So you have the Broan 6" MD6T and you have it unfiltered, unconditioned, and ouputting under the fridge for conditioning purposes? So you are relying on the exhaust heat of the fridge to cool the incoming air? How cold did it get this past winter for you? How cold was that make up air? Detectable at all? Here we had -20 real feel in NY with the wind chill at times. It was brutally cold and cold often. I think I might have to put in a heated MUA. So update on Broan. The lady I spoke to today was completely useless. To make a long story short she had absolutely no idea how to use the Make Up Air Specifier on her site. It was quite pathetic and my impressions of Broan's customer service = suck. I spoke to Dean at Electro Industries at length about all the factors I'm thinking about. We went over two options - one using the MA-10 (10kw all in one 10" heater with damper, blower, filter, and current detector to control blower speed) and the less expensive heater unit EM-WX1025R. The broan MD6T comes with a 24volt 20VA transformer so I could then use the one signal to turn on both the Broan damper and the heater unit. Both options unit can accomodate up to 637cfm in a 50 degree temperature rise. It's a 10kW unit though and would require a 50A or 60A two pole (240V) breaker and its own dedicated lines (of course). I can take care of the electrical so no problem there but man I'm guessing my heating bill (which was astronimical last year) will be more than I can tolerate this year. Temperature Rise Needed/CFM EM-WX1025R 10000 Watts 80/395 70/452 60/527 50/632 40/790 30/1054 MA-10 $1917 + freight EM-WX1025R $800 + freight. I think that should be sufficient - it's better to have 50 degree air coming in than 0 degree air. I'm thinking that maybe I can get away with non-heated air if I can get fresh air to come up that old supply register near the range. The opening is closer than the fireplace but it might work if I put a blower in-line as well.

Great kitchen! Now that I see the rest of the area, I don't think I would paint the walls in a color. You don't have a lot of wall space, and I think painting them would distract from the openness. If you MUST paint walls, I would do a very, very light grey and try to avoid a lot of contrast with the white. Instead of paint color, I would suggest you pick a great accessory color and do some things with that...like a substantial rug in a great color. Replace the clock. Get a teapot in a color...not stainless steel. I would remove the doors from the smaller upper cabinets (sink & stove) and use those spaces for cookbooks, pretty napkins in baskets, or other cute display items that go with the kitchen. Bring the color up and use it as part of the architecture. Just some ideas. Gayle

The move doesn't seem to be an issue that is causing conflict. It seems like BM wants to be in control and my suggestion is to get an agreement in writing that is enforceable. If dad is the one that's being reasonable & willing to cooperate, then he could let mom write up the terms to her liking and sign the agreement. At least, then they would have something that SHE came up with so SHE can't argue or change it. He would know what to expect and it would make her feel like she has some control of the situation. It's a power struggle and it takes two to keep it going. If you refuse to argue about anything, then it's no longer fun for her. If her goal is to phase dad out of the child's life, then she is making a mistake and that is probably why she keeps losing time. Going to court is expensive and if you can write an agreement, that's the best thing to do. In our case, my SD's mom moved 150 miles away & signed over custody less than a month after we had a trial that cost us over $10k and gave both parent's 50%. Now, three months later, her daughter has settled down (she's had to have lots of counseling for initial behavior problems) She had to change school (and had problems the first month or so) & is just making new friends and her mom is coaching her to let mom have her back. She wants Dad to let her take their child 2 hours away, have to start a new school there, make new friends and sleep on the floor because she is now living in a one bedroom with her new BF. (The one bedroom is set up for new BF's daughter that visits and new BF has two sons that sleep in the living room) and mom doesn't think this is any problem. It would be a wonderful if all bio mom's were created equally (and dads, and step parents, and children too) but they aren't and if all of the above would realize that what is best for children is to live without conflict, then some of these situations would be easier. After all, adults can get a divorce if there is too much conflict but kids can't. Their parent's are always going to be their parents. and studies show that the best thing for a child is to have the greatest community of people that love & care for them, whether it's parents, grandparents, step parents, other relatives, teachers or mentors. You wouldn't refuse to let your child go to school (or change schools) if they liked a teacher and said the teacher was more fun than you. at least I would hope not. The bottom line is that the decisions should be based on what is best for the child. If a parent is "demanding" or "unreasonable" then they are not thinking about what is best for their child, they are engaging in a battle with the other parent at the expense of the children. If the other parent wants what's best for the child, they will cease fire and take the conflict out of their child's life. It may mean sacrifice and if the offending parent is willing to deny their child time with the other parent, the child will grow up to resent THAT parent, not the parent that lost the time. Eventually, the child will decide who they will continue to have a relationship with as an adult. If both parents keep the conflict going, the child is going to cut both of them out or end up in a very dysfunctional life of her own. And history will repeat itself.

Well, I don't know that this works perfectly, but it gets at least somewhat of everything you want. Perhaps that is enough?The family entrance to the home is in the side. Enter there, and you'll pass the 5' x 5' half bath (with a window!) and a closet and hooks on the back of the pantry and/or on the long stairwell wall. Not the most elaborate mudroom or half bath ever, but it's more than you have now. If you would like to trade traffic flow for a bigger closet, you could always close off the entrance to dining/kitchen areas from the mudroom. (If you're carrying groceries, you'd probably enter the house through the deck doors anyway.) Like this: In addition to the half bath and mudroom, this plan also gains you a big kitchen with an island that is not a corridor kitchen. Moreover, though you cannot see the entire living room from the island, you can see the entire dining room and about half of the living room: Note that, though the living room does not change in size, it has a new traffic pattern running into it from the new hallway. This will shift any natural living room furniture layouts to the right. Does that leave you enough room for a decent furniture layout?