A rant of sorts and a little advise
Bill M.
last year
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Tika Land
last yearRelated Discussions
need advise: coconut yellowing a little
Comments (8)Florida wanabe- I know what you're saying about the rain. I drown my coconuts when it's hot and see steady growth but if it rains and then gets hot LOOK OUT. I can't believe I never thought about the snow thing last winter (of course we didn't get a whole lot). I'll just keep my eyes open to see if this condition spreads. I have sprayed it with insecticidal soap and Cyan pepper insect spray. I did also treat with systemic granules a few weeks ago. I saw what looked like a "mite" type bug underneath the "burlap" part that follows the new growth up. I suppose any of these things could have caused it. Or maybe the comination of them with chlorinated water which I used to rinse it off with after spraying. The main thing is that the spear is helathy and continues to push up daily. All my palms should enjoy the day as it's going to be 77 and not a cloud in the sky. I feel bad withching about the weather when some people are in drought or getting flooded by tropical storms but it has been cool and wet here. It dried out yesterday but it's supposed to rain again starting tomorrow. Thank you everyone for the time you've taken to help me out. It is very much appreciated. Andy...See MoreMy little Wolf rant
Comments (40)wekick, Thanks for your post. I'm sincerely glad you haven't had the issues I noted with the Wolf range. How long have you owned your Wolf? Wondering if it's only an issue with the recent Wolfs (Wolves?). Look at this link to a video of a paper test. Is this inaccurate?: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FGyugwvncFA&feature=related Interested to know if you found different results. Most shocking to me is the heat pattern. As for Wok cooking, I have a fairly powerful outdoor Wok burner 137K BTU but can't really accomplish that in my kitchen (probably unsafe and illegal). I live in northern Vermont and "wokking" outside isn't pleasant in the sub-zero weather we often get here. Also don't want a separate wok-only venting system and don't want to void my fire-insurance policy. Many of the dedicated built-in wok burners i've seen suitable for the home are actually rated around or even lower than 23K BTU and the better ones aren't much more than 30K BTU. Wolf's dedicated wok burner, for example, is only around 22K btu. I found the 23K Culinarian burners to do a fairly admirable job. In my experience, it's not just the BTUs that matter for successful wok cooking, but heat/flame pattern is equally important. I found the Culinarian burner flame pattern to be extremely Wok-friendly. There's an ongoing debate as to whether gas or electric is better for pastry baking (IMHO it depends what you're baking) but there's not much debate that gas is generally preferred for cooking/roasting meats/veggies and even bread which is more my bag. Depends upon preference, as you noted. Also I didn't mind the lack of rolling racks on the Wolf, but the Wolf range I tried didn't accommodate full-sized commercial sheet pans. Oven seemed a bit cramped. I also considered the Bluestar and still very much like the cast iron tops on them. The service record, however, concerns me. There also apparently remains major problems with door hinges, failing igniters, etc. I've considered an "additional" induction burner for my new kitchen, but would never replace open-flame cooking with induction. It is incredibly efficient but somehow lacks soul. Call me old fashioned or romantic or whatever, but I derive great joy from cooking and have never found cooking over electric, ceramic, or even induction to be as dynamic or satisfying. I won't even consider a sealed burner. This may be why i'm smitten with the Culinarian. It has the feel of a true commercial, open burner range, and nearly the power of one. I hope you don't take my post as in any way diminishing your choice. As you say, it's all personal preference and, having not yet placed my order for our 48" inch Culinarian, I'm open to being convinced to go another route if my experiences were anomalies that can be demonstrated. Continued satisfaction and happy cooking!...See Morequestion and rant (sort of) re third party inspectors
Comments (4)A home inspector is a must for buying used houses, but IMO, finding third party contractors to review the work is a better bet. After framing is complete, get a structural engineer to review your house plan and the framing. This can be costly, maybe as much as $400-500, but they're qualified to opine, whereas a home inspector is not really qualified. Also bring a 4+ft level around and make sure there aren't any bows in the walls. Then bring in a seperate plumber and electrician when the rough-ins are finished. Most will charge about $100 an hour, maybe a service call fee as well (gas prices). You could also bring in an HVAC contractor. Get a seperate roofer to review. Maybe have the local rep for your window manufacturer come out and review that install. You might want to review the manufacturer's install instructions and watch a few being installed. I've listed over a $1,000 worth of "inspectors", here, so I understand if you call me crazy, but my order of competence is: Engineer followed by a Contractor followed by a GC followed by Building Inspector (only cause they're overworked and miss things) followed by a Home Inspector No offense to Home Inspectors, but most are a jack of all trades, master of none. Not what you need for a new construction phased inspection....See MoreDelivery rant - VERY long (Sorry, I had to vent somewhere)
Comments (39)There sounds like a lot of miscommunication here. Did the GC hire the cabinet company, or did you hire them direct? Who did the measuring? Who did the designing? Did everyone get together and step off the design in the actual space before it was ordered? That's all water under the bridge now, but maybe someone else can benefit from your situation. It sounds as though you have several design errors, and then there are several order entry errors. The wrong sink base could have been a design or order entry error (and it really doesn't matter which to you). If the GC engaged the cabinet maker, then it's up to him to make it right. If you engaged the cabinet maker directly with the contractor just doing the install for you, then you (or hubby) are gonna have to yell at the cabinet maker yourself. The bar area will definately have to have some space between each of the end cabinets and the wall. Otherwise, your doors and drawers don't have enough clearance. You shouldn't need more than about an inch or an inch and a half. I usually do 1 1/2" on each end because that's a single 3" filler split down the middle and is easier for the installer. But I don't work with cabinets that are able to be customized width the way your line is able to do. For your case, an extended stile of about 1" is enough wiggle room to be trimmed to the wall. For your hutch area, I have an idea that might be an upgrade for you if you like it. What about using punched tin inserts, to make it look like an old fashioned pie safe. Or you could use some highly patterned opaque glass that you couldn't see through. That way you would be able to go ahead and install those cabinets and not wait on them to be replaced. Just remember: alcohol for the current stress, steel for the spine in the coming confrontation, and patience for this too to pass. Concentrate on the end result as being your goal, and all of the labor pains will be minimized when it's finally over....See More
Meyermike(Zone 6a Ma.)
last year
popmama (Colorado, USDA z5)
last yearlast modified: last yearBill M.
last year
Vance Evans
last yearBill M.
last yearpopmama (Colorado, USDA z5)
last yearpopmama (Colorado, USDA z5)
last yearThis is the one I really want to repot. It's currently on a flat trellis. But I want to put it on a round trellis and put it on wheels so I can rotate it so it can get sun on all sides. I bought a new pot and a new round trellis for it. I'm watching the weather forecast and trying to work up the courage to embark on this.
Bill M.
last yearpopmama (Colorado, USDA z5)
last yearMeyermike(Zone 6a Ma.)
last yearMeyermike(Zone 6a Ma.)
last yearpopmama (Colorado, USDA z5)
last yearThe all-knowing weather forecasters claimed I was going to have a cool day today. So I embarked on my repotting project. Well, I got no such cool day. About halfway through this journey, the temp was 91.
Before, I decided to combine two hoyas into this one project thus freeing up another sunny window spot. The trellised one is in the front with its cousin on the side.
The moment I wondered if I had bitten off more than I could chew. Trying to untangle this mess, sort it and retrellis? What was I thinking?!?
But keep going! Because you can't leave it this way. You're in too deep. The end result:
It doesn't look as good as I was hoping. However, it can now go on a tray with wheels so I can rotate it periodically for sun on all sides. And I know they grow upward so the top will eventually fill in.The rootballs on these two hoyas were surprisingly small.
Bill M.
last yearpopmama (Colorado, USDA z5)
last yearBill M.
last year
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Bill M.Original Author