I'm not doing any dying (yet). I will probably do most of my weaving with cotton, linen, silk. They require wet finishing, but probably need less attention than wool. And if I do catch the dying bug I'll probably stick with those materials and they can be done on the stovetop. I believe I'll go with the front loading set. I have a friend who still has a top-load machine. I can use her machine if I need to and give her a handwoven towel now and again in thanks. I printed out the installation portion of the manual of the set I'll probably get and stuck to the wall this morning so if they get to framing the closet they'll know how deep to make it. The depth won't change if I end up with a different brand in the same size. I spent a lot of the weekend going through stuff in my loft. Cleaning out the cubbies-many bags of old clothes to take to the thrift shop, and rounding up the dust bunnies under the bed. I still have the cubbies on the east side...where the construction will be happening, but they are smaller and probably mostly things I will keep. When they start work there, the bed will have to be dismantled. When they are done with the bedroom, but before it is painted and floored it will be a good place to sand and repaint the bedframe and a couple pieces I will use for the side tables. I want to add a lightly upholstered piece to the headboard. I have two low dressers that stand in front of the cubbies now. At least one of them will have to move downstairs during the construction. I think one will fit in the new floor plan, the other may end up in a yard sale. Once I move to the new bedroom I will gut the loft, removing the cubbies and flooring. I'll enlist a woodworking friend to help me design and build some simple new cubbies that have backs and boxes or baskets to match. I really don't need every possible cubic inch for storage. I can backfill the area behind with insulation. I'll put in new floor and a rail at the end of the loft floor. By then the little recliner which is off getting new upholstery should be ready and I can set it up there with a good light. The loom will fit in the dormer, so I'll have a view of the mountains while I weave. A sewing machine table will tuck into the opposite side. When in use the loom or sewing table can be pulled out toward the center of the room and tuck back a foot or two out of the way when not in use. I'll add a drop leaf on the back and side of the sewing table to create a larger workspace when needed. That should leave enough room for card weaving and one day, perhaps, a small tapestry loom. And no doubt, a serger. Ellen

We are doing a conservatory rather than a 3-season and we're in MN so get a bit greater temp swings than you do. We'll have hydronic heat in the floor of the conservatory and then we're running the lines, condensate drain and electricity for a mini-split but not installing the unit (due to cost & aesthetics). We'll already have a gas boiler for hydronic heat throughout our basement and upstairs bathrooms as well as hot water supply so it wasn't extremely costly to also do the conservatory (and sauna below). Drawing of the conservatory (and a bit about our design process) here: http://bamasotan.us/2019/02/so-what-you-want-is-an-inn/ If it's too hot to use the conservatory then we'll likely be on our porch (with phantom screens down if it's buggy) so I don't know if we'd ever have much need of cooling. The conservatory has openable windows and roof vents but even with these they can get quite warm on sunny days. The hydronic in-floor heat should work well for cooler weather and results in a much more comfortable room than heat from a mini-split alone. If we find that we do want cooling during warmer weather or more heat during colder weather then we'll install the mini-split. In talking with a lot of people who have conservatories or orangeries, about 50% use it enough in hot/cold weather to need a mini-split and 50% are good with only hydronic. I'd not place odds on which way we'll go. :-) For you I'd think in-floor would be sufficient for heat so the primary question would be if you'd ever want cooling?

Hi,The attic has been a livable bedroom when I bought the house what I wanted to do to create the illusion of more space was to expose the historic rafters and make a knee wall (HVAC on left side) and run sheet rock between them and keep the beams exposed and also vault the ceiling.There are 2 gable vents at either of the roof and no soffit vents just blown in insulation. I'm planning to put blocks in to keep 1 inch between the roof deck and the foam board for air flow then put in foam board insulation on top before sheetrock.Since there are going to be two slim recessed lighting going in there will be a flat space at the topm..... so to vent can I run a PVC pipe end to end with holes or move the vents up?Are they necessary if I add soffit vents?PS. I'm only vaulting half the ceiling so the other vent is there but I know I need intake and outtake.Do they sell mini vents at HD that go up higher?Thanks!Here's Google Photos Album https://photos.app.goo.gl/k8R3YcEvcwtoyKyt9

Attic insulation usually falls into two categories - (most common) leave as unconditioned space, where the attic is vented outside and insulation is installed in the room ceiling below, or create conditioned space, where the attic vents are sealed, the roof deck is insulated and the room ceiling below usually does not have insulation. In your new attic area it sounds like you have conditioned space. If you want to leave it as conditioned space, most contractors will recommend venting it to the rest of the house to maintain a moderate level of air flow through the area. This could be something as simple as an HVAC grill in each end of the area to allow air flow, or you could also install a circulating fan. I have a conditioned attic and I chose to leave it unvented. It is a relatively high volume area (full attic), and during hot weather it seems to stay within about 10 degrees of the temp set in the house. My A/C unit is also located there, so I probably get some residual cooling effect from the duct runs, even though they are insulated. Bruce