I wouldnt be so sure about that. You get some serious winds over there. You would think that I would be the one concerned about wind. Living in Tehachapi you get used to the wind. Thats why we have all the wind farms here. Windy, windy, windy. 24/7/365!

"1. The single-pane windows (13) are painted shut and have no screens. What would be the best way to unstick them and build screens for them. "

Getting them open is going to be difficult. But not impossible.

Start by using a utility knife and scoring the paint at the seams. Do this all the way around the windows but only the bottom half that moves. This includes where the two windows meet in the middle. Once you have the paint scored use a 1" chisel and begin inserting it at the bottom. tap it in with your hand or a small mallet. Not too hard or you will leave dents in the sill or bottom of the frame. This is a massaging process. You need to work the edges to free them from the paints grasp.

You know you got it the very first time you see any part of it move. Getting there can be a serious b****! Patience is the game name here. You can use anything that is thin to insert between the window and the frame. Putty knife, Butter knife, Be careful using razors though. They have no qualms about slicing fingers, legs, or any other bodily parts. None what so ever!

2. We would like to build a wrap-around porch onto the cottage.

One word here SimpsonStrong-tiehardware. Ok so I cheated a little.

Go to the Simpson website. There is a wealth of information on continuous load path.

Believe me the time you spend on the simpson site and their on line training content will pay off in costs related to storm damage from not doing it right.

If you like I can help you at a later date with plans, drawings, and code compliance for the porch. In the mean time sign up at the simpson site and dig into the content. One I highly recommend is the one on decks. All a patio is is a deck that no one walks on.

3. The bathroom has some sort of laminate tub surround that is flaking off and needs to be replaced.

If you are going to fix this do it right. Rebuild the whole bathroom. Do not try to save it. Deal with the ugly thing until you have the budget to redo the bathroom completely. Trying to piecemeal a bathroom renovation is a major invitation to disaster. I got involved with a customer a couple years back that wanted to do the tub/shower one month the sinks and counters the next, cabinets the next and in the end I ate over 80 hours in labor getting the three separate sections to look like they were made to be together. Total nightmare. Cabinets were 1 1/2" slimmer than the counter tops, tub color didn't match the counter tops etc.

Bathrooms are either do, or no do. No middle.

Hiring a handyman is good to fix your lid switch on your washer, or paint your porch (remind me to PM you the joke on that), or build a new dog house for your dog. Rebuilding bathrooms, or porches is contractors baliwiki. You need the guarantee that the job will be done right, and legal recourse if it isn't.

Granted, there are guys like me that can do this for you that wont rip you off, or screw the job up. We are few and far between. The others out number us by thousands to one. There is a video series by David Lupberger that is plainly put,... Awesome!

Click here for this series.

FYI Servicemagik.com is IMHO the best referral service on the net. All contractors are pre screened and their license checked. Its free for you also. Signing up is worth it.

Please let me know if you need further information.

Best, THS