I agree about Ventilation 101. As yourself, I've had to education myself on these matters, but unlike you, I can stare up my range hood vent, measure and picture. Any way, a squirrel cage is a type of cage in which my roof centrifugal fan/motor ensemble sits. I'm not sure of the word's origin but it resembles a squirrel's tail in shape, so perhaps it is that simple. From Wikipedia: "A centrifugal fan (not to be confused with blowers) is a mechanical device for moving air or other gases with a very low increase in pressure. These fans increase the speed of air stream with the rotating impellers.[1] They use the kinetic energy of the impellers or the rotating blade to increase the pressure of the air/gas stream which in turn moves them against the resistance caused by ducts, dampers and other components." "Centrifugal fan is a constant CFM device or a constant volume device, meaning that, at a constant fan speed, a centrifugal fan will pump a constant volume of air rather than a constant mass. This means that the air velocity in a system is fixed even though mass flow rate through the fan is not. The centrifugal fan is one of the most widely used fans. Centrifugal fans are by far the most prevalent type of fan used in the HVAC industry today. They are usually cheaper than axial fans and simpler in construction.[3] In automotive industries, fans are used for cooling internal combustion engines. The fan derives its energy from the power generated by the engine. It is used in transporting gas or materials and in ventilation system for buildings.[4] They are also used commonly in central heating/cooling systems. They are also well-suited for industrial processes and air pollution control systems. When one fan can�t afford the necessary flow and pressure, the fans must be run in series two or more, in order to achieve the goal. The pressure of the centrifugal fan is high, so it is widely used in the production and has high using frequency, the centrifugal fans in series are often applied in practical production. According to the relevant statistics, fan power consumption accounting for 12% of the total electricity consumption. It has a fan wheel composed of a number of fan blades, or ribs, mounted around a hub. As shown in Figure 1, the hub turns on a driveshaft that passes through the fan housing. The gas enters from the side of the fan wheel, turns 90 degrees and accelerates due to centrifugal force as it flows over the fan blades and exits the fan housing." One thought I have is do you need more than one fan to increase your cfm venting. Still, there is no doubt the 6" duct is a rate limiting step, as is the height away from your range. If you could do away with the hood insert vent type, and custom make or find a inverted T type vent hood with enough pipe length from your 9" ceiling to 30" above your range and which accommodates your duct(s) (6" or 8") with some fiddling, you may reach a happier compromise to allow you the range type you wish. I think I saw you mention a BS or CC. Very nice. Glad your getting some additional input. Remember to address make up air (MUA) at some point and cfm. It's a smart idea to consider the basics. Hope this helps. I'm just learning this all along with you. Here is a link that might be useful: Centrifugal fan link:

hi joe - i can't offer any expert opinions, but it sounds like i had a similar situation on my walls. not sure exactly how yours got bumpy, but mine was due to being a novice with thinset & kerdi, so i had the thinset too lumpy & dry under my first couple of walls, so even with 4" tiles i would have had those same issues where they wouldn't lay flat enough. bill & mongo suggested using a longer trowel so that the valleys would stay filled with more thinset, since the trowel would run along the top of the peaks. i did end up doing that, but also my friend who does great drywall mud jobs used a similar technique on the walls. he took kerabond mixed with water, pretty thinly mixed, and a 12" taping knife, and put a thin coat on all 3 walls. he used a good amount of muscle doing it - not sure if that was necessary to fill the gaps or he just wanted to keep things as thin as possible - but it made a big difference. i still had to do a little fixing, but way less than i would have. if you can keep the slope, that may be an idea to go with on your floor. we let it dry for way longer than it needed (like 3 weeks :) and then i used versabond to put the tiles up. hth, lisa

It's a Gentleman's Dresser. You don't often see them intact these days. They usually are long parted out. In our family, we have the chest and the mirror, but the ornate mirror surround and two smaller side cabinets are long gone to who knows where. Candles were often placed on top of the side cabinet to illuminate the user in the mirror. It looks to me that all the hardware is original and, as you can see, the drawers are beautifully made. Some have only one of the smaller side cabinets placed off to the side. Some also have "Eastlake" style spoon carving on the drawer fronts and top of the mirror surround. In the case of our pieces, my Grandmother followed the trend of the 1930's and painted that beautiful oak pink followed later on with white. I had it stripped and refinished back to the original "golden oak" in the early 1990's. If I had to guess, this piece was original offered through the Sears catalog. You may be able to determine if that's true with a little research. Here's a start: https://www.bing.com/search?q=antique+gentleman%27s+dresser&qs=OS&pq=antique+gentlemen&sc=3-17&sp=1&cvid=B775C880805B44E8BABA4B6B16B777A2&FORM=QBRE

Remove as much of it as you can before patching.