Hi, I'm a daylily grower and I need to build a greenhouse that will keep my more tender plants and seedlings at a minimum temperature of 45 during the winter months. I'd like to make it 16 x 20 and have a 3ft high kneewall to prevent snow from coming in. I've been considering a Quonset style GH but I also wanted to be able to have a solid insulated north wall. I've been doing a lot of reading on this subject and I think I know the steps I have to take in building this thing but I'm having a problem locating a local supplier for the film. I live in the greater Rochester, NY area. Does anyone know of a supplier out this way? I've found online sources but shipping cost almost double the price. I did find an online source for a metal frame (Mortons $400. for a 16x 20 H series) but again I'd rather get it locally than pay for shipping. Does anyone know a source or can suggest an alternative way to build this thing? Heat will be my next consideration. We had been planning on installing an outdoor wood furnace for our house and running a line from it to the greenhouse. Now the need for a new truck may have wiped out the furnace for this year. What options are there for heat.I don't have access to natural gas lines. I can get electric or propane. How many btu's would a structure 16 x 20 x 6 ft high require to maintain a minimum of 45 at night in up to -20F (a possible extreme) weather? Also snow load is another factor. Do I need a minimum slope? We average 5 ft of snow over the winter. If there are archives that would help pointers would be appreciated. Thanks for any help with this project. Molly

I also was looking to buy a Grill recently. (See my recent post the Weber Comparison). At a price under $500, the two grills that seemed the most attactive to me were the Weber Silver Genesis C and the top of the line Kenmore premium grill. For the reasons I outline in my post, I am very happy with with my Weber purchase dicision. Although, I do not have any actual experience with the Kenmore Grill on Sale at Sears for $ 499. It looked very interesting for the following reasons: 1) It is also manufactured by Grand Hall like the Member Mark Grill. 2)It has many attactive stainless steel components and it seems to be very well built. 3) It has slightly more BTU's than my Weber for a similiar surface area, so it should get plenty hot if you live in a moderate area. 4) It seems to have more features for less money that the Kenmore Elite Model. 5) Most noteably: it has an IR Rotisserie Burner and and a smoker box that allows you to add wood chips without opening the grill. It you like the stainless steel look, are determined to stay under $500, you don't mind a short warranty period or live in a area were rust can be a problem, then the Kenmore seems like a good product. For me, I am very happy with my Weber and would not go back and buy any other unit in this price range. Good luck with your purchase decision.

After much research, I just ordered the Best by Broan liner for inside of my custom hood. Will order a Broan blower (either inline or exterior. Appliance salesman and contractor will work together to let me try inline first, and if it doesn't perform well enough, get the exterior.) Link to the liner is below. Best by Broan is Boran's upgraded line. This was a really important decision, so I would've paid anything. I looked at every high-end brand, and found that the Best by Broan was the only one that met my specific needs. I chose it because: 1) The option to attach to an inline (this goes in the attic) blower, or an exterior wall or roof mounted blower. These 2 blower options allow for quieter operation, and, especially in the case of the exterior blower, more CFMs for greater smoke capture and removal. 2) The size. 58"+ is 18" wider than our 36" Wolf with griddle. It might be overkill, but ours will be mounted higher than the ideal 30-36", and I wanted the extra width for capture. 3) The baffles. Easier to clean than mesh, like the look, and GWers explained that baffles are probably quieter than mesh. They also explained that the wider the baffled liner, the quieter, b/c the air can rush into more baffles at one time. This was another reason I chose the 58" width. 4) 4 fan speeds, 4-level lighting, lights and controls are well laid out, like the four 50w halogens. 5) The wall switch option. It's important to note, if you want a wall switch to operate your blower, that some brands either don't offer one, or the wall switch actually disables some functions (like multi-level lighting) once it's installed. This was the case with a basic Broan, which is why we chose instead the Best by Broan. 6) During decision time, the Broan/Best by Broan tech department was really helpful, knowledgable, and available. Good luck, and try posting in appliances, too. Those guys are incredibly knowledgable and helpful. Here is a link that might be useful: Best by Broan Liner

Drilling through structural joists for anything larger than a small pipe (and then only near the end of a joist in the center of the beam) is out of the question. Forget it for ventilation sized ducts. Your duct would have to be either rising through a convenient closet on the next floor or scabbed to a wall on the next floor (if the location allowed) or be horizontal across the kitchen ceiling. I think we need more layout info before making a pile of guesses. While round ducts are the most efficient, this is slight, and rectangular ducts that fit through studs or between joists are useful. Maybe you can go along the joists to a wall, drop down several inches, and then follow a soffit under the joists to the outside. Find a standard rectangular duct size that has the same area l x w as the circular duct area pi/4 x d^2 recommended for your selected hood. Sometimes ceiling ducts can be hidden in cabinets hung from the ceiling that provide some added storage. To avoid head bumping, set the hood at head clearance height and make the aperture overlap of the cooking surface larger, such as 4 inches all around instead of the typical 3 inches all around. kas