I have two push mowers with Kohler motors made of Chinesium junk in China. Only reason I bought them was for the Kohler engine. Big surprise and disappointment. 5 hours use and won't start. Venture capitalists have been buying up these good names (Hoover, Electrolux, Kohler) and then make them in China and undercut local made. Takes about 4 years before people wake up to the scam. These capos don't care because they've made their money and moved onto the next one. You are left with Chinesium landfill. Chinese workers get $20 for a 10 hour day, 6 days a week. No pension, no workers comp insurance. Get your arm cut off in a machine you become a beggar on the street. Henry Ford said he wanted to pay his workers enough money so they could afford to buy his cars.

Hi all!! Thank you so much for the feed back! From what we have heard, we want to stay on the west side of knoxville, so open to really any area that direction. The better half's job is close to Hardin valley road. But he is willing to have a up to a 30-40 minute drive if we find a place we love. Busjane, if you don't mind me asking, who was your builder? We have looked around the Farragut area, and so far that has been about it. We loved the covered bridge development but don't know what builders would be in that area! Thanks, CS

I was forced into renovating a second floor bathroom for numerous reasons. Never having liked the layout, I thought this was a perfect time to change it. The room is 70" wide by 126" deep. I wanted to put the vanity on the left wall, the toilet next to the vanity and then the tub on the back wall, drain to the left, so the left wall would become a wet wall. Problem was, the joists ran across the room, not down. Putting the toilet on the left wall would force me to bore 4" holes through 2"x8" joists. The two joists to be bored would sit directly under the tub. A real no-no. I did a little (clearly, not enough) research on the internet & mostly talked to some local building supply stores. I had an idea that laminating (glued & screwed) 7 1/2" X 30" strips of 3/4" plywood to both sides of the joists might provide enough support that the joists could then be bored. And this is where I was ill-advised. I was assured this would provide enough support, and that with 3/4" ply subfloor followed by 1/2" cement board the floor would be solid enough to support the tile I wanted to install. After completing this portion of the renovation and replacing the subfloor, another trusted advisor spoke up and said that I can't do that. I've since stopped the renovation in order to take the time to figure out what to do so that the plumbing and floor support will be safe and to code; hence, my now having found this thread. As an FYI, in doing my second round of research, I stumbled across these metal joist reinforcers - http://www.metwood.com/products/reinforcer . They look like just the thing I need to solve my support issues, assuming I leave the bathroom in it's current configuration. The problem with them for me is that they cradle the bottom of the joist and I don't want to have to tear up the first floor ceiling in order to install them. So, one of my questions for all you engineering gurus with your mathematical wizardry is, if I were to attach 30" long strips of 1/8" or 3/16" steel strap to both sides of the joists, both above and below the holes, do you think this would provide enough support for a full tub of water and a tile floor? If so, how would you suggest fastening them? Should they be screwed independently to each side, or bolted so that they sandwich the existing laminated joists? Further, should I be using some form of glue or cement to 'laminate' the strapping to the bulked up joists (not that I'm aware of any metal-to-wood adhesive)? Another option I have is to remove one side of the plywood lamination I've done. Then sister both existing joists with a new (at least 6', but as long as possible) joist that has one of the joist reinforcers listed above attached. Due to the construction, the joists are fully supported by a bearing wall on the left side of the washroom so these new sistered joists would have the benefit of being supported on one end. Any thoughts on any of these potential solutions? Thanks in advance for anything shared.

Thanks for the compliments! ejbrymom, the island base measures 66" x 31" and the deepest overhang is 14 inches at the corbel. One end has a paper towel cubby and cookbook storage. The side facing the sink wall has a double trash pullout, three drawers (top - large utensils, knives, measuring spoons, etc, middle - dish storage, bottom - tupperware storage), and a shallow spice cabinet (shallow because it backs onto the paper towel cubby). The entire end panel facing the fridge wall is also a shallow cabinet with a "push to open / push to close" magnetic latch on the door (perfect for storing canned pet food!). I believe these types of "invisible" shallow end cabinets in islands were discussed here a short while ago, as a means of making use of space - I must admit it really works for spices and canned goods. As for the fridge, we like it alot. It has worked like a charm and we do like the shallower CD layout (nothing gets lost in the back anymore!). I believe there is a good body of positive feedback on GW forums (both Kitchens and Appliances) for the KA 72" CD fridge. The capacity is good, though we do have a full fridge in the basement and a standup freezer in the mud room which helps during peak prep/leftover seasons (such as holidays). The beverage center also helps a bit, by keeping pop, beer, wine, juice packs, etc out of the main fridge. When I get a moment I'll take a few pics of some storage solutions that we used. If you'll indulge me I'd also like to post some likes/dislikes about the design and its function, which might help others who are in the decision making process of their own projects.