Recent content by ChrisM

1.52 gallons of propane equal 1 gallon of heating oil in amount of btus for heating. So if you use 400 gallons of heating oil in a season that equals 608 gallons of propane. Since your oil furnace is say 60% efficient of that 400 gallons 160 gallons is going up in smoke. In a 95% efficient...

In our case as in my post there would be so much hardware (heating and cooling the whole house) to maintain it'd take up all my time. The mini splits would also have required us to install a propane furnace and propane tank (don't want the oil) for backup heat at a cost of $6000. Dandelion is...

We were going to install a mini split system with 6 heads and two outdoor condensers just because we didn't want to replace the old ductwork. After considering running refrigerant and drain lines with all the holes needed in the house walls not mention all the maintenance replacing the ductwork...

It's about 450 sq ft and about 4' high located in the Hudson Valley NY about 90 miles north of NYC. It can get very humid in the summer in July and August but by late August things start cooling off. This ducted system is meant to heat and cool the above dining room, kitchen and living room...

We are thinking of installing a ducted Mitsubishi Mini Split in our encapsulated crawlspace. It is always between 55 and 70 degrees depending on the season has no vents and is setup as part of the house envelope. Would this create a problem such as adding humidity? Our attic is not part of...

I have an 8000 watt portable generator and a manual transfer switch that has only the essential circuits hooked up. Even with that much power I can't run the hot water heater and well pump at the same time. So it seems a 3500 watt generator would be a bit small to power an entire house. The...

I'm about to start a similar project only the house was built in 1987. The kitchen is very cold in winter and after cutting a hole in the sheetrock I know why! The insulation was just put in, not stapled and not the width of the wall cavity which is 24 on center. Since we are residing the...

I want to install an Aprilaire 400 by-pass humidifier in a system that has a fiberboard supply line and a metal return. The house was built in 1987 and we bought it in 2008. I changed the return line to metal when we replaced the oil furnace. The new furnace is a Thermo Pride two stage OH6. I've...

Well it's been over two years and the floor is still stiff and strong! Post the pics I'd like to see them.

First let me thank everyone for their very knowledgeable replies and for taking the time to post them! My initial plan was to plywood just one side of each truss with 5/8 ply. The engineer however was the one who said to do both. I suppose at that point I should have used 3/8 ply but I...

I did get a building permit for the job detailing everything as I wrote in the initial post. I have to get approval from the building inspector for the framing which will mean it is up to code and my understanding is that they wouldn't issue a permit if they deemed it was not up to code. I am...

Thank you very much for taking the time to post your very detailed reply! I have spent many sleepless nights worrying I did the wrong thing and really messed up my house. Not mention how I was going to tell my wife we might have to spend several thousands to fix the problem. I always research...

Thanks for your help on this and welcoming me to the site.

The engineer didn't detail anything for me. I presented my idea for stiffening the floor trusses and originally I was only going to put ply on one side but he said to do both sides and said it was alright to proceed as planned. A civil engineer on another website told me I'd compromised the...

I thought I was approaching this project wisely by paying a strutural engineer 350.00 to consult on the project. After he came to the house and saw the project in person he advised I could box in the trusses by gluing and screwing 5/8" plywood to both sides to stiffen them leaving holes for...