Thanks, I love my mosaic bench/sink area. Honestly, it's usually got so much dirt and crud on it, it never looks like those photos in my blog anymore. But, it works! Having the thermostats in full sun will definately skew your readings, but I can't say how much. This is my first greenhouse too, but I read that it's best to locate thermostats close to the center of the greenhouse, close to (or just above) plant level, and out of direct sunlight. Because the thermostats are basically the "brains" of the greenhouse, I figured it was worth a bit of hassle to try to hang them in a good spot. Also, I tend to slop water everywhere, and knew that mine would be safest if they were hanging from the ceiling...but with your slick system, that shouldn't be a problem. Here are a few threads/links that might give you more ideas: Thermostat location thermostat placement in a greenhouse how to install a greenhouse thermostat I spent time with your blog this morning, and it's really good (and fun to read.) I love the stone foundation, stoplight lenses, and the row of glass bottles (being a closet fan of funky folk art and bottle houses...) I think the important thing is to have fun, and it looks to me like you're doing a great job of that. You are right that everything always costs more than we think it will, but I figure at the end of my life, I won't be saying "I wish I hadn't spent money on interesting hobbies that taught me stuff...!!" Good for you.

1) If I use cap nails, won't that making the insulation less effective because of the holes? the nails have a plastic cap that will give you a decent seal and will cover the hole left by the nail. as you are nailing into a solid surface (wood) and foam coveres gaps in siding its a non issue as long as you caulk the sides to the studs. 2) energy rater, can you confirm what nerdyshopper said about leaving space between the foam and the drywall? his was a conditioned space application. in homes foamboard can't be left exposed, it has to be behind a fire rated surface like drywall. in his application they used a foil sided foamboard and I guess the radiant barrier (foil) is facing the inside of the wall, putting anything in contact with a radaint barrier is a no no as it doesn't allow the rb to reflect the heat. we put it on exterior walls withthe foil facing the brick, but not to the interior of the wall. yours is a shed.if you plan on finishing the wall out..use a dow blue board and insulate the walls with batts and install sheetrock over them..if its a fancier shed..are you planning on heating and cooling the shed? spending a lot of time in there? what is your location? there is a vapor barrier location criteria. oh and radiant barriers are for hot climates. 3) Any technique for an efficient way us cutting the foam to size so it's gonna be as airtight as possible on irregular shaped dimensions? --> The dimensions are never rectangular. Sides are like: 27" 3/8, 44" 1/4, 28" 1/8 and 43" 3/4 with odd angles. Yep, time and straight edge, and extra razors for the razor knife. cut each to fit tightly and if its too small cut a slice of foam board make it tight fit and nail in place with button cap nails seal with caulk. So you mean caulk every single place where the foam meets the studs? Is it really gonna improve the insulation? exactly. what you are trying to do is make the space comfortable enough to work in. foam sheathing will stop the air flow. if you install it with gaps you will have lots of air infiltration. this is the tradeoff...you do the install of foam sheathing material cost and time or hire a foam company for higher cost and less time. a shop is a diy imo. caulk is cheap. foamboard is easy to work with. insulation doesn't perform because of the air that moves thru it. stop the air movement and it makes a huge difference. how do you plan to finish the ceiling?

I had the same thought! The hole was small, but it seemed like the piece of wood I though should be at the ceiling line was at the ceiling height, then if I moved the tape off that piece of wood it went up a good bit more, hard to tell exactly how much due to the angle of the tape, but significantly farther than the ceiling should be. Before I decide how much I need to DIY I want to meet with the GC. DH is NOT handy, he helps friends when needed but is generally the clean up guy while they work. I can pick things up pretty fast with some research, but my work schedule does not lend itself to a reasonable time frame. I traded labor costs for a timely bathroom remodel, but we are talking substantially more labor here so I don't know what compromises might be needed. I'm thinking $20 k total, with my Kraftmaid cabs quoted at about 8,100 ( still looking at a custom quote soon) and very roughy labor est. of $5k (which will be higher, but did include demo needed to move fridge). I have popcorn ceilings, which I want to tile over rather than remove so that should help as no matching is needed (it is not heavy texture and pretty stable), and will probably put down the tile we used in the bathroom on the floor, so $1.44 /sf probably simple 45 degree offset. Just replaced appliances, so they are not included. Will need a new OTR micro. Window and sliding door are newer and staying. Removal of wallpaper was part of the initial estimate. I'm optimistic that is a doable budget. Though I keep finding all sorts of cool things here, so fantasy may have to bow to reality. Time will tell! Not ready for a more precise estimate yet, will probably be a month or two before I get to that point.

geoffrey, YOU brought up the 95/5, not me... I have no idea what the installer will use, but I'm not sure how me doing research on items you suggest translates to me being a micro-manager (it's me reducing my ignorance of a particular product or method). I'm researching possible directions so that I may make a more informed decision rather than barraging the installer with impossible/impractical requests. But if you feel answering such questions is a waste of your energy, you're certainly free to ignore them. Vith, The issue with a tubing bender is it requires room for the length of tubing beyond the bends... in my case, it follows 40' down a set of I-beams, hooks behind an immovable object (think of it as a box I have to thread through, then juts out another 4-5'. If the line was completely flexible, I could push it past the obstacles and be done... but once you make a bend, you're set with the length of tube beyond that bend (hopefully that makes sense). My thinking was soldered/brazed connectors or simply swaging the tube in a couple of strategic places around the obstacle, allowing for 2-3 separate pieces to be used rather than trying to bend a single tube in an impossible manner. BTW, had a guy out here to discuss the plan. He said what I had in mind was not a problem. The furnace is moving closer, so he'll just trim back the line length, and since it's already cut, add in a few tight bends and cut/swage if/where necessary. The heat pump is moving farther away, so it will require a new pipe... same situation, just with a new pipe. He's also going to do a simple cut/reroute in a similar manner for the third heat pump. Nutshell, I get what I was hoping for,and it will significantly clean up the space so I may continue my framing. Thanks for everyone's comments/help.