I happened across a rather large thick walled clay pot this past winter so I am planning on making a zeer pot to store garden produce in. This next summer I will be selling garden stuff at a local Farmer's Market and since I work a full time job and don't get home until after 6pm I have to do my picking a few nights before market day and store stuff. The indoor frig will only hold so much so Zeer pot to the rescue. Luckily I have a breezy pathway beside my house where a zeer pot will be out of the way and have near constant air flow - which is all I think it will need to cause the cooling effect. I plan on making a decorative top for it and placing some sort of potted plant on top of that to keep it nice and purdy lookin'. I am more worried about mold building up inside the inner pot which will cause more work for me if I have to constantly clean and sterilize it. I had already planned on using cooled cloth towels to drape across my produce while at the market in hopes that the evaporative effect will keep things cooler. As a one man operation with a busy work week. I have to find a way to harvest small amounts every night and store them easily until market day - Saturday. Luckily the market is only 4 hours long so I don't have to keep things cool for the entire day. Samntokyo - I left Tokyo in 1973 as an almost 16 year old. I have never been back but plan to one day - I'd like to take an extensive garden tour and see all four islands (something that was too expensive for the entire family to do when we lived there). While in highschool in Norman OK I tutored English to Japanese exchange students and got pretty proficient in hiragana and conversational Japanese - but those days are long gone. Recently while hosting an exhibit at the state fair here in Raleigh I got to chat with two elderly Japanese women but after about 5 sentences I ran out of words I knew well enough to place in a sentence. They were just happy to speak to someone and to have someone that understood their broken English with a thick accent. After the Japanese students the school had me tutor English to all the foreign students so I got pretty good at Chinese, Spanish and Farsi (Iran).

Hi guys Thanks for looking at the structure more closely; now you see what I've been talking about! zl700: the structure was built for a snow load of 40 pounds and it will handle winds up to 120mph. Here in CT I'll need a snow load of 30 and a wind rate of 100 so I'm all set on that. (The building was manufactured to MA code.) As far as snow and ice, if it is too cold to swim outside, we stay inside; to heck w/ the snow and ice!! No need to open the structure on days like that. If it gets warm inside on a cold day all I need to do is open any of the windows. I have talked w/ countless owners and so far none of them have had any damage to the building or track due to snow/ice. My structure will be built on a freeze (frost?) line foundation so no chance of the track or deck warping/cracking/getting out of alignment. Trhought: I was very close to just using a few of the vent-free propane heaters as many of the owners are curruntly doing the same. I'll bet, however, that none of them, except the gal in TX, is in their pool 8 hrs/day 6-7 days/week running a swim academy. I'm assuming they all just pop in the pool every now and then just because they can. I'm going to need some source of heat that is efficient (HA!), safe, and comfortable for long stretches of time in the pool. I currently run my lessons out of a school pool who's air temp is a disastrous 68 (their pool pack is broken) and the H2O a chilly 80. I'm in the pool for 6 hours and have resorted to wearing a full body 3mm wetsuit. I stay quite warm but some of the smaller kids are chilled to the bone by the end of their 30 minute lesson. Since the first rule in learning to swim is relaxing, I'll need the whole set up to be comfortable for all of my students. It sounds as though I should just pony up the cash and do the whole HVAC system w/ radiant heat for the air, pool as well as decking??? The system at $25K will cost more than the actual pool!!!! Should I prepare for the HVAC system but try out the small heaters the first winter and if they don't work I can then complete the installation of the HVAC or doesn't it work that way? Kind of like installing duct work for A/C in a house but not having the $ to complete it until years later?? Again, any and all offers of help are much appreciated!! (And you can all dream of swimming at my place while you're pools are all closed up tight for the winter!!) Thanks! Joanneswimsct

I'm building my own log home right now -- haven't stained it yet, but I'm definitely doing a light stain indoors -- I've seen too many that are way dark inside. http://www.permachink.com/company-news/wood-stain-colors - scroll to set of samples at the very bottom for interior quality stains -- I chose between butternut or light honey samples, and went with light honey, which I will coat with once. All the interior walls (ie, not exposed to the outside) will be sheetrocked, Other than the cathedral ceiling over the LR, DR and kitchen, the rest of the ceilings will be sheetrocked and painted a warm off-white. Since my logs will be light, I'm going with Sherwin-Williams "Global Spice" color palate - warm and earthy, but yes, some light tones in there. I'm staying away from deer and moose themes! (I'll have a Christmas stag out for maybe 3-4 weeks in the season, but it looks festive, not "deer season" hunting lodge.) My kitchen will be light quartz countertops, and the kitchen floor will be a light wood-look tile. (Which will contrast with a much darker pinewood floor throughout all the "dry" rooms.) I think both oil rubbed bronze and brushed nickel could look good for fixtures. You'll notice that the link above also sells stains in colors, which you may want to consider for cabinetry. You could paint trim white -- I'll be staining in wood finish, but my house sounds like it will be a lot lighter log-wise than your likely purchase. If you have to treat the wood (preserving) make sure you do the manufacturer's suggested full course of treatment. I've seen log homes while doing my research where no additional treatment was needed for 20 years (other than a six month apart bout with a good, long, feather duster).

Hi Autumn hopefully your new home, however tight, includes an outdoor-air ventilation system. Basically, a dedicated fan that exchanges indoor air with outdoor air. Energy raters, home performance contractors and some HVAC professionals can evaluate and advise if not. For health more than humidity. There is no such thing as too tight. The tighter the better. Your descritpions sound like classic leaky, inefficient house to me. Dry, leaking winter air requiring excessive heating during the cold season and infiltrating humid summer air the wrongly sized AC, can't deal with in the warm season. Could be wrong just sayin. Strive for cooktops vented to the outdoors and if having home performance contractors out to evaluate, have them check bath vent fans. They should be exhausting at least 50 CFM, most dont. Keep the bath door closed while showering and vent until moisture is gone. Easy ways to control big sources. A lot of moisture comes from the ground which is harder to fix on existing construction. Hopefully you don't have a crawlspace and maybe a home performance contractor can make suggestions for the foundation. Exterior grading adjustments uphill of my old home have stopped basement water intrusion, keeping it much drier. For vulnerable foundations lacking appropriate finish grading, gutters should be used and maintained with reckless abandon. I feel most east coast climates require at least some summer air-conditioning, even in MI. Mini-split heat pumps are a good solution but don't settle for HVAC contractor sizing and brand recommendations. Try to find a third party to evaluate needs for load sizing and brand. One can probably lower energy bills by offsetting some of the gas-burning. Lower energy costs plus my friends in PA and uncle in WY appreciate your concerns over their well water quality from fracking threats.