I had a contractor walk through the house the other day and said that he would "cut" my particular hardwoods down about an 1/8th of an inch, as opposed to sanding them.

These folks know about every square inch of property in the county.

The covenants read that anything taller than 52 inches requires approval regarding material, color, etc.

My home is 100 years old and the wall is made of this:Outer most later stucco type of cement, wire mesh, plywood, 3 inch beam every 16 inches, thin wood pieces rubs horizontal with 1/5 gap and then stucco inside (this stucco grade is different from outside)The wall is just after the entry door to the right and if I open it up, I'll have a larger space to place a shoe cabinet and stool.

The company I work for does homes for very, very wealthy people that stand over us to make sure we are within a 64th of an inch in measure or better and we perform well, though not all customers are like that, that was an idea of the types of customers we work with and enjoy it at that.

IMO, the price per sq ft in nice areas will continue to inch up.  

Brushing off a couple inches of snow was fine, but I hated digging out from a plow pile, pushing a foot of snow off the roof, or scraping icy windows.

Tile in the kitchen and bathrooms (with proper subfloor or it will crack- 3/4 inch plywood w/ hardi backer on top).

If you are ripping it out and there are any studs with a bit of mold you can wire brush them down up to 1/16th of an inch (use a drill where you can), spray with clove oil diluted in orange oil (citrosolve), let dry 24 hours and then paint studs with Zinsser BIN primer/sealer or another shellac sealer.

They walk down the steps and there is a 10X15 puddle of water an inch deep or more.