I live in wheaton and I have had hummers since the middle of May. last year I had at least a hundred come thru during the fall migration which is starting now. I think a few remembered and came back in the spring. Before this year I never saw any until fall. Put up a few feeders and they will find them and maybe they will remember next spring and pay you a vist and with luck decide to stay!

A plain party balloon filed with helium probably would not damage a plane, but one dangling a hard object like a small chair is definitely a hazard. Think about a small plane traveling at 120 MPH slaming in to a small wood chair. If it hit the windshield, that would not be good. A propeller stike could be disasterous. Slaming into the leading edge of the wing is not good. Whacking the tail stabalizer could tear off a chunk - not good. Sucking a chair into a jet engine is not good. In thte late 1960s, I worked for a company that flew a twin engine Convair. We had moved a product line to Bowling green, KY. This necessitated our technical staff to fly from a northern city to KY on a regular basis. The plane flew at 8000 to 10,000 ft altitude and over 200 MPH. On one trip, something hit the windshield - we think it was a large bird. The windshield got a hole and the right arm of the co-pilot was broken. He also experienced some frost bite on his face. Meanwhile the pilot was dealing with the suddent change of cabin pressure and temperature drop. He immediately slowed the aircraft, requested a lower altitude and an emergency landing at the nearest runway that could handle his plane. The co-pilot stuffed and held a spare flight jacket in the hole in the windshield. Upon landing, the co-pilot was whisked off to a hospital and the passengers were checked for eardrum damage. NO, I don't think you should send hard objects aloft. The release of large weather ballons are controlled and coordinated with air traffic controllers. They also carry radar targets. Ground based weather radar and satellite images have reduced the need for weather balloons.

Definitely glad there is a consensus on limiting to two different ceiling types. cpartist, I was thinking the same way, it just feels like it should be more of an intimate location. Virgil, I broke down and widen the dining per suggestions here and struggling a bit with the depth due to cost. We have a small family and will not use the back side of the table, only when we entertain. But none the less I'm considering the bump out. Mrspete, I've never been so torn on such a detail and still not 100% decided. I originally had it a vault with central fireplace but couldn't find the inspiration for a fireplace that fit to scale going to the peak of the vault (10' ceiling with 5/12 vault). If we end up going this direction I'd have the TV above the fireplace. Fireplace would be 7' wide, TV would be 42" wide (left to right) and then I'd need to use a firebox 42" wide at a minimum. This configuration also adds several thousand due to the venting at the roof, the additional stone to the sides and to the peak of the vault, and the niche/mounting/wiring for the TV. Do you think it could go eitherway or would you stick with corner fireplace? Would be interesting to hear what others say as well! chisue, It would be for family use 95% of the time for dinners but for breakfast and lunches the island will be the primary location. Any reason you'd chose a cased opening vs an arched opening? Do you think a simple rectangular step would still work with the octagon step in the great room? I plan to put two vertical and two horizontal beams in the great room step.

If I had to guess the slope of the shed roof I would say from 1-10 in 12; 1-7 in 12 and 1-4 in 12 depending on the sill height above the roof of 6", 12", and 18" respectively. If I had to guess the slope of the hipped roof when the height of the rough window sill is 12" above the flat roof, I would say 2.5 in 12 (first model). For an 18" rough sill height the slope might be 2 in 12 (second model). The unknown variable is the height of the porch eave relative to the bedroom floor level. I have assumed the eave is 6" below the floor height but that's probably optimistic. That should work for shingles with Ice & Water Shield underlyment over WB (water based) Primer or a fully-adhered single-ply membrane or copper. That's similar to my porch roof near Boston that's been fine for 120 years, originally with copper then with an adhered EPDM membrane. If the snow gets above the window sill the heat from the glass keeps it from touching the glass and frame.