Agreed on all points! Anchor it to the house. It's cheaper, it's stronger,
doesn't require an engineer, and your currently selected contractor can do
it. Masonry anchors are plently solid, won't compromise the structure if
properly installed, and are trivial to install.


wrote in message
ps.com...
whats the big deal about drilling into masonary?

if making it free standing adds 30% to the cost and you have to get a
engineer to design it, and at resale this will cause all sorts of home
inspection questions and may well scare off buyers or decrease your
home value......

IS IT WORTH ALL THIS??

using commonly accepted building practices has advantages well beyond
initial cost...