24-column 960px grid with 10px gutters

FYI: 'commented out' worked, where
;skinr[options][inherit_skins] = <strong>false</strong>
did not for some reason, in case anyone was wondering. Similar to 689228#comment-2501618.

@douggough@drupal.org, @SeanBannister - sorry for the delay in responding to the requests for source files - we've been swamped! Attached is a copy of the modified 24-column Fusion Starter theme we use these days (almost without exception) which includes the css grid file (standard Fusion 20px gutters), modified .info file, etc.

@slavojzizek: I just tried it, and it works fine. I've attached a screenshot [wireframed] of two 12-column blocks side by side in the Preface Top region. Sounds like it might be Panels. Don't know why though, right off hand. Details?

@slavojzizek: you're welcome, and no worries about the questions. Better to ask and get good answers than risk getting sloppy on Drupal's unsurpassed standards. The relentless pursuit of excellence is (IMHO) one of the key elements that separates Drupal - and its community - from the pack. To your questions:

...there is a space between [blocks], the gutter, of 20px. Does that not make the site 980px wide?
No. In the fixed width css grid files the maximum grid width is set to 960px. For instance, in the grid16-960.css file, the maximum grid width is set to: .grid16-16 {width: 960px;}. The gutters are 'subtracted' from that overall width, for instance:

.block .inner {
margin-left:10px;
margin-right:10px;
}

Is there a way to eliminate this spacing?
There are several ways to eliminate this spacing. But if I understand the question - and more importantly, the reason behind it - the 'proper' answer is to expand the block in the region in question to fill the entire desired area (ie; 16 of 16 grid columns, using the previous example). For a better understanding, here's a link to the 16 column layout: http://gridr.atomeye.com/?c=16&cw=40&cm=20&om=10 . FYI: It's a little misleading, because in the Fusion layout, the gutter widths are subsumed in the column width (ie; the 40px column width in the link is equivalent to .grid16-1 {width: 60px;} in Fusion's grid16-960.css file).

Is the background needing to be 980px wide, or 960px wide?
It depends. If you want the background to fit the grid width, then the background needs to be 960px wide. If you want the background to be the same width as the content, then the background needs to be 940px wide. Remember:

.block .inner {
  margin-left: 10px;
  margin-right: 10px;
}

means 10px is 'subtracted' from the left and right of all blocks. So the Fusion grids have an overall width of 960px, but the L & R margins (10px each) reduce the overall content width down to 940px.

I hope that helps. For more (actually, better) information, check out the great reference material (many thanks to the TNT crew & co.!) at:
http://fusiondrupalthemes.com/support/theme-developers/designing-fusion
http://fusiondrupalthemes.com/support/theme-developers/grid-concepts/cre... (from the top of this thread)