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 There are two basic ways of thinking about old windows in post-Katrina New Orleans. On one hand, old windows are rich with history and architectural detail. On the other hand, they can be cracked, broken, rotten and leaking.
It's the latter category that causes the contractors, workers, homeowners and volunteers who are rebuilding New Orleans to toss old windows out and replace them with new ones that are watertight and weather resistive.
But it's the former way of thinking — with reverence for century-old handiwork — that causes people like Ariane Wiltse to salvage old windows from the piles of demolition materials tossed alongside so many storm-ravaged streets.
Above, on the left, you see some of the windows Ariane has collected to use in the 1870s cottage she bought and is restoring in the Holy Cross neighborhood of the Lower 9th Ward. Anywhere Ariane can preserve history in this house, she is determined to do so.
Also, see the stacks of old bricks Ariane has collected for future projects.
See more of Ariane's story.
(Photos: Kathy Price-Robinson)
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At the urging of reader "tarbubble," I asked the designers at Pamela Burton & Company what lawn substitutes they used on their award-winning Malibu landscape (which was featured previously on this blog).
I got a response from Burton associate Stephen Billings. First of all, regarding grasses in lieu of lawn, he recommends referring to the Sunset Western Garden Book for a list of alternatives to turf for lawns.
As for this particular landscape, three of the ornamental grasses we used are:
• Muhlenbergia capillaris
• Miscanthus sinensis 'Morning Light'
• Nassella tenuissima
And here's more info I dug up:
Muhlenbergia capillaris (left): As summer is winding down and with it your blooming annuals and perennials, Muhlenbergia capillaris (Pink Muhly Grass) is springing up — giant puffballs of cotton-candy pink, so airy you expect a breeze to carry them away. A source of late-season color, this native grass is effortless to grow and tolerant of just about anything Mother Nature throws its way. The grass forms a nice little hedge, edging, or middle-of-the-border ribbon of color from spring through summer, but when the rosy-pink plumes arise on 4-foot stems, it grabs the garden spotlight. Tolerates heat, humidity, poor soil, and even drought. See a white version called White Cloud. (From home Depot)
Miscanthus sinensis 'Morning Light' (right): A beautiful grass whose white margins on its very narrow leaves give it a creamy-pale green from a distance. Blooms late and doesn't tend to self-sow, although it may do so moderately in moist areas. Grows to 6 feet tall. (From Home and Garden TV)
Nassella tenuissima (left): Also called Mexican feather grass, it is soft and shiny in the spring garden. Nassella tenuissima should be trimmed severely in the later part of the summer as the seed heads start to dry. Once matured the seed is very fruitful and can become something of a pest. The florets are very prone to sticking in socks or the fur of your pets. This is not recommended for gardens near wild areas as the Mexican feather grass can easily escape. Sometimes sold as Stipa tenuissima. (From California Gardens.com)
(Photos: Muhlenbergia capillaris: Home Depot; Miscanthus sinesis: HGTV; Nassella tenuissima: California Gardens)
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 A fellow reader sent in this query. Do you have any suggestions?
"I live in Eagle Rock, Calif., and I am looking to replace our knob-and-tube wiring. I have had a number of bids. Some who bid didn't seem trustworthy. With others, I thought: "WOW! Really? That much?"
"I have yet to find anyone who seems trustworthy and affordable. If you know of anyone or any good source to go to, please let me know. It would be greatly appreciated."
Thanks, Paxon
(Photo: Wikipedia)
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 A couple of weeks ago, I blogged about a newly built Craftsman-type house whose pillars never received the rock facing I expected. I had watched this house go up in a local golf course community as I took my daily walk.
Trouble was, as some astute readers (POD People) pointed out, I was watching the rear of the house. It felt like the front to me because I could see it from the street where I walked. But there was a more important question: What's going on in the front of the house? Can I hear a duh?
So yesterday I made my way into the gated enclave and saw that, indeed, the four pillars in the front did get stone. Well, maybe faux stone, it looked like to me. It was quite similar to the stone you POD People voted on in the poll.
But here's what I thought: Where's the front porch? As Brent pointed out, the pillars in the rear look vestigial, which means they represent something that once had a purpose but no longer do. In the front, two pillars hold up the overhang for the grand entrance. But the other two pillars have no purpose.
Instead of that garden area on the right, that could have been a lovely covered porch for future owners to sit out and drink tea and wave to the neighbors. As it is now, the only choice is to drive up to the house in a car, go in the house and stay there. Think how many decades of front-porch experience will be lost.
With no front porch, and no virtually backyard (other than vestigial pillars that face another street), I think the exterior design of this house, while it has many assets, missed the mark. No wonder it's taken so long to sell.
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 Question: Hello there Kathy. You seem to be the source on all things remodeled, redecorated and staged, so I am writing to you to ask if you have any information about how to rent a staged home? My cousin read an article recently in the Los Angeles Times about owners of staged homes who want to rent them out to a responsible party for low rent so that the house is lived in while it is on the market. I am very interested in this concept, and would love to find out how to rent a staged home! I am the perfect candidate. :-) Please let me know if you have any information about this! Thank you, Abby
Answer: Abby, thanks for the kind words. That excellent article ran a few weeks ago in the Real Estate section. The article is no longer available online, but I used my connections (don't I sound important?) and requested the article for you from Real Estate Editor Lauren Beale. She came through and I think it has the answers you seek:
Los Angeles Times
Sunday, May 4, 2008
A sweet place to bunk
Home managers can give for-sale properties that important lived-in look.
By Frank Nelson, Special to The Times
Pockets of people across the Southland are living like royalty without it costing them a king's ransom. Take Jim and Laura Fisher, currently basking in about 5,000 square feet of luxury on the water in upscale Huntington Harbor.
Their Italian-style two-story house has four bedrooms -- the upstairs master overlooks the harbor -- five bathrooms, a library-study, an office, a huge formal living-dining room, a cherrywood kitchen, a laundry room, an outdoor spa and a barbecue. And, of course, somewhere to tie up a boat.
The Fishers don't have a boat; nor do they own the property, which has just been listed for $4.25 million. They do, however, pay only $2,800 a month to live there, less than one-third the going market rate.
Similarly sweet deals are available in mansions, upscale condos, luxury high-rises and even more modest dwellings . . .
See more Q&A
(Photo: Yahoo News)
Continue reading "Ask Kathy: How can I get a deal renting a home that is for sale?" »
 * POD Person: a member of the Pardon Our Dust blog community; one who fixes up a home; one who creates dust
I'm looking for a POD Person to review the new Home Designer Suite 8.0 software, a Chief Architect product sold by Better Homes & Gardens.
The box says it's for home design, remodeling, interior design, kitchens and baths, decks, landscaping and cost estimating.
First of all, you need to be a regular reader and commenter on this blog, and have these minimum system requirements — Windows XP or Vista, a 1.2 GHZ processor, 2 GB disk space, 512 MB of memory and a DVD-ROM drive.
In exchange for being sent this software to keep, the POD Person would write a review for this blog.
Interested? Send an e-mail to podblog@aol.com and tell me in 100 words or less why you are the right POD Person for the assignment. Deadline: Thursday, May 29, at 5 p.m.
NOTE: While many may apply, only one can be chosen. There will be more software-review opportunities in the future.
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 Question: I need a new water heater, and because my home's gas bill is so high, it occurred to me that it might be a good idea to get an electric water heater. My husband is not in favor of an on-demand water heater, so I've got to decide between gas or electric with a storage tank. Would putting in an electric water heater be a good move? And what is involved?
Answer: From Pardon Our Dust's "resident builder" Alon Toker:
Going the electric route would be more costly, both in initial costs (you would need to run a dedicated 220V line for it) and in the long run (gas, as expensive as it is, is still a cheaper energy source compared with electricity).
A 220V line, which is needed to power such an electricity-gobbling appliance, could add $500 to $2,500 to the cost of a water heater, depending on several variables: the type of wiring mandated (Romex or conduit) and whether an upgrade to the electrical panel might be needed.
A better idea is to install a high-efficiency gas water heater. But the best choice of all is a tankless gas water heater.
Though more expensive initially, the tankless model would save energy as compared with the tank unit. At my company, we have installed virtually nothing but tankless water heaters for some years with great feedback from clients. These units are more complicated and finicky than tank models, and a water softener should really be considered. But in my opinion, tankless heaters are the way to go.
Alon Toker is president of Mega Builders in Chatsworth. If you have a building-related question, e-mail it to podblog@aol.com and include "Resident Builder" in the subject line.
(Photo: Factricity; illustration: Kathy Price-Robinson)
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 The story I read today about the demise of Tim Davis' remodeling company played out in Lakeland, Fla., but it could have happened anywhere.
Davis started his company 19 years ago with a pickup truck and a toolbox, according to the article in the Lakeland Ledger newspaper, and grew to a $4-million company. Here's what happened: The problems started in early 2007 as construction activity began to dry up in Polk [County]. Clients backed out of jobs as the economy worsened and Davis' annual sales were soon 40% below projections.
By the start of 2008 he had laid off roughly two-thirds of his 24 employees and was under intense pressure from his bank, which froze his accounts and gave Davis a month to pay back $350,000 in outstanding credit. Without enough contracts to keep the business afloat, he finished his remaining jobs and shut down Davis Remodeling, vacating the firm's Harden Boulevard offices two months ago.
So who suffers? As a homeowner, you want to make sure you're not the one holding the bag if a business fails. Even if you don't have money out for work not yet done, having to start in the middle of a job with another contractor would be a major hassle, as best.
Here are the bouquets and brickbats I offer for this story:
Bouquet: Davis is the president of the Polk County Builders Assn. In the world of builders, this is a high-profile, high-esteem, high-falutin' position. You could expect someone in his position to have maximum integrity, and it seems to me that he does, as evidenced by the fact that he finished his remaining jobs before shutting the doors.
Brickbat: According to the article, the company recently did a big remodel of its offices, and that cash outlay was part of the reason the company lacked funds to continue when business turned south. Many in the construction industry knew the crazy rate of growth in 2005 and 2006 was not sustainable. It was probably not the best time to do that remodel.
Brickbat: The story notes that Tim was a high school dropout who later went on to get his GED. That is commendable. But it also makes me appreciate the new type of remodeler I've seen in recent years who comes out of business school rather than up through the trades. Some people are just not cut out for organized education and intuitively know how to manage the ups and downs of the economy. But I can't help thinking that someone with more formal business education could have seen the downturn coming and prepared for it.
Bouquet + Brickbat: Part of the problem seems to be that Tim held on to his employees past the time it was financially wise, according to the story. That's a bouquet to him, for caring about his employees, but also a brickbat for putting himself out of business. Could there be anything more difficult than letting go of a hard-working carpenter with a family?
This story shows why so many contractors have streamlined their companies to use fewer employees and more subcontractors. Then, when business is slow, nobody gets fired.
Observing the photo of Tim Davis above, I have two thoughts: 1) This experience is very personal and very painful, and 2) Tim will rise again.
(Photo: The Ledger)
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 As Joni waits for her new backsplash tile to be delivered, and we all wait to see how it will look installed, clever POD Person* Mike did some computer magic to show us the end result.
Above, on the right, you can see a representation of what Joni's tile might look like up on the wall.
Also, Mike suggests a mustardy wall color instead of the cream or terra cotta colors being considered.
Thank you, Mike!
See the project so far
* POD Person: a member of the Pardon Our Dust blog community; one who fixes up a home; one who creates dust
(Photos: Kathy Price-Robinson; photo illustration: Mike Johnson)
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Which TV design star owns this Los Angeles kitchen?
What to notice:
Ikea cabinets.
Carrera marble counters.
Subway tile backsplash.
Cork flooring.
Vintage stool.
Really cool stove.
Give it your best guess, then click here for the answer.
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There are two basic ways of thinking about old windows in post-Katrina New Orleans. On one hand, old windows are rich with history and architectural detail. On the other hand, they can be cracked, broken, rotten and leaking.
