I can't believe I started this a month ago!! Well to my defense I did get in a car accident so it was not just a case of procrastranation. I worked on the coop today and now I am really starting to see some progress. I went to Lowes and had them cut all my wood to size and that worked out great until I used the wrong pieces for the sides. It was supposed to be 30" tall and I used the left over wood for the sides by accident. It is now going to be 24" tall. oh well. I also almost put the roof on sloping down on the inside instead of outside. I was borrowing a pair of tin snips from my neighbor (the ones from the dollar store did not work) and while I was waiting for him to come back I noticed the backwards slant. Thank God I caught that in time!! Chapelhillgardner I wish I could have used that shed. Like you said it would have been a lot easier and MUCH cheaper. SO far my total is about $200 spent. It was spread over time though so it did not hurt too bad. My chickens will be so glad to get out of the basement. They are getting quite large down there. They sleep in the brooder, eat in the brooder then haul butt playing around in the cellar. Thank goodness I have a cement floor down there. I am really pleased with the progress and can not wait to post photos so I can show you guys how it came out. I guess looking at all those inspiration photos really helped. Oh I really got on here to ask a question. Inside my pen I am building a box for the chickens to sleep in. I made the whole thing out of wood. Is that going to be okay on the bottom? Should I just plan on using a lot of shavings to help with the mess? Also should I be planning on putting a water and food contraption in the box? or is having them just outside in the pen okay for when they are out. sounds dumb I know butI am not sure what to use in that small space. the box they will be sleeping in is 24" high, 30" deep and 4' wide. (I hope that is enough room for 3 chicks). can you guys give me some idea of what to use inside for food and water. Pictures help me a lot

The floor has to be flat for a glue down. Improper prep is your culprit here. But, the level of prep that it seems that your floor needed is always an upcharge. Sometimes a significant upcharge, since you're having this many issues. Time to complain to your contractors board and read your contract about how you can sever this relationship.

For a second story, if you have a whole-house boiler already, I would probably just stick to straight a/c with an air handler. I say this because heat naturally rises, and having a secondary heat source, economically, doesn't sound like it would have a great payback on the second story. Do you have a thermostat for heat upstairs already, or just downstairs? If downstairs, upstairs should always naturally be warmer. The Carrier quote does not give you many options. The first option is a bare replacement, not even including a new indoor portion (just the coil inside). The second option is a complete Infinity system. The Infinity is a nice system, but by personal preference I tend to stay to the more simple systems (i.e., 13-15 SEER with variable speed indoor portion). The variable speed indoor unit can sometimes improve airflow to some rooms depending on present ductwork condition, and as you noted it also has a low fan-on setting (I think it comes from the factory like this but nevertheless it is an option for the installers to set). Depending on the thermostat you use, it has the ability to be configured to control (de)humidity (again, that's getting more fancy with controls). I like the American Standard quote (the equipment, that is) However it looks like this dealer too is just proposing a coil and not an actual air handler inside. Perhaps I'm confused as to what you have in the attic now (I'm assuming a fan coil/air handler - just a blower and a coil for a/c). When going to R-410A it is a good idea to flush the lineset/purge it with nitrogen. Surprisingly, some don't do this, and many times there won't be problems, but it is very good practice and any good company would know to do it or replace the lineset itself (which isn't necessary if proper size and in good condition). The second Carrier quote (most recent post) lists two good, reasonably priced options for a/c. With Carrier, those are the two units I'd look at (Comfort 24ACB330, Performance 24APA530). The Performance series unit is physically larger outside, if that makes a difference, since it's more efficient. Either of these units can be used with a variable speed indoor fan coil (model FV4BNF003/5). Let us know if you have any more questions.

I guess it all depends on how much you call from home versus away from home or on the road. We use pre-paid cellular. The new phones were free after rebate and my wife and I each spend about $5-$7/month for the STI Mobile/Sprint service. We only make quick 1-2 minute calls for necessary reasons and it works fine anywhere in the country that Sprint covers. Voice mail and text messaging are turned off on both cellular phones. Other cellular providers are now joining the pre-paid game with good deals. We are still stuck with the old telephone company for home and home office lines. I must have the reliability and quality of a landline for my business. I do pay too much for long distance, toll-free, and local service for my business compared to the low rates available today. Bills are typically $35-$50/month for relatively low volume usage. The last time I switched was from MCI to Ameritech(i.e. SBC/AT&T/who knows?) It was a pain to switch, but the new lower rates were good for a year before they went up again. Our home phone line just went up to $22/month for local phone service. It started at $18 several years ago. Pre-paid long distance service is $.025/minute using cards from companies like Cheap Phonecards. The latest cards don't require you to enter the pin every time from home and you can program the 800 access number into speed dial. The long distance cards are great from hotels too. We are seriously considering the switch to broadband phone service, but our local numbers are not yet portable for Vonage or the others. We are just outside of their large markets. Broadband cable internet is $30/month and speed is around 300K or 10 times faster than dial-up. It is fast enough for our needs. The total bill (excluding my business) is around $67/month for all phones and broadband for my wife and I. Here is a link that might be useful: Cheap Phone Cards