[JERRY2KONE]

Yea I feel your pain BG. I can share stories that would really piss you off about my EXes. As for the house, well I bet there are a lot of us who wish some act of mother nature would remove what is there so we can start over and do it right. Builders really do some crappy work when they are in a hurry to please their boss, and we end up with the dirty end of the stick.

Carpeting is a PITA no matter how you slice it. I am like you, as we prefer carpeting for the comfy feeling on the feet, and the sound proofing it gives to a house.

Doors these days are really cheap unless you spend some bucks and get solid doors. Hollow doors are just not worth messing with at all.

The basement problem is one of those areas that you really want to make sure you get good advice to start with. If you punch through the floor to relieve one problem you will more then likely create even bigger problems if you already have a water problem to begin with. YOur best bet is to find some contractor who does that kind of work and take him out for a few beers. Once you have a few in him, then spring some questions on him about how to handle this issue. He will either give you great advice and probably want to see the issue at hand, but even offer you a great deal to fix the problem since you got him all schnockered up for the afternoon.

Good luck with your DIY project old timer.