ph (ammonia) products. Dump the bleach, Murphy's Oil Soap, Rejuvenate, Bona, Mop n Glow, Orange Glo, and all types of polishes. Only use a neutral cleaner in between professional cleanings. Oh, and those area rugs you put down to cover up the unsightliness of your floors? They're likely voiding your flooring warranty (probably not a big deal because many have already done so with their unapproved cleaning methods and lifestyle).