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I am fishing the inside of my detached garage with plywood. I like the warmth of wood, and plan on leaving it either unfinished or use pre finished ply with a clear finish. The two options I am looking at are 'AC' grade Douglass Fir ply from the local lumberyard (similar to this) or...

As others have said - do the actual calculations, this is about as easy as it gets for load calcs. But for a gut feeling an 18k mini split would likely be plenty. If the cost differential isn't too bad, you could go with a 24k, which would have the advantage that it could heat up/cool down...

I would agree that this sounds high, even for the Catskills. But without knowing the specifics it is really hard to judge. From the specs this sounds like it is going to be a very well built and nice garage with higher end construction. Secondly if this is the same GC and subs that are...

Are you sure the black stuff you are seeing is from the your under sink filter, and is not some sort of sediment from the well? Unless you have a pressure tank on the downstream side of the under sink filter, it seems quite unlikely that it would back flow through this filter as there is no...

The non DIY direct to consumer models like Blueridge and Pioneer are not really much harder to install than the Mr Cool 'DIY' units and are available with hyper heat. The only real difference is that you need a vacuum pump and gauge set, which can be had for < $200. You can also do a...

Agree with others that prices are unlikely to go down, tariffs or no tariffs. The other part of this is that it really doesn't matter whether a particular manufacturer is hit with tariffs or not - it is a competitive market so it their competitor has to raise prices 15% due to tariffs, they can...

Yes, this sounds about right - either an architect or an engineer. They will take the sketches and add all the details like truss spacing, connectors, headers, sheer wall nailing etc. While it is probably easier to work with someone in person if you can, because you would be building to the...

It is easy to complain when someone gets the terminology wrong in a field that you are familiar with, but I bet most people here screw up things like medical, or chemical or botanical terminology all the time and don't even realize it. I know I do. Did calling a fiber optic cable a fiber optic...

A 36x60 wood framed garage is a big project that is going to cost a lot of money, even in Iowa. It seems like it would be a good idea to hire an architect or engineer to design a sturdy and appropriately specified building. That way you have clear and fully specified plans for the GCs to bid...

I appreciate CR or Wirecuter reviews for things I am not an enthusiast on. One difference between these and the recommendations here, is that most people recommend (or sometimes don't recommend) what they have, because that is what they have experience with. Whereas with a professional...

I have had both the Makita dual battery mower (at a rental), and now an EGO 21" self propelled, and for me they have done an equivalent job to my prior Honda gas mower w.r.t leaf mulching. The EGO does have a specialized mulching double blade installed. The overall experience mowing with...

There is not too much to explain. A brushless DC motor also has three sets of windings in the stator, and a rotor with permanent magnets - the only difference in the construction of the motor is that a BLDC motor typically (but not always) has a feed back mechanism for the rotor position...

Brushless DC and 3 Phase are generally the same. There are several topologies for Brushless DC, but delta and wye (like a 3 phase motor) are the most common. The only difference is the Brushless DC has hall sensors to trigger the energization of each winding at just the right time, whereas 3...

As a DIYer (but an EE in a prior life) I am big fan of the Wago lever connectors. They do cost more than wire nuts, but the difference is typically only a few $ for a DIY scale project. They are easier to use correctly, and very easy to reconfigure if you need to correct something or make...

What is the perforated shovel for? I have never seen one quite like that? And, nice rack!

I like the Gardena ones. They have both a plastic and aluminium version. These are the 'original' hose connectors, are made in Germany, and work really well. My Parents have had these (plastic ones) for around 30 years, and they are still going strong, which is amazing. These are not...

One question - where are you measuring radon? Are you measuring in the main level or the basement? Do you have any bedrooms or frequently occupied spaces in the basement? Point being, you care about the radon level in the spaces you spend a lot of time in, primarily the bedrooms.

I generally thought that Radon mitigation required sealing and ventilation? Are they just trying to fix this with bigger fans, or did they work on sealing the sub slab area from the living space? A huge fan is just using a lot of energy and pulling conditioned air out of your house, and...

I have a 320/400 main feeding two 200A subs - it uses a RONK meter/breaker combination, which are about $1300. https://www.toboaenergy.com/product/ronk-msb320lf-ug-meter-socket-circuit-breaker/ Much faster and cleaner install than what you are showing above.

We are also in Colorado and just installed a 10kW grid tie system on our house, which for now completely powers our house, shop and EV. Our total energy bill (no natural gas, propane and almost no petrol) is a fixed $7 per month. Colorado is about as good as it gets for solar, lots of sun...