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    Looking for a decent riding mower

    I agree completely. I have a Kubota 2880 (28 HP three cylinder diesel) with a front mount 60" deck. I mow about 8 acres and it does about 1 acre/hr. at a nice easy pace. The deck is extremely thick steel - definitely commercial grade stuff. The front mount also allows for quick attach PTO...
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    In floor radiant heat question

    If you use good quality components (ie. stainless steel manifolds, etc.) and fill the system with a 50/50 mix water/propylene glycol, I don't see why there would be any corrosion issues. You might want to have a thermal break between the two slabs to prevent heat conduction from the slab you...
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    Princess Auto Rapid Air $100, Is it good for me?

    Princess Auto. It is a retail chain in Canada (HQ in Winnipeg) with a bunch of stores all across the country (except Quebec). It is the Canadian equivalent of your "Harbour Freight". Lots of cheap Chinese made tools `that are marketed under the "Powerfist" brand. www.princessauto.com
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    If you could put any light out front of this shop, what would you put?

    If I may offer an opinion. I would think a 400W HPS is kind of overkill and would be excessive unless you are doing a very large area such as a parking lot. I have a 70W HPS Cooper Wallpack about 28' up on the front peak above my overhead door and it throws a nice light all around the front of...
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    Foundation/slab quote - too high?

    I just replaced my 20' x 22' detached with a 26' x 28' over on the other side of the GTA and got three quotes. I have a backhoe so I removed the old garage and slab as well as all the ground work including trenching for the footers and backfill afterward. The new garage is attached so I had to...
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    Transfer Switch Question-NASA-Space Weather

    You might also want to investigate a diesel powered portable generator which have been in the market now for a few years. These things will run a long time on a gal. of diesel fuel at a constant speed. I picked up a 6500W portable a couple of years ago and use it for portable power on job...
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    Monolithic or Stem wall in Wi for shop with infloor heat?

    Footers and stem wall is the best way to go for stability in areas where the frost goes down - unless it is going to be a small footprint like a 10' x 10' shed or something. I just tore down a 20' x 22' that was built about 30 yrs. ago on a slab and it was not salvageable due to cracking and...
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    Transfer Switch Question-NASA-Space Weather

    Here is a paper published by Schneider about this topic. It discussed the issue of floating or grounded neutrals on portable gen sets. http://members.rennlist.org/warren/Gen_Panels_Appl_Note_EN.pdf In summary, if you are going to connect it into your panel using a transfer switch, a portable...
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    Raise current building or build new

    In the end, the decision is yours alone so I can only offer what I have come to realize over the years. Everytime I have ever modified the structure of a building as part of a renovation project - I have ended up getting into a lot of unforseen problems. My theory now is demolish and re-build...
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    Holmes on Homes - My Take

    In Ontario, you don't need to be a licenced electrician to do electrical work - the work just needs to be permitted first, inspected and passed by the ESA (Electrical Safety Authority). This is mandatory even if a home owner wants to change a light fixture in their own house!!! Having said...
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    Framing in a basement

    Best solution I have found is to stud frame the walls with 2"x4" studs floor to ceiling leaving a space of approx. 2" between the wall and the back side of the studs. Then have a contractor spray on urethane foam to a depth of approx. 4" floor to ceiling. Drywall cover and your done - no...
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    In Floor heating insulation question

    No need for a vapour barrier if you are using closed cell foam - just tape the seams with Tuck Tape if you are concerned about it. In our area (Ontario) we should be fine with the foam down 2' from the top of the slab on the inside of the foundation wall. If you do it on the outside of the...
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    Anyone ever subdivide land?

    In late 2005 I bought a small 11 acre "hobby" farm from an 80 yr. old couple who wanted to move into the nearest town, closer to families, hospital, etc. It is on a main paved road in the country and he had already started a severance application. It got bogged down due to a dispute with one...
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    Aerodynamic Barn

    Anybody see this? It is somewhere in N. CA. http://www.semmesco.com/news/?p=269
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    Automotive Scan Tool

    Me too. I have heard good reports about the software based tool from Auto Ingenuity but haven't pulled the wallet out of my pocket yet for it. http://www.autoenginuity.com/
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    Backfeeding panel with generator power

    I have been considering installing an interlock on my breaker panel so I can connect a generator to it. As I investigate this, it is apparent that the rules in Canada are far different than in the USA. So for the Canadians in the crowd, I thought I would post this here so we can all be better...
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    Radiant in floor heating question design. Need help

    Well, just for comparison, I had a Hydronics dealer in Toronto give me a design based on his heat load calculations. For one of the zones, I have a room of 28' x 32' x 16' ceiling height - similar in size to what you are doing. He spec'd that room in at 6 loops @ 300' ea. of 1/2" PEX (total...
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    Ground source switch. . . how much did you save?

    During construction of my 2000 sq. ft. heated portion of the shop, I did a lot of research on ground source vs. gas fired as a heat source to drive the radiant floor heating system I installed. I looked at several different manufacturers and talked to a lot of contractors. I could find no...
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    how long

    The PO built a detached 2-car about 35 years ago and it is a total POS. Things I didn't like: 1. Poured a concrete slab on top of dirt with just a 4 mil layer of plastic down first. In the spring, the floor is sopping wet and has cracked and heaved in several pieces. The surface of the...
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    Radiant in floor heating question design. Need help

    You would use a device called a "system feeder" to pressurize the system to 15psi. It also makes it easier to initially fill the system and keeps it topped up if any minor leaks. They are made by a company in Saskatoon called Axiom Industries. I used the MF200 - www.axiomind.com. Available...
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