I do not always have access to pumice so I mix it up with whatever grit I have hanging around. Expanded shale. , washed 1/4 Decomposed granite , course red lava sand, perlite. I am not anal retentive. I am more of the "what's in the frig" kind of gardener. I do not know if you are in Florida, California or Texas. The quantities will be important to your location and how humid you are. I know Floridians who grow in 100% grit, and inland Californians who use more humous in the mix. Its a mixed bag here in Texas as U sit under the remnant of Hurricane Harvey who might be leaving 20" on me. I have also gone all summer often without summer moisture. Not this year.

Dryer booster fans are usually illegal and prohibited from installation under nearly all Residential Building (mechanical) Codes. The 2006 version of the IRC does not approve of their installation under any circumstance. Likewise you will be hard pressed to find a single dryer manufacturer that permits the installation of dryer boosters on any of their products. Likewise, you will find few, if any 'dryer boosters' that have been 3rd party tested, listed and labeled for use. Not even the Fantech dryer boosters listed in the previous post are allowed for use in residential applications in the US. They are not tested nor listed by an approved US testing agency. They are only approved for use in Canada under CSA testing rules not recognized in America. Likewise even Fantech states: "Fan impeller may accumlate lint. Periodic inspection, based upon dryer usage, should be performed to ensure fan impeller is not obstructed or coated with lint." Some dryer booster fan motors bear a UL listing, but that should not be misunderstood that these devices have been approved for use by UL as 'dryer boosters'. UL does not test these devices for their duct performance. The fact that these devices require routine inspection and are located in in areas not easily accessible nor routinely frequented make them extreme fire hazards under all circumstances. Check with your local code office and the dryer manufacturer's installation instructions before allowing your builder and his plumber to install this device. The correct approach is to relocate the laundry area to provide easier direct access for the dryer vent or to run the dryer vent through the roof to stay within the Code or dryer manufacturer's approved run lengths for your make and model dryer. Whenever possible, these devices need to be avoided. They are dangerous since they are normally not approved by anyone to be there.

I am considering purchasing a leftover Marvin elevate french door available in my area so that I don't have to wait for the long lead time (3-4 months+) and save some money buying leftover vs new. We are mid-construction (remodel) and have decided to add a french door (single outswing rough opening 37 5/16"). Some considerations of our decision of the immediately available leftover Marvin french door I have found for sale locally are: A) exterior color is ebony, whereas all other french doors and windows we have are stone white exterior [learned it can be painted; references mentioned at bottom of this post] B) adjustable hinges are ebony, whereas the other french doors and windows are satin nickel PVD [learned we could order replacement adjustable hinges to match color; references mentioned at bottom of this post] C) perimeter bar is black, whereas the other french doors we have are stainless [currently thinking that is is not issue for us, given the the room we would be installing this french door has no other windows or french doors] A references - From this post above, and the Marvin website, it seems that you can paint the exterior without losing the Marvin window warranty https://www.marvin.com/products/collections/elevate/swinging-french-door Exterior Finish section states "If a design change calls for a new color down the road, our material can be painted without voiding our warranty." B references - https://www3.marvin.com/WebDoc/Parts_Elevate_Outswing_French_Door.pdf my questions are: A) how visible is the perimeter bar? B) would it be best to paint the exterior color (as stated in above thread by Marvin rep) before installation or after installation? C) would it be best to replace the adjustable hinges before installation or after installation? Curious to learn from folks that have experience with construction. I appreciate any advice.

I know this discussion is a little old- But Carol I've been a buyer and seller of high performance windows over many years- and in my experience many sales people really don't understand well when high SHGC glass should be used. In all canadian climates we have a much higher need for heating than airconditioning. And the solution is basically the same in most of canada. From a salesperson's perspective the 'I can't go wrong advice' is high SHGC on the East only- because no one will ever complain about the result- but you end up missing out on lots of free heating all winter. Typically I have always selected high SHGC on the East and South, and low SHGC on the North and West. However - it is possible to overheat a house in the winter and summer with too much south facing high SHGC, If you have a very large amount of south facing glass, you may need a fan system to recirculate surplus heat in the winter, or sufficent massive materials. So this caveat is always there. But recently I was speaking with researchers at CMHC. They said that tests done at the National research council recently found that high Solar Heat Gain glass (SHGC) was beneficial on all faces in the canadian climate. Even in the winter - the north windows will get reflected heat gain from snow etc. And in the end this always was a net benefit - with the heating savings easily much more than the increase in cooling costs. So my current reccomendation would be go for high Solar Heat Gain on all sides. As for a manufacturer- I have bought windows from Serious Windows, Thermotech, and Inline, I have used triple glass and the SeriousWindows Suspended film glass. My preference is for the suspended film windows from Serious because you get lighter weight which will give you longer life on operable windows- And higher VT (visibile light transmission) They have been used in a lot of leading buildings including the empire state building and have a lifetime guarantee. (they have distributors now in canada-SeriousWindowsCanada.com) My second choice would be Thermotech, they are more expensive but are very knowledgeable about windows and will give good advice. Third is Inline- because there custom service has not always met my expectations in the past. But the product is a good quality product.